Adolescents and young adults often leave school without knowing which profession they want to pursue. Andrea Nahles sees parents as having a duty to help their children.
The CEO of the Federal Employment Agency, Andrea Nahles, has asked the parents of school leavers to be flexible when advising their children. “We have a great deal of uncertainty when it comes to choosing a career,” said Nahles on Monday in Munich at a discussion event on the shortage of skilled workers in Germany. Parents are the most important source of orientation in the career choice process.
The list of top 20 favorites when choosing a career has not changed for decades. At the same time, the world of work has become completely different, said Nahles. Young people must be well and comprehensively informed about new opportunities – also with regard to the permeability of the education system. “Repacking in your head, dear parents,” said Nahles. Good academics are needed in Germany. But with a view to the rate of university dropouts, dual training must also be upgraded.
Germany loses 46,000 young people every year who went into work without completing their education. Compared to previous years, it has become relatively easy to switch from one educational path to another. “God knows, training is not an obstacle,” said Nahles at the event organized by the Munich Ifo Institute, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria and the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
It is important to create new opportunities for young people to get to know professions. She described a model from Baden-Württemberg, which enables schoolchildren to experience five different professions in five days, as promising.
Munich Economic Debate with Nahles
Source: Stern
