In Germany, more young people have started vocational training again. However, the slump caused by Corona has not been completely made up for. The Federal Employment Agency sees problems with mobility.
The valley from the Corona period appears to have largely been overcome: classic vocational training – whether as a craftsman, in services or in industry – has become more attractive again for young people. According to the Federal Statistical Office, more young people in Germany started training last year than in 2022. The number of new training contracts rose by 10,000 (2.1 percent) to 479,900, as the statisticians in Wiesbaden announced.
This is the third increase in a row – after 466,200 in 2021. However, the sharp decline as a result of the Corona crisis has not yet been completely made up for. In the pre-crisis year of 2019, 510,900 young people started training; in 2020 the number had collapsed to 463,300.
Positive development in the current training year
According to figures from the Federal Employment Agency, in the current training year 2023/2024 the trend is once again pointing upwards. By March, 52,000 applicants had informed the training agency that they had found a job. That’s 1,000 more than a year ago. 190,000 applicants – 4,000 more than last year – are currently considered unprovided for. You don’t yet have an apprenticeship, but you also don’t have an alternative, such as the opportunity to continue attending school, do a voluntary social year or study. There are also 30,000 who have an alternative but would rather start an apprenticeship. In contrast, there are still 281,000 unfilled training positions that have been reported to the employment agencies. That is 16,000 fewer than at the same time last year.
The numbers do not show the overall picture: The Federal Agency assumes that currently only 59 percent of applicants, but 75 percent of training companies, use training placement – the rest search independently. In addition, the market is currently still in flux. The Nuremberg statisticians do not expect an overall picture for the current training year until September.
The Federal Agency’s CEO, Andrea Nahles, is increasingly complaining about so-called fit problems – in regional terms, but also in terms of content. “Vacancies are where young people are not and vice versa,” Nahles told the German Press Agency. “The challenge now is to support young people in becoming more mobile regionally and nationally.” The mobility subsidy for young people in training, which has been possible since April 1st, is therefore progress.
Vocational training remains important for securing skilled workers
Nahles emphasized that vocational training remains an essential factor in securing skilled workers in Germany. “Vocational training is still the best and most lasting protection against unemployment,” she said. “The unemployment rate of people without a vocational qualification is 19.8 percent, around seven times higher than the unemployment rate of people with completed vocational training,” said Nahles.
According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, significantly more men signed a new contract in 2023 – at 2.8 percent, the increase was almost three times as strong as for women (plus 1.0 percent). There was also a positive development in the skilled trades: the number of training contracts there rose by 1.9 percent to 129,800. However, this could not completely compensate for the decline in the previous year.
The total number of trainees in Germany remained stable in 2023 compared to the previous year. Accordingly, 1,215,500 people were in vocational training at the end of the year. That was only 0.1 percent less than in 2022. This slowed the trend of falling training numbers from previous years.
Source: Stern
