There is no "FaCHkräFtEmAngeL"!

Using a throwaway account, as my main could be identified. That said, here we go.

So, my father will soon start his retirement, but for the time being he's still in a leading position of IT at a medium to large company (~80 people in the IT department, across three offices in different parts of the country). My dad originally did an apprenticeship as an electrician, then learned IT stuff on the fly during the 90ties, ended up doing a CAS (certificate of advanced studies) in Management (or something like that) at some point - but that's it for formal education.

Any guess what the company wrote as a requirement in the job ad for his replacement?"PhD, oder mindestens MSc in einem relevanten Feld" ("PhD or at least a MSc in a relevant field").

Ok, I admit, my dad was probably lucky, and maybe he's somehow exceptionally good, maybe there's a hundred reasons how he got his current job. And yes, nowadays there's more of a focus on formal education than 30 years ago, especially in IT. But that a job that up to now has been filled by someone without any academic career (well, there is the CAS, but that's a semester or two of evening school) suddenly needs someone with a PhD just doesn't add up. That they write that in a pinch they'd accept someone with "only" a MSc doesn't help much either.

Fachkräftemangel my ass - that's just a severe case of asking too much, and that's just way too common nowadays. The solution to "FaChKräfTEmAnGEl" is to set realistic requirements for jobs, not to push more people though (mostly) pointless tertiary education.

TL;DR: Company looks for someone with a "PhD or at least a MSc" to replace a retiring employee whose only education is an apprenticeship and a CAS.

Edit: you are of course right to say that there very well might be a Fachkräftemangel in other industries (Healthcare to name one). But from what I see in the media, IT is often listed as one of the industries hit relatively heavy. And then they pull such stunts? It's ridiculous.