Which part-time positions are most popular with job seekers and which are most frequently advertised? This is what the jobchannel.ch platform has evaluated, based on anonymized user data on the more than 150 job and specialist platforms it operates. With more than 26 million job ad clicks and around 1 billion job ads sent in job subscriptions per year in all industries and specialist areas, the data from the jobchannel network is representative.

Demand for part-time positions continues to rise

While in January 2019 the share of clicks on part-time job ads compared to all job ad clicks was still just over 32%, three years later, in January 2022, the share is already 41,20%. Even though the share of clicks on part-time job ads has fallen again slightly in the meantime, the trend shows that part-time jobs are becoming increasingly popular among job seekers and are seeing growing demand. The share of clicks on part-time job ads is currently 44,61%.

Three strong upward outliers during 2021 and at the beginning of 2022 are striking. Demand for part-time jobs was particularly strong in November 2021, when the share of clicks on part-time job ads was more than 50%. Also in May 2021, 45,24% of all job ad clicks were, part-time jobs. In February 2022, there was another sharp increase in demand. The share of clicks on part-time jobs was 47,21%.

Imbalance: supply cannot satisfy demand

The supply of advertised part-time vacancies cannot satisfy the high demand for job ads with a part-time workload. But there is hope for job seekers: despite the prevailing imbalance between supply and demand, the supply of part-time vacancies in January 2022 increased by 2.6% year-on-year. Of the total 171,692 vacancies advertised in January 2021, 28,901 were part-time. In January 2022, the number of part-time vacancies advertised was already 45,109 out of a total of 232,108 vacancies.

Also in the last five months, the supply of part-time vacancies increased slightly, while the demand decreased slightly in the meantime. Thus, the share of clicks on part-time job ads was 41,20% in January and recorded the highest demand so far in February, with 47,31% clicks. In March, the demand for part-time jobs decreased slightly again and the share of clicks on part-time jobs currently stands at 44.61%. However, the imbalance of supply and demand can be explained not only by the strong increase in demand, but also by the fact that other part-time positions are being sought than advertised.

The 10 most popular jobs among job seekers: All jobs vs. part-time jobs

(Source: jobchannel ag, as of May 2022)

The 10 most advertised vacancies: All vacancies vs. part-time vacancies

(Source: x28 AG, as of May 2022)

Once a year, St.Gallen becomes the meeting place for Swiss SMEs - this year for the 19th time. The Swiss SME Day 2022 will once again focus on the current challenges facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Inflation, starting a business at 16 and smallness as a business model

After the introduction to this year's SME Day by host Tobias Wolf, HSG professor Reto Föllmi will talk about "Inflation and SMEs", and tattoo and piercing entrepreneur Giada Ilardo will tell participants more about "Starting a business at 16, then it went fast". In the now well-established "Inspiration Session", startups with their business models inspire participants to come up with ideas for their own business. Afterwards, Reto Schmid, who bakes the smallest Grisons nut cake, will talk about "Smallness as a business model" and Internet entrepreneur and National Councilor Jacqueline Badran will say: "I already know what I want to say.

Swiss SMEs exchange ideas at SME Day 2022

The Swiss SME Day is a sought-after platform for the exchange of entrepreneurs and executives from Swiss SMEs. Patronages for the Swiss SME Day 2022 have been taken over by important institutions: The Swiss Trade Association (SGV), economiesuisse, the St.Gallen-Appenzell Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and the Cantonal Trade Association of St.Gallen. The event is supported by a number of co-sponsors and long-standing main sponsors to whom SME concerns are very important: Raiffeisen, Helvetia, ABACUS, OBT and Swisscom, as well as numerous SMEs from the industrial and service sectors.

The Swiss SME Day is organized by the Swiss Institute for SMEs and Entrepreneurship at the University of St.Gallen (KMU-HSG) and the agency alea iacta ag. Registration for the conference is now open via www.kmu-tag.ch/registration possible. Early registration is worthwhile, in previous years the SME Day was sold out quickly.

A review of the Event from last year you can find here.

