Die Bedeutung der handwerklichen Fachkraft in Zeiten des digitalen Wandels – Mit welchen Fähigkeiten ist die handwerkliche Fachkraft Maschinen überlegen?

Digital technologies offer the potential to relieve skilled workers of monotonous, repetitive and physically demanding tasks. At the same time they are associated with concerns about the complete automation of human labour and job losses. For the following paper a secondary analysis was carried out. For this purpose, guided interviews with managing directors from ten skilled crafts businesses, four skilled crafts employees and three experts from the skilled crafts organisation were reevaluated. The aim of the study was to answer the question, how human workers are superior to machines. By interviewing skilled craftspeople, the perspective of the skilled crafts sector on the skilled crafts sector is revealed. The interviewees identify several indicators that counteract automation from their point of view. The central core skills identified can be summarised under the keywords ‘perception and fine motor skills’ and ‘social intelligence’. The skills required for this, such as spontaneous reaction to unforeseen situations or empathetic interpersonal interaction, cannot be replaced by machines in theory. Therefore they offer skilled workers protection against machine substitution. In addition, the survey clearly shows the unconditional will of decision-makers in skilled crafts companies to preserve human beings as the central unique selling point.