The training market offers good opportunities for youngsters keen to learn. That was the message today from the presidents of four industry associations represented in a vocational training and continuing education alliance.
In their round-up for the 2015 training year, Ingo Kramer (Confederation of German Employers' Associations, BDA), Horst Vinken (Federation of German Independent Professionals, BFB), Eric Schweitzer (Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, DIHK) and Hans Peter Wollseifer (The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts, ZDH) pointed out the overall rise in the number of newly signed training contracts in the sectors industry, commerce, trades and freelance professions.
According to the four, this shows that the vocational training and continuing education alliance set up at the end of 2014 in on the right road. It will be a particular challenge during the coming year to integrate all the refugees who can hope to stay, into training and work.
In their joint declaration, BDA, BFB, DIHK und ZDH presented the current facts and figures.
"The number of contracts for the three sectors (474.485) has increased by 0.2 per cent compared with the previous year, despite decreasing numbers of applicants and a continuing trend for young people to apply for degree courses.
Companies in Germany continue to show a great deal of willingness to take on trainees, as they swim against the demographic trend and are also offering weaker candidates a chance to learn.
By the end of September 2015, 301.317 new training contracts had been signed, which is 1.612 or 0.6 per cent fewer than the previous year. In the trades sector, by the end of September 129.930 new training contracts had been registered, meaning there were 1.432 more than in the previous year – an increase of 1.1 per cent. By the end of September, 43.238 new training contracts had been signed for the independent professions. This represents an increase in 1.509 contracts, or growth of 3.6 per cent.
At the same time, some 41.000 traineeships registered with the Federal Employment Agency last year were left unfilled. This was the eighth year in a row, during which there were a greater number of unfilled traineeships than unplaced applicants. This means that companies and young people need even more targeted support.
With the introduction of assisted training, the expansion of the target groups for support during training and the alliance partners' agreement on a structured and coordinated approach to placing young people searching for a traineeship and filling open trainee position, the vocational training and continuing education alliance has already begun to implement some key actions.
Chambers of trade and associations have run varied campaigns to encourage companies which offer traineeships to register their trainee positions with the Federal Employment Agency, so as to create greater transparency regarding what training is actually on offer. The increase in the number of such registered trainee positions shows that these efforts are beginning to pay off.
Industry, together with other training alliance partners, will continue efforts to prepare and persuade more young people to take up company-based training. This includes more comprehensive and more practical vocational guidance in school. At grammar schools in particular, more information has to be provided in the future on the opportunities provided by dual training.
One of the greatest challenges in the coming years will be the integration of those refugees who have a good chance of being allowed to stay in Germany, along with the many young adults under 35, who have no vocational qualifications, into training and work.
Industry has a contribution to make, together with the training alliance partners. The key to successfully integrating refugees is to support their language learning and give the earliest possible access to vocational preparation schemes to those asylum seekers and persons given leave to stay in Germany, whom it is likely will be allowed to remain."