After more than 20 years of successful partnership, Sortimo Walter Rüegg AG is moving closer to Gerber Frères Sàrl in Lausanne. The company is a proven conversion partner in the commercial vehicle industry in French-speaking Switzerland and will now be fully integrated into the Sortimo network. "We want to build on our previous cooperation, expand it and benefit from valuable synergies and the simplification of processes that the takeover will bring," emphasizes Peter Rüegg, managing director and owner of Sortimo Walter Rüegg AG, adding, "As a leading Swiss in-vehicle equipment specialist, we see great potential in Western Switzerland and want to continue investing and growing there." As part of the merger, Sortimo Walter Rüegg AG, headquartered in Zurich Unterland, will integrate the Lausanne site into the proven processes of the growing Sortimo organization. The existing employees will all remain with the company and the existing team will be continuously increased.

Lausanne site with new management

Michèle Abt will be the new site manager in Lausanne. The fleet and commercial vehicle specialist has been working for Sortimo Walter Rüegg AG as project manager fleets at the Bern site since the beginning of 2020. Previously, she served as Head of Sales and Marketing at Post Company Cars AG, where she was a member of the management team. The bilingual native of Lake Constance is looking forward to strengthening the market for vehicle fitters in Western Switzerland with her team. Among other things, she is focusing on more efficient processes, which will ultimately also benefit customers. Michèle Abt looks positively to the future and adds: "By changing various processes and adapting them to the proven processes of the other Sortimo branches, we want to shorten the installation times and thus the idle time of the vehicles for our customers and ensure on-time installation. Our project managers can advise existing customers and potential new customers even better and in a more solution-oriented way thanks to their great expertise and the deepened cooperation with the head office and the other Sortimo branches. And last but not least, thanks to the new processes, we can also handle larger fleets more efficiently".

Present in all regions of Switzerland

With the acquisition of Gerber Frères Sàrl, the leading manufacturer of in-vehicle equipment confirms its national forward strategy "expansion instead of downsizing". Currently Sortimo Walter Rüegg AG employs more than 110 people at 4 locations in Switzerland (Zurich, Lucerne, Bern, Lausanne). Ticino is covered by the partnership with Brico SA in Manno. It thus offers individual remodeling solutions from a single source in all language regions of Switzerland.

According to the company, which was founded over 40 years ago, up to 150 vehicles are completely dismantled each week. The service includes the entire planning and installation of complete vehicle interiors, personal consultation with CAD in a demo vehicle at the customer's premises or in the company's own showroom, a collection and delivery service for customer vehicles, and free replacement vehicles.

Source and further information

What is most important in leadership? There are various levers, but after years of working with countless leaders, I naturally see some patterns that are often repeated.

It is very important not to be fooled too much by symptoms. Top leadership is rarely characterized by improving specific routines ("listening better," "having difficult conversations," etc.). While this is also helpful, it does not get to the heart of the matter. What I'm talking about here, on the other hand, are the big levers that have an impact on a lot of other things. If you improve these levers, the positive effect is multiplied.

Here are my top 3 leadership deficits that are definitely worth working on:

1. Lack of willingness to learn.
   My classic question on this is: "How many personal development books have you read in the last three months? Or attended seminars? Or taken video courses?" I see a clear connection between the willingness to learn systematically, i.e. to work on oneself, and the quality of leadership.
   My tip: Make personal development a priority for your leadership, also in terms of time. Schedule fixed blocks for further training, even during the day, and set concrete learning goals.
2. Victimhood.
   Even in management positions, I see too many people who see themselves as victims of external circumstances in many places. Again and again, other departments, the board of directors, the economy, politics, the exchange rate, IT systems (a classic) and other things are held responsible for one's own performance (only in a negative sense, of course). The problem: if you blame others for your successes and failures, you give your own control out of your hands. So there's not much you can do about it anymore.
   My tip: Consider yourself responsible for EVERYTHING, whether you can help it or not. You can choose your reaction in any case. Never accept excuses.
3. Ambiguity.
   Lack of clarity is a classic that I encounter at all management levels. It starts with the current situation, continues with any measures for communication and does not end with unclear objectives: Lack of clarity everywhere! The consequences are insecurity, blind performance, frustration and much more.
   My tip: Create full clarity in all areas.

So, here you have three top issues that you should definitely work on if you want to become an even better leader. It's not really that hard, is it?

