"Apprentices wanted!" – such ads are still found in Germany
Experts from the German Bertelsmann Foundation together with scientists from the University of Göttingen compared the situation in the 16 federal states. The overall conclusion: the popularity of this educational model in Germany is declining. The demographic situation is taking its toll, and German school graduates who have obtained their Abitur more often decide to continue their education at a university. Moreover, companies themselves are offering fewer places for dual training. However, as Deutsche Welle notes, much depends on the region of the country.
Vocational training: regional features
In 2016, there were 80,000 fewer training places across Germany than ten years ago. This trend is especially noticeable in eastern Germany: here the number of offers from companies has decreased by 40 percent. Still, as Bertelsmann Foundation employee Lars Thies noted in an interview with Deutschlandfunk, the number of applicants for vocational training has decreased even more. Therefore, overall, graduates' chances of getting an apprenticeship at a company have improved.
According to the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), in 2017 almost 49,000 places remained unfilled – a record level over the past two decades. Overall, German companies posted more than half a million offers for apprentices.
The number of vocational training places directly depends on the economic situation in a given federal state. The most such offers for school graduates are in the economically strong south of the country. In Bavaria, there are 104 vacant places per 100 applicants. The average across Germany is 94 such places. Every ninth vocational training place at Bavarian companies remains unfilled.
Thus, even for training in attractive professions in commerce or IT, employers often cannot find apprentices. The situation is also favorable for those wishing to undergo vocational training in Baden-Württemberg.
At the same time, in northern and western Germany, demand for vocational training from school graduates slightly exceeds supply. The situation is particularly unfavorable in the east of the country. Over the past decade, the number of those learning a profession under the dual system has halved. While large and medium-sized companies allocate fewer places for apprentices, many small companies no longer train personnel under the dual system at all.
Success factors on the German labor market
Whether an applicant is accepted for vocational training largely depends on their level of education. Nine years of schooling (Hauptschulabschluss) is often insufficient. According to the Bertelsmann Foundation, every second school graduate with such a certificate remains without a training place. But here too, much depends on the region and the profession chosen by the graduate.
The best chances are again in Bavaria. 70 percent of those who completed nine years of schooling sign contracts with employers after school, primarily training for professions such as educator, medical or social worker.
But even greater obstacles arise for foreigners without German citizenship, especially if they have only completed nine years of schooling. It is hardest for foreigners to find a vocational training place in Schleswig-Holstein, Saxony, and Bavaria. In addition to a school-leaving certificate and good grades, knowledge of the German language is one of the most important conditions for employment. The Central Placement Office for Employment Abroad (ZAV) at the Federal Employment Agency emphasizes that German language skills must be at least at level A2, and for medical professions, B1.
Popular specialties
Among the professions for which companies most often signed contracts last year, according to BIBB data, are specialist in commerce or office management, medical or dental assistant, and retail salesperson. This is the ranking for girls. Boys aim to train as car mechanics, electronics technicians, industrial mechanics, specialists in plumbing and heating systems, IT specialists, or warehouse logistics specialists.
Overall, more than two-thirds of apprentices are satisfied with their training. Future mechatronics technicians, sales and supply specialists in industrial enterprises, and industrial mechanics rate the quality of education highest. However, hairdressers, as well as apprentices in food production, hospitality, or gastronomy, according to the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), are not satisfied with their vocational training.
Low wages, irregular working hours – these are just some of the reasons for dissatisfaction. Due to low demand for these professions among German youth, vacancies for apprentices often remain unfilled.