Research, Innovation and Technology
Innovation is Germany’s future: innovative products and services marketed at competitive prices are decisive in creating jobs, increasing prosperity and quality of life. Healthcare is just one such example, today providing jobs for more than four million people. The healthcare sector has become one of Germany’s most important sectors, accounting for nearly twelve percent of the country’s gross national product – and still growing.
More than 100 companies, institutions and research institutes participating in the BDI initiative »Innovation Strategies and Knowledge Management« collaborated with the BDI’s specialty departments and BDI member associations to find out which segments and markets in Germany have most potential for added value. The results were compiled in the »BDI Manifesto for Growth and Employment – Germany 2020« roadmap, which was presented to the Federal Minister of Economics Michael Glos on the occasion of the BDI Germany Industry Day in June.
Overcoming the shortage of skilled labour is a major step toward more growth. According to calculations by the German Economic Institute Cologne (IW), completely eliminating the skilled labour shortage would generate at least €18.5 billion – year after year. In the short term, the shortage can be overcome by recruiting highly qualified foreign labourers. In the medium and long-term, the educational potential of Germany’s youth must be better tapped – especially in the so-called MINT subjects of mathematics, informatics, natural sciences and technology.
The EU is nowhere near its target of increasing expenditures for research and development to three percent of gross national product by the year 2010. The EU Commission has urged Member States to introduce fiscal support for R&D expenditures. The BDI is calling for a tax credit amounting to 10 per cent of a company’s total R&D expenditures.