To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch

On June 22/23, 2022, the IT trade fair topsoft opened its doors again after a two-year Corona break. In the Umwelt Arena Spreitenbach, providers, users and experts were able to meet live and exchange information about the latest trends in digitalization. "After the long interruption, it feels really good to hold an event like this," said exhibition manager Cyrill Schmid in the run-up to the fair. Indeed, many exhibitors sounded the same horn and emphasized how important personal encounters with customers are. However, the subjective impression on site was somewhat different: The number of visitors seemed sparser than before. This was also confirmed in discussions with various exhibitors. They would have liked to see more activity. But the quality of the (few) discussions had been high. "We have the prospect of at least one concrete project. If this can be realized, our presence at the trade fair has already been worthwhile," said Urs Amrein, Marketing Manager at Opacc, one of the largest exhibitors this year.

Information potential poorly exploited

The Umwelt Arena Schweiz provided an attractive and up-to-date setting for this year's IT trade fair. Visitors encountered a full program under the motto "Digitalization. Live. Concrete." From comprehensive business solutions to special applications for marketing, finance, production or logistics, many areas were thematically covered. The accompanying workshops and presentations conveyed practical knowledge on topics such as process automation, e-commerce, social media, online marketing and more. The topic of data protection met with particularly great interest with a presentation by Nicole Beranek Zanon, partner at Härting Rechtsanwälte. In comparison, the audience for other presentations was rather thin. Exhibition manager Cyrill Schmid was visibly disappointed: "I find it frustrating that people book a ticket and then don't show up. It's a shame, really, because it's becoming increasingly rare to find so much IT knowledge gathered in one place at such favorable conditions.

topsoft trade fair, for the thirtieth time

Almost somewhat lost in the shadows was the fact that the IT trade fair topsoft was already taking place for the 30th time. It has thus outlived all other similar IT events at home and abroad. Cyrill Schmid makes no secret of the recipe for success: "We focus on the needs of the suppliers and place the dialog with the users at the center. The trade show is embedded in our year-round information network of live events, social media, print and online channels." The anniversary was then celebrated in a dignified manner at the trade show aperitif on June 22.

And what's next? The organizers said that the topsoft IT trade fair needed further conceptual development, despite the aforementioned recipe for success. It is not clear in which direction this should go. But there are plenty of ideas, and the need for information about digitization remains high.

www.topsoft.ch

"A huge trade fair, concentrated knowledge transfer, networking - IFAT Munich 2022 was pure inspiration and is a driver of the sustainable transformation of industries and of climate-resilient communities," says Stefan Rummel, Managing Director of Messe München. "With 2,984 exhibitors from 59 countries and around 119,000 visitors from 155 countries, the show is approaching pre-Corona levels, reflecting the great potential of environmental technologies and confirming its position as the world's leading platform for water, sewage, waste and raw materials management." Dr. Johannes F. Kirchhoff, Chairman of the IFAT Munich Advisory Board, added: "The high level of international participation at the show in these challenging times is impressive. It's great to see IFAT back so strongly. After all, it is a very important, sustainable driver for the circular economy and the environmental industry."

Whether plastic or water - focus on closed cycles

More space than ever was devoted to the circular economy at the trade show. Germany's Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke stated at the opening: "A functioning circular economy saves primary resources, reduces dependencies and makes a significant contribution to climate and species protection. I want my policy to help strengthen the circular economy at all stages of its cycle and make environmental protection an interesting business model."

Four special areas alone were devoted to the circular economy, for example in plastics and building materials. In the case of water, too, everything revolved around sustainable use and closed cycles, for example in industrial production - and in cities, which have to prepare themselves for extreme drought and heavy rainfall with intelligent water management. The trade show showcased the technologies for this, and in the lecture program more than 300 experts shared their knowledge and there were numerous live demonstrations and guided solution tours.

The most important key figures for the trade fair

IFAT Munich occupied all 18 halls and a large part of the outdoor exhibition area at Messe München, totaling 260,000 square meters. 2,984 exhibitors traveled from 59 countries and regions (2018: 3,305/58) and some 119,000 visitors from 155 countries and regions (2018: 142,472/162). Half of the exhibitors and visitors came from abroad. Compared to the previous event, the strong participation from China and Russia was notably absent. A start-up area gathered 49 start-ups from 16 nations. 15 international joint stands from Europe as well as Japan, Canada, South Korea and the USA exhibited. High-ranking representatives from politics traveled to the event, including from Egypt, Belgium and Malaysia, as well as the environment ministers of Brazil and Singapore and numerous international delegations.

