{"id":116272,"date":"2026-05-14T11:19:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/?post_type=vimeo-video&#038;p=116272"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:34:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:34:54","slug":"personal-market-in-transformation-thomas-schmitt-insight-international-interpack-2026","status":"publish","type":"vimeo-video","link":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/vimeo-video\/personalmarkt-in-der-transformation-thomas-schmitt-insight-international-interpack-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The Personal Market in Transformation: Thomas Schmitt, insight International | interpack 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The jobs market in the packaging industry is expected to remain subdued in 2026. Thomas Schmitt of insight International Management Consultants offers a nuanced assessment of the current situation at interpack 2026 \u2013 and outlines what executives need to achieve during times of transformation.<\/p>\n<h3>Cautious investments in uncertain times<\/h3>\n<p>\u201eI believe that the staffing situation will also continue to be rather subdued in 2026,\u201c explains the experienced headhunter. \u201eUltimately, companies are simply cautious about investments in uncertain times like these, and hiring additional staff is also an investment in the end.\u201c<\/p>\n<p>While backfill and strategically important roles continue to be filled, Schmitt does not expect a major boom in new hires. This indicates a market for 2026 that will be characterised primarily by targeted key appointments, rather than broad headcount increases across all functions.<\/p><div class=\"packa-in-post-alle packa-entity-placement\" style=\"text-align: center;\" id=\"packa-3177590180\"><div id=\"packa-57262611\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/newsletter\/\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"PJ Self-promotion English 03\"><!--noptimize--><img src=\"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03.png 840w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-300x75.png 300w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-768x192.png 768w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-18x5.png 18w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-332x83.png 332w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-664x166.png 664w, https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PJ-Eigenwerbung-English-03-688x172.png 688w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" width=\"840\" height=\"210\"  style=\" max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" \/><!--\/noptimize--><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<h3>New leadership qualities and cultural fit<\/h3>\n<p>The demands on leaders have changed due to the ubiquitous transformation processes. \u201eWe are observing that communicative strength is particularly in demand from leaders,\u201c says Schmitt. \u201eExplaining changes, to their own people, to their own workforce, managing to inspire and take people along for these numerous changes.\u201c In addition to communicative strength, a fundamental openness to change and resilience are crucial qualities.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to recruitment, Schmitt sees cultural fit as a crucial success factor: \u201eCulture is something you can talk a lot about, but I believe you have to feel it.\u201c To find the right fit, he deliberately seeks close contact with companies and invests time in understanding their respective corporate cultures.<\/p><div id=\"packa-2486804296\" class=\"packa-inhalt packa-entity-placement\"><!--noptimize--><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-2686439340972671\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;text-align:center\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2686439340972671\" data-ad-slot=\"6171251825\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><!--\/noptimize--><\/div>\n<h3>Skills shortages as a strategic blind spot<\/h3>\n<p>Schmitt sees demographic change and the shortage of skilled workers as important issues that are not yet strategically sufficiently considered: \u201eEveryone is aware of the topic. And anyone who examines the numbers of first-year students at established universities will surely be very worried.\u201c While he understands the focus on current challenges, he emphasises: \u201eFor the long-term competitiveness of the packaging industry, the issue of skilled worker shortages and demographic change is absolutely central.\u201c<\/p>\n<p>For the near future, Schmitt predicts the continued importance of the sustainability theme as well as an increased practical application of artificial intelligence in industry. The packaging sector faces the challenge of concretely integrating AI into business models and industrial reality \u2013 a transformation that simply will not succeed without the right people on board.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The labour market in the packaging industry is showing restraint in new hires in 2026. Thomas Schmitt (insight International) explains at interpack 2026 which leadership qualities are in demand during times of transformation and why the shortage of skilled workers is being strategically overlooked.","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":116274,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"__cvm_playback_settings":{"title":0,"byline":0,"portrait":0,"loop":0,"autoplay":0,"color":"24A27F","dnt":0,"aspect_ratio":"16x9","width":1200,"max_height":0,"video_position":"below-content","video_align":"align-left","lazy_load":false,"play_icon_color":"#FF0000","volume":25,"playlist_loop":0,"aspect_override":false,"start_time":0,"muted":false,"background":false,"transparent":false,"allow_override":false},"__cvm_video_id":"1192221054","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"vimeo-videos":[60536],"vimeo-tag":[61193,61225,61260],"class_list":{"0":"post-116272","1":"vimeo-video","2":"type-vimeo-video","3":"status-publish","4":"format-video","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"vimeo-videos-experten-talk","8":"vimeo-tag-interpack-tv-2026","9":"vimeo-tag-markt","10":"vimeo-tag-personalberatung","11":"cs-entry","12":"cs-video-wrap"},"acf":[],"vimeo_video":{"video_id":"1192221054","uploader":"packaging journal","uploader_uri":"\/users\/109467054","published":"2026-05-14T11:19:43+00:00","_published":"May 14th, 2026","updated":"2026-05-14T11:32:21+00:00","title":"The Personal Market in Transformation: Thomas Schmitt, insight International | interpack 2026","description":"Thomas Schmitt of insight International Management Consultants analyses the current recruitment market in the packaging industry. The experienced headhunter and podcast host explains why there is a sense of caution regarding new hires in 2026 and which leadership qualities are in demand during times of transformation. Schmitt emphasises the importance of strong communication skills, a willingness to embrace change and resilience among managers. He also discusses cultural fit in recruitment, his networking strategies and the skills shortage as a long-term problem for the industry. An informative insight into the current challenges facing the recruitment market. #interpack #Recruitment consultancy #Skills shortage #Transformation #Executives #Packaging industry #Headhunting #Leadership","tags":[],"duration":1137,"_duration":"18:57","thumbnails":["https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2157424414-1ec262faaa5a40573542e018d31e6a403290a2fc4e65ab077877047f998719c3-d_100x75?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2157424414-1ec262faaa5a40573542e018d31e6a403290a2fc4e65ab077877047f998719c3-d_200x150?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2157424414-1ec262faaa5a40573542e018d31e6a403290a2fc4e65ab077877047f998719c3-d_295x166?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2157424414-1ec262faaa5a40573542e018d31e6a403290a2fc4e65ab077877047f998719c3-d_640x360?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2157424414-1ec262faaa5a40573542e018d31e6a403290a2fc4e65ab077877047f998719c3-d_960x540?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2157424414-1ec262faaa5a40573542e018d31e6a403290a2fc4e65ab077877047f998719c3-d_1280x720?&r=pad&region=us","https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/2157424414-1ec262faaa5a40573542e018d31e6a403290a2fc4e65ab077877047f998719c3-d_1920x1080?&r=pad&region=us"],"stats":{"comments":0,"likes":0,"views":0},"privacy":"public","view_privacy":"anybody","embed_privacy":"public","size":{"width":1920,"height":1080,"ratio":1.7800000000000000266453525910037569701671600341796875},"type":"video","uri":"\/videos\/1192221054","link":"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/1192221054","embed_url":"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1192221054?h=f32ff30cba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-video\/116272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-video"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vimeo-video"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116272"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-video\/116272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116278,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-video\/116272\/revisions\/116278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"vimeo-videos","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-videos?post=116272"},{"taxonomy":"vimeo-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vimeo-tag?post=116272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}