Enriching dialog at the "Fokus Standort" of the Canton of Zurich

In order to be prepared for future challenges, the Department for Economic Affairs wants to further strengthen the attractiveness of Zurich as a business location. A year ago, the first «Fokus Standort» was launched as a successful series of events focusing on the future of Zurich as a business location. At yesterday's «Fokus Standort» event, around 150 people from the worlds of politics, business, science and administration once again discussed future trends that will have a significant impact on the economy and the quality of the Canton of Zurich's location in the medium and long term.

The topics of discussion were based, among other things, on the results of the «Trend Analysis for the Canton of Zurich as a Business Location», which the research and consulting company Infras compiled on behalf of the Department for Economic Affairs on the basis of a survey of experts. Selected trends - as of August 2024 - were classified as particularly relevant for the canton of Zurich: advancing digitalization, especially with AI applications; continuing population growth and ageing, which also affects the labour market; increasing regulatory density and the associated rise in administrative costs; and Switzerland's uncertain relationship with the EU. The experts surveyed in the study assessed the significance of each trend and outlined the consequences and options for action.

Strong impetus for sustainable location development

The «Fokus Standort» used this overview to shed more light on the topics of skilled workers, technology, regulation and mobility in four workshops. One of the questions was, for example, which processes can be used to relieve the burden on companies and promote competitiveness despite increasing regulatory density and administrative effort. They discussed how the use of AI can be improved in everyday working and studying life and how digital skills can be specifically promoted in schools and training. Another topic was what companies are doing to empower their employees and how SMEs can keep up with large companies in this respect. Another question was how organizations and companies can reduce the distances travelled each day or implement the switch to sustainable mobility.

Possible solutions were developed in the workshops and measures were formulated and concretized. The findings are now being further processed in working groups.

Government Councillor Carmen Walker Späh then introduced the final part of the event with her presentation: The discussion on demographic trends and their impact on labor shortages. The problem: more and more people are retiring, but fewer and fewer young people are taking over. Immigration alone cannot remedy this imbalance. Walker Späh therefore opened the dialog on possible solutions: «A better work-life balance must lead to more people working longer hours,» she said. Productivity must also be increased through innovation and technological progress. After all, says Walker Späh, «we won't be able to avoid working longer. Nobody wants to hear that. But it's a fact.»

A concluding panel discussion with Milan Prenosil, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Confiserie Sprüngli AG, Veronica Weisser, Head UBS Pension Innovation Hub, Amalia Zurkirchen, Managing Director of Kaufmännischer Verband Zürich, and Manuel Buchmann, Project Manager "Demografik" and author, took up the appeal of the Government Councillor and addressed the issue of labor shortages due to demographic change. The labor market gap will widen further in the coming years and pose challenges for the Zurich economy. The panel participants discussed the solutions proposed by Government Councillor Walker Späh and discussed other possible measures to counteract the shortage of workers and ensure future economic growth.

Links

• «Fokus Standort»
• Division of Business and Economic Delevopement
• Study "Trend analysis for the canton of Zurich"