Valuable platform for the environmental industry

"IFAT has not lost its appeal for the environmental service sector and will continue to maintain its importance as the world's leading trade fair in the future," explains Max Köttgen, CEO of Remondis, a leading company for recycling, water management, and municipal and industrial services. "I am very impressed by the size of the show, the number of visitors and the unique expert platform, and I am pleased that we were able to hold numerous relevant discussions with customers and partners," adds Anja Eimer, head of the global water business at Siemens. The trade fair is an "excellent platform to present our products and solutions to the public" (Georg Huber, Chairman of the Board, HUBER), it is the "most important international trade fair to reflect industry trends based on our sustainable product and service innovations" (Ottmar Steinebrunner, Managing Director Sales & Service Europe and Americas, Bucher Municipal), it offers as the "world's leading trade fair for the municipal sector an ideal platform to experience our versatile industry solutions" (Dr. Ralf Forcher, Head of Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks).

Source and further information: www.ifat.de

Some observers point to the energy transition as an inherently inflationary force, as companies feel compelled to invest less in fossil fuels despite the continued rise in the cost of renewable electricity. In the marketplace, this is referred to as green inflation - the impact of environmental policy on the cost of supplying goods and services, which is reflected in consumer prices through supply chains. In fact, a wide variety of regulations and policies have an impact on inflation. Among the forces driving prices is international resistance to globalization, for example, through the continued imposition of trade tariffs.

Green inflation will hardly affect consumer prices

The pandemic has shown how vulnerable global supply chains and logistics networks are, and now Russia's invasion of Ukraine is dragging out the impact of inflationary forces. As a result, the recovery process is moving slowly and pressure on commodity prices is increasing as the war limits access to energy, metals and grains. The cause of the U.S. inflation problem, however, is not climate policy but the excess of stimulus measures in the aftermath of the pandemic. For too long, the country has held on to its accommodating monetary and fiscal policies, and now the U.S. labor market is booming.

In the renewable energy sector, which is tied to certain commodities such as rare earth metals, high demand and limited supply could result in a multi-year commodity boom. Nevertheless, in our view, green inflation does not have a large impact on consumer price inflation in the long run. Climate policy measures are usually designed to last for several decades and are thus among the structural drivers of relative price developments. Overall, however, consumers only experience persistently high inflation if the major central banks allow it. Even in the event of sustained upward pressure on commodity prices, we would not expect headline inflation to remain above central bank targets for a prolonged period. Beyond short-term developments, we recommend that investors keep an eye on the likely inflation-dampening effect of the extended tightening of monetary policy that is emerging worldwide.

The current central bank policy is a reaction to increased inflation, and combating it is likely to remain more important than economic growth in the future. In two years, we believe that green inflation will no longer be an issue. The debate is more likely to be about the consequences of a recession that has started earlier than expected in the US. The green inflation narrative is driven by developments in the West. Overall, inflation is much lower in the Asia-Pacific region, where climate policy implementation is much less advanced and the fossil energy sector is less constrained. In addition, there is more subdued economic activity in Asian countries due to the delayed reopening of the economy after the pandemic.

The increasing importance of Asia

A key issue of interest to investors is the Asia-Pacific region's share of the technological innovation required by a global energy transition and whether this will have a dampening effect on inflation. In macroeconomic terms, the region's governments and central banks are demonstrating more restraint and less willingness to artificially stabilize the economy. Asia-Pacific is significantly less indebted, and governments in the region are less constrained and extremely capable of acting. The capital available to government and business for the energy transition is enormous.

In investment portfolios, we believe Asian companies will play an increasingly important role in the future. Without Asia, where industrial pollution has forced governments to act, there will be no energy turnaround. As a result of high investment, technology costs have fallen significantly over the past decade. Since 2015, solar energy in India has been cheaper than coal energy, allowing the country to invest heavily in renewable energy. The technological innovations of Asian companies that can solve specific global problems should be given greater consideration in investment portfolios, in our view. Some of these companies are working hard to lower the cost of green hydrogen. There are few industries for which this would be more important than China's heavily polluting manufacturing sector. Here, new energy is needed to make entire supply chains cleaner. In green hydrogen, China wants to play the same role it did before in solar and in certain wind power technologies. We are optimistic because progress in countries like India and China alone will go a long way toward solving some global environmental problems. The goal is to harness the power of capitalism and innovation for the global energy transition. However, the richer countries need to live up to their commitments and lend a hand to the poorer ones so that they are not continually left out. Although China will continue to play an important role in lowering technology costs, this will take time, and poorer countries will need support until then.

