In the corona pandemic, the situation on the training market has worsened. This year there has been a slight relaxation, but fundamental problems remain.
In the second Corona year, the situation on the training market in Germany improved a bit, but the number of newly concluded training contracts is still well below the pre-Corona level.
As a report published on Wednesday by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) shows, the demand for training positions has also continued to fall, with more and more places remaining vacant.
In 2021, a total of 473,100 new training contracts were concluded. That was 5,600 more than in 2020, but still 52,000 less than in 2019. According to the institute, this is based on its own surveys of newly concluded contracts as of September 30th and the training market statistics of the Federal Employment Agency (BA). The number of apprenticeships on offer rose by 8,800 to 536,200 in the current year, but was also well below the level of 2019 (578,200).
Demand does not match supply
The trend that companies and young people have problems finding one another continues unabated. According to this, 63,200 apprenticeship positions would remain unfilled in 2021 (plus 3,200). The demand for positions – this includes applicants with a contract and those who have not yet been successful as of September 30 – decreased by 4,800 to 540,900. According to BIBB, the number has reached a low since 1992, when data for the reunified Germany was available for the first time.
The main challenge was to reduce the “problems of fit” on the training market, it said. BIBB President Friedrich Hubert Esser said that he was very concerned about the decline on the demand side. The interest of adolescents and young adults in dual vocational training continues to decline. “And where there are no trainees today, there will be no skilled workers tomorrow.”
The President of the Central Association of German Crafts, Hans Peter Wollseifer, said on Wednesday that the craft urgently needed more young skilled workers. “Politics and business alike must succeed in convincing more young people of the highly attractive job and career opportunities in the skilled trades.” The ambitious political goals in the field of digital and ecological transformation, such as energetic building renovation, smart building control, the expansion of electromobility, could only be implemented with a sufficient number of professionally qualified craftsmen.
More effort needed
Trade unions demanded more commitment from the economy and called on the federal government to swiftly get the training guarantee agreed in the coalition agreement in motion. “We need stronger efforts so that the gentle recovery is not a flash in the pan,” said the vice chairman of the German Federation of Trade Unions, Elke Hannack, the “Handelsblatt”.
Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member of IG Metall, reported a new low in training rates in the metal and electrical industry. “There were over 10,000 fewer apprenticeships registered compared to the previous year. Securing skilled workers is different! “
In their coalition agreement, the traffic light parties had spoken out in favor of a training guarantee. The trade unions have been calling for this for a long time and are referring to Austria. There, all young people who cannot find an apprenticeship position in a company are guaranteed an external training position.
Source From: 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.
