Hardly any applications, many vacancies: Despite the growing shortage of skilled workers, fewer and fewer young people are starting an apprenticeship. And not everyone makes it to the end.
Fewer and fewer people are being trained in German companies and administrations.
Even in the second Corona year 2021, the number of newly concluded training contracts was well below the pre-crisis level, as the Federal Statistical Office reported on Wednesday based on preliminary figures. 467,100 new contracts last year meant a slight increase after the historic low of 2020 (465,700), but still a large gap compared to the level in 2019, when 513,300 young people signed an apprenticeship contract.
The need for skilled workers in some areas seems almost immeasurable, for example when it comes to the concrete implementation of climate protection measures in buildings or the expansion of renewable energies. According to a recent study by the Federal Institute for Vocational Training (BIBB), around 400,000 additional skilled workers will be needed by 2025 alone for these government plans. Various construction and finishing trades, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers, but also specialists for the more labour-intensive ecological agriculture are in demand.
In the annual BIBB hit list of the most popular training courses, however, the classic car mechatronics technician was at the top for men and the medical assistant for the first time for women. Various commercial training courses as well as training as IT specialists and systems mechanics for sanitary, heating and air-conditioning technology are also popular.
Overall, however, companies in Germany are finding it increasingly difficult to fill training positions, as another current study shows. In a representative survey by the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB) in Nuremberg, almost half of the companies stated that the number of applications had fallen. About 40 percent also reported that the quality of the applications had decreased.
According to the responsible central association, 20,000 training places remained vacant in the craft sector alone, as craft president Hans Peter Wollseifer told the “Handelsblatt”. “Many of us are already feeling the effects in everyday life: the waiting times for an appointment with a craftsman are long.” You don’t have to be a prophet to foresee that the many additional projects, especially in climate and environmental protection, can hardly be managed with the current workforce.
At the same time, there are many young people who would like to be trainees but cannot get a place. “Despite the slight recovery, almost 68,000 young people remained without training, even though they had registered as applicants with the Federal Employment Agency,” said Elke Hannack, deputy chairwoman of the DGB, to the “Handelsblatt”. The number is made up of the applicants who were actually unplaced according to the Federal Employment Agency at the end of September 2021 and those who ended up in a so-called alternative – for example going back to school or studying, completing an internship or a support measure or working.
The dual vocational training in the company and vocational school is important in order to secure the need for skilled workers in companies, said IAB Director Bernd Fitzenberger. “The prerequisites for this are first of all that they can fill the training positions they offer and that the trainees can successfully complete the training. Both have suffered significantly in the pandemic. » According to the companies surveyed for the IAB study, exams had been postponed or there was simply not enough time to convey the required content under pandemic conditions.
Basically, the dual training system has been suffering for years from the competition of academic educational paths and the falling numbers of school graduates. The number of applicants for no fewer than 540 different job profiles has been declining for years, after there were just under 608,000 people starting training in 2008. In addition, numerous information events at schools and internships were canceled due to the Corona crisis.
According to the IAB study, a third of the companies reported that it was more difficult to get in touch with potential applicants during the Corona crisis. 43 percent offered fewer or no internships for school students – especially the companies that were particularly hard hit by the economic consequences of the pandemic.
According to a study by the state-owned KfW Bank last summer, small companies in particular withdrew from training during the pandemic, while the number of trainees in medium-sized companies with more than 50 employees was often declining. The small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are responsible for the training in Germany with around 90 percent of the places on offer. Nevertheless, only 12 percent of SMEs actually train themselves.
IG Metall board member Hans-Jürgen Urban sees employers as responsible. They made it too easy for themselves to blame everything on the pandemic, explained the trade unionist in Frankfurt. “In the metal and electrical industry there are over 10,000 fewer trainees than in the previous year and the decline is not solely due to the pandemic.” Employers should finally raise more potential and train more people. In addition, the training guarantee anchored in the coalition agreement must be filled with life as quickly as possible in order to prevent many companies from retreating further.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