Sustainable investments: Focus on the long term

Of course, asset managers have to invest within certain parameters. Poor countries often have poor credit ratings, governance problems, or capital markets that are not fully mature. We need to find a way to mobilize capital to help these countries. This is part of the problem that needs to be solved. In the short term, some solutions will have an inflationary appearance. Electric cars, for example, are more expensive than vehicles with internal combustion engines. Yet it is electric car prices that are falling the most in relative terms. The same is true for a wide range of renewable technologies, including photovoltaics. What appears to be driving inflation today may have a dampening effect tomorrow. In addition, the time will come when commodity prices fall, and as a major exporter of raw materials, Asia will benefit strongly from this.

The task of asset managers when recommending sustainable investments is to make it clear that these are long-term decisions. Companies with high demand for raw materials and fossil fuels are performing well because production costs are rising more slowly than prices, which favors earnings and valuations. Renewables, on the other hand, were highly valued at times last year because many of them are growth companies. Rising interest rates also drove up the discount applied to earnings, leading to significant underperformance. This makes it clear that investors should expect strong variances in this area. Even if it can be assumed that the central banks will get to grips with the problem sooner or later, strategies that actively address inflation and volatility are attractive for the investment portfolio in the short term.

Authors:
Jeremy Lawson is Chief Economist at abrdn; Ken Akintewe is Head of Asian Sovereign Debt at abrdn. www.abrdn.com

About 4 months before the end of the payment slip can be determined that the Banks their homework have done. Not only have they been able to process QR invoices for payment since their introduction in June 2020, but they are also exploiting their efficiency potential to a large extent. This statement applies somewhat more strongly to the payer side and somewhat less strongly to the biller side. It can also be seen that some banks have positioned their offerings much more broadly, while others are limiting themselves to the necessary minimum or have simply not yet fully grasped that the old payment slips and the QR bill do not function identically. Since many banks have not yet completed the development of services related to the QR bill, this analysis cannot be regarded as a conclusive view, but merely reflects the current (interim) status.

Bank offer for invoice recipient

Those banks that offer processing of QR invoices in pdf format are proving to be very innovative. They thus enable processing without media discontinuity from invoicing to payment and close the gaps for an end-to-end digital process. Thanks to this offer, paying a QR invoice is no longer inferior to eBill in terms of convenience. On the contrary, it is easier for anyone who wants to view the invoice details to receive an invoice as a pdf attachment by e-mail, because a double-click is all that is needed to open it. With eBill, this requires logins and downloads on the biller's website. 11 of the 39 banks surveyed already offer this service or are about to go live, and 2 others are testing it:

Furthermore, the following three important statements can be derived:

1. All banks offer a scanning function in their mobile banking app.
2. Most banks offer the option to use an external reader for eBanking on the PC.
3. Only a few banks use the PC or laptop camera for scans of the Swiss QR Code. For most of them, the smartphone takes over the function of a reader. Although this workaround solves the problem of scanning in eBanking, it makes the cumbersome handling of two different devices necessary.

Bank offer for billers

When looking at the solutions for billers, i.e. SMEs, self-employed persons, associations and donation organizations, the offerings vary greatly between the banks. This is particularly evident in the fact that some banks have transferred the old world of payment slips relatively unimaginatively 1:1 to the QR invoice, while other banks have dealt more with the changed framework conditions. PostFinance stands out as particularly customer-friendly, allowing not only its own customers but also third parties to use its online payment part generator. UBS and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise are particularly innovative: both offer an upload function for debtor lists (Excel) so that QR payment parts can be generated in series for various invoice recipients. WIR Bank Genossenschaft and Raiffeisenbank have also filled this gap. Although they do not offer this service themselves, they cooperate with third-party providers and discount the use of the corresponding solutions for their customers.

The serial function in particular is even more important for QR invoices than for payment slips, because billers cannot subsequently add missing information to neutral number parts on their own printer. This is because the Swiss QR Code cannot be changed once it has been printed. QR payment parts should therefore be created in full from the outset, i.e. including the biller's details and the amount. If these details are missing, the biller and the bill recipient each have to accept a serious disadvantage: The former pays an additional fee of CHF 0.84 per payment (in addition to the counter deposit fee) for the subsequent recording of the missing information when making payments at the post office counter, while the latter is forced to complete the information himself by hand.

Despite digitization: pre-printed paper receipts still on offer

It is worth mentioning that about half of the banks continue to offer an ordering service for pre-printed paper receipts, although it is cost-intensive and offers little added value for most billers. This is because all copies of such a voucher order are identical, apart from a possible reference number. The disadvantages of missing information on the invoice recipient and the amount have been mentioned above. For those corporate customers of banks that serve several different recipients, and for those that want to offer their customers a flawless service even with few invoices, this service is useless. About two thirds of the banks offer the possibility to create fully completed QR payment parts, i.e. payment parts containing both the biller's and the bill recipient's details, online and to download them as pdf and/or image files.

Source and further information: https://qrmodul.ch/

The auditing profession is becoming increasingly attractive and helps the economy develop in harmony with society and the environment. This is more or less the conclusion of this year's auditing conference. In addition, new auditing standards were presented, which will come into force in 2023 - in connection with the updated, internationally compatible independence requirements. Expertsuisse is the driver of this self-regulation in Switzerland. Last but not least, the auditing industry is indispensable for the further development of sustainability reporting. The professional association is also an important driving force in other initiatives such as the further development of corporate governance and the forms of work of knowledge workers.

Political framework conditions for auditing

The spring and summer sessions of the Swiss parliament had a number of topics on the agenda that decisively affect the auditing industry and its work. The federal law on combating abusive bankruptcy is intended to prevent debtors from abusing bankruptcy proceedings to discharge their obligations and thus damage other companies and compete unfairly. The Graber parliamentary initiative to make the labor law more flexible and preserve proven working time models, as well as the motion "Facilitate digital accounting" show that the structures and work surrounding accounting and auditing must adapt to modern ways of working and living as well as new types of information processes.

Developments in the auditing industry in Germany

A view across the national border can help to critically mirror one's own challenges and topics and to benefit from the experience of others. Thus, Expertsuisse invited Ms. Melanie Sack, Deputy Board Spokesperson of the German Institute of Certified Public Accountants (IDW) as a speaker. As different as the two jurisdictions may be, the credo of the German professional colleagues - "Business needs trust" - is very similar to its Swiss counterpart "Auditing creates trust - trust moves". The sustainability issue is also seen in Germany and Switzerland as an opportunity for promoting young talent in the auditing industry and for the economy.

New standards in the area of sustainability

For investors, non-financial environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors play a central role in investment decisions. Likewise, expectations are increasing in many places to consider sustainability criteria in management work - from corporate strategy to reporting. In April 2021, the European Commission published its proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) to replace the 2014 Nonfinancial Reporting Directive (NFRD). The directive is to be transposed into national law by December 1, 2022, and initial disclosure standards should be adopted by October 31, 2022. Large and capital market-oriented companies will therefore already have to disclose the 2023 reporting year in accordance with CSRD. However, the timetable seems to be pushed back, with both the shadow rapporteur and the European Council proposing a delayed introduction. According to the director of Expertsuisse, Dr. Marius Klauser, these developments in the EU will also become relevant in Switzerland over the next few years: "Parent companies/subsidiaries in Switzerland will report on sustainability issues in line with EU requirements and will probably also increasingly have these reports audited voluntarily. Through supply chain networking in Switzerland, this topic will then also reach the SME segment."

News at Expertsuisse

During the Audit Conference, Martin Nay (BDO), the long-standing department president of Expertsuisse, was bid farewell with great thanks. Alessandro Miolo (Deloitte) will be his successor in this important Expertsuisse function. Thanks to Expertsuisse, the promotion of young talent will also receive a new impetus: from 2023, auditing training will take a completely new form. More digital and sustainability skills will be taught, and this in a more digital way - flexible, effective and forward-looking.

Source and further information: Expertsuisse

The global economy recovered rapidly after the pandemic. This is shown by comparing the financial crisis of 2008/2009 with the pandemic years. While in 2008 the global economy contracted by an unprecedented 4%, during the pandemic the global economy contracted by 10%. But in both phases, the economy returned to pre-crisis levels within about a year and a half. The global macroeconomic situation is therefore better than expected, explained Prof. Dr. Jan-Egbert Sturm of the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich on this year's Trade Day. The curve is weakening slightly, but it is still at a good level. The situation is somewhat different when the results of the international surveys among producers and consumers are considered. They assess the current situation as slightly gloomy; they expect a further deterioration in the future. Prof. Dr. Jan-Egbert Sturm put it in a nutshell: "From an international perspective, the mood is not good. The glass is half empty. This attitude is putting pressure on the economy."

Boom phase in Switzerland

The situation in Switzerland would be different. The hospitality and wholesale sectors report a slightly above-average business situation. The industrial and manufacturing sectors are booming. Switzerland is in a boom phase. While inventories in the retail sector were judged to be too large before the crisis, they are too small in 2022. A problem for the retail sector is that inventories are being filled worldwide. This is related to the simultaneous high demand from consumers and producers. This development favors the rise in inflation. Demand in the retail sector is largely intact. However, there is a shortage of skilled workers, as for example 55% of construction companies indicate in KOF surveys. Construction is an important customer of the trade. According to the surveys, construction companies could take on a larger volume of orders with more skilled workers. 

Lack of primary products stops exports

For Swiss companies, future developments harbor similar uncertainties as for companies in other parts of the world. One problem is the lack of intermediate products. This was confirmed by Carl A. Ziegler, President of swiss export. Exporting companies are also pleased with full order books. Despite war, inflation and problems on the supply chains, the majority of companies are optimistic, he said. However, the lack of preliminary products is having a very negative effect, he stressed: "If individual parts are missing, entire plants cannot be exported. Companies must therefore no longer rely on just one partner, but must find new suppliers, in some cases in other regions than before." Another challenge is the issue of sustainability. It is true that the exporting companies are mainly SMEs with a high standard of sustainability. Nevertheless, the industry wants to improve further. Swiss export has therefore launched the Ecomove project, which supports the companies in their efforts. 

Consumers must pay more for sustainability

Sustainability is also a key issue in the textile trade, as Carl Illi, President of Swiss Textiles, explained on the Day of Trade. The crux of the matter, however, lies with consumers. Because more sustainability costs money. The question is: Will consumers pay the higher prices? More sustainable sometimes means producing closer to home. However, this does not mean Central Europe. The approval and construction of factories alone takes longer here than in other parts of the world. 

It is still true that around half of the world's textiles are produced in China. In the EU, there are efforts to introduce the carbon footprint and to show it on product labels. However, Carl Illi made it clear: "The textile industry would already be more sustainable if consumers paid the higher prices. New production machines need 30% less water and less electricity. But every new machine must first be earned." There is one obstacle to this. It is true that the textile industry also has full order books worldwide. Consumers are flocking to the stores. But goods are becoming more expensive overall, and not because of increasing sustainability. For example, the textile industry, which is highly dependent on energy, depends on low electricity costs. Carl Illi explains, "Globally, I don't see any producer producing cheaper today than two years ago." The president of Swiss Textiles also expects container prices to remain high. Several costs are rising for textile manufacturers. Old stocks are used up, and new stocks are becoming more expensive. As a result, textile suppliers are passing on the inflation to consumers. In parallel, a shift can be observed in the textile machinery market. The high Chinese cost of electricity and the shortage of labor caused by the lockdowns has encouraged the search for alternative producers. Countries such as Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Turkey, Cambodia and South America are making new investments in textile machinery manufacturing. It remains to be seen how this will affect the issues of sustainability and prices. In any case, the Swiss association is making the industry fit for the future with the new Swiss Textile Recycling Ecosystem. Now it all comes down to the consumers.

Source and further information: Trade Switzerland

Every now and then it is said to be dead: The motivation letter in a job application. But a new study by JobCloud in cooperation with the LINK Institute shows that for many companies such a cover letter is still very relevant. Overall, 74% of the employers surveyed still consider the cover letter to be very important or important, and this figure even rises to 81% for manual jobs. In French-speaking Switzerland, by the way, the letter of application is even more important: 43% consider it very important vs. 36% in German-speaking Switzerland. "However, we know from job seekers that the letter of motivation is particularly time-consuming. In order to receive more applications, employers could take the bold step of explicitly mentioning in the job posting that candidates can refrain from writing a cover letter," says Davide Villa, CEO of JobCloud, which operates the jobs.ch, jobup.ch and jobscout24.ch platforms.

Letter of motivation yes, application photo less important

In contrast to the cover letter, the application photo is losing considerable importance for recruiters according to the study. In the results, it is noticeable that a photo in the resume is considered even more important in German-speaking Switzerland than in French-speaking Switzerland. While 53% of the respondents in German-speaking Switzerland stated that they considered this to be important or very important, this figure is only 38% on the other side of the Röstigraben. On the other hand, 13% of employers in French-speaking Switzerland and 6% in German-speaking Switzerland no longer attach any importance to the photo at all. "Most recruiters Google the applicants sooner or later anyway, where they then often also come across a photo. So the classic application photo no longer has the same significance as it used to," Villa comments. Applicant demographics, such as age or gender, are weighted similarly to references and are important or very important for 60% of the respondents.

The constant in recruiting: the search for qualified employees

The study also asked HR managers about the greatest challenges and difficulties in recruiting. It emerged that the search for qualified employees is particularly difficult. For example, half of the respondents said they had trouble finding skilled workers in Switzerland, and 45% see this as a major challenge outside Switzerland as well. "This is due to the shortage of skilled workers, which is becoming increasingly noticeable in Switzerland and also in neighboring countries," explains Davide Villa. Other major difficulties encountered in the search for personnel are the large number of unspecialized applications (e.g. from lateral entrants) and excessive salary expectations that companies are unable to meet.

Online job portals as the most important recruiting resource

When employers find suitable employees, they are most likely to do so via online job portals: 35% of the companies surveyed state that job portals are their most successful channel for recruitment. In addition, personal contacts (19%) and the company's own career website (11%) prove particularly promising in the search for personnel. "In order to exploit the full potential, it is recommended that employers use multiple channels for their recruitments and carefully consider what the most suitable channels are for the respective positions," concludes Villa.

As part of this study, companies of all sizes in German- and French-speaking Switzerland were surveyed about their needs and behaviors in recruiting. For this purpose, 700 online interviews of people responsible for recruitment were conducted. The survey took place in February 2022 and was organized in collaboration between JobCloud and the LINK Institute.

Source: JobCloud AG

On June 1, 1972, August Manser lays the foundation stone for today's August Manser AG in Altstätten, Canton St.Gallen, when he establishes a sole proprietorship under his own name. Two years later, the first precision mechanic takes up his work and the company develops over time into a stable, innovative family business.

Innovative family business in 2nd generation

Today, August Manser AG describes itself as a leading service company for mechanical and mechatronic systems and services. The company's wide-ranging clientele finds a competent, creative and long-term partner in the modern high-tech operation: from innovation and product development through industrialization and precision manufacturing to the assembly of subassemblies and systems. Since 2019, Michael Manser has been managing the family business in the second generation. "We are an innovative family business. Our most important success factor is our employees," says Michael Manser, "In a future-oriented working environment with training and development opportunities, we work together, with enthusiasm, on our customers' products. Through the networking of innovative ideas, knowledge and new technologies, sophisticated solutions are generated every day. Together with our employees, we continue to develop as a company, because you can only build sustainable success on a strong foundation."

The recipes for success of August Manser AG

Thanks to qualified employees and a future-oriented infrastructure, it is possible to meet increasing customer requirements and the highest quality standards, the company writes. August Manser AG is therefore constantly modernizing its machinery, relying on new technologies and innovative ideas. Today, the company employs about 100 people at two locations in Altstätten; since 1980, it has also been training polymechanics. Manser has thus become an important economic pillar of the region, with an impact far beyond the St.Gallen Rhine Valley. It is also striking that the company employs many long-serving employees, which speaks for the continuing attractiveness of the jobs. In February 2022, Michael Manser was able to congratulate six employees on a total of 140 years with the company.

The Manser Group includes the companies Sedax AG, InLack AG and admantec AG with a total of 50 employees.

Company website: www.manser-ag.com