Vocational Education and Training Report 2015: Bringing together businesses and applicants

More than half of all school graduates, that is, 522,000 young people started an apprenticeship in the dual system in 2014. The situation in the apprenticeship market has slightly improved. Yet Ministers Wanka and Nahles say that more young people have to be placed in apprenticeships faster.

"The prospects of obtaining an apprenticeship placement were never as high as they are now", said Federal Education Minister Johanna Wanka during the presentation of the Vocational Education and Training Report 2015. Yet for many it is extraordinarily difficult to find a suitable placement.

The situation of applicants in the apprenticeship market has slightly improved in the past training year. They could choose from more apprenticeship placements. Some 522,000 new apprenticeship contracts were concluded up until the end of September 2014. This is a marginally lower number (minus 1.4 per cent) than in 2013.

20,900 applicants failed to find an apprenticeship placement by end of September 2014. 60,300 decided to bridge the gap by taking up a prevocational education scheme, a work placement or an entry-level vocational qualification. Simultaneously, they continued their search for an apprenticeship placement.

"Prevention instead of repair is the common catchphrase", said Federal Education Minister Andrea Nahles. Both ministers called upon businesses to provide vocational education and training also for youths holding a secondary modern school qualification. Small businesses, they said, can make use of a coaching that supports the hiring and training of young people with learning difficulties.

Currently, more and more small and very small businesses opt out of providing vocational education and training. They often struggle to keep up with medium-sized and large businesses in the competition for apprenticeship applicants.

The federal government now can offer three programmes nationwide, said Federal Labour Minister Nahles.

The 'Bildungsketten' (Educational chains) programme has a budget of 1.3 Billion Euro to provide occupational orientation nationwide. It helps to provide 500,000 pupils with an analysis of potential, telling them more about their skills and occupational opportunities. In future, these analyses will be carried out also at grammar schools in the eleventh grade.

With a budget of one Billion Euro, the employment agencies can support 113,000 youths at 3,000 schools on their path to career entry. This career entry support for weaker pupils starts one year prior to school graduation.

In the training year 2015/2016, the Federal Employment Agency will at first provide up to 10,000 assisted apprenticeship placements for disadvantaged young people. The assisted apprenticeship concept supports apprentices and businesses throughout the entire apprenticeship. The aim is that more apprentices than so far should be provided with support during their apprenticeship. The German federal government has created the legal requirements to this end.

Municipal youth and social services co-operates with the employment agencies in more and more youth employment agencies to place particularly disadvantaged youths in an apprenticeship. The KAUSA programme (Koordinierungsstelle Ausbildung und Migration) supports young immigrants in their apprenticeship, Nahles added.

More than half of school graduates take up an apprenticeship. However, a large number of businesses were unable to fill their apprenticeship positions. About 37,100 positions remained unfilled. This is ten per cent more than in the previous year – a new record high. The trend affects the industry, commerce and skilled trades alike.

In particular, apprenticeship placements for restaurant specialists, salespersons specialising in foodstuffs and systems catering specialists, plumbers, butchers, bakers, chemists, animal caretakers, chefs and industrial cleaners remained unfilled.


Increasingly often, the young people's career aspirations, the regionally different range of occupations on offer and the demands placed on applicants fail to produce a match. This is why the 'Allianz für Aus- und Weiterbildung' (Alliance for Vocational and Advanced Training) has assumed responsibility to improve the match between applicants and businesses providing vocational education and training.

In December 2014, the German federal government, the federal states, the industry, unions and the Federal Employment Agency joined forces in the 'Allianz für Aus- und Weiterbildung 2015 – 2018' (Alliance for Vocational and Advanced Training 2015 – 2018). They intend to help all young people interested in an apprenticeship to obtain a professional qualification as fast as possible. Here, company-based apprenticeships are given clear precedence.

256,110 youths started a transitional programme instead of an apprenticeship. This is 160,000 fewer than in 2005, but the number still is too large. Almost half of these hold a secondary education leaving certificate; about 21 per cent have no school-leaving qualification. They can catch up on completing a secondary education leaving qualification by attending training courses, can complete a year of vocational preparation, an entry qualification or educational programmes at vocational colleges.

After completion of the measure, 42 per cent of participants started a regular apprenticeship within six months, more than half after 14 months and 70 per cent after 38 months.

Vocational education and training increasingly competes with universities in the recruitment of young talent. The German federal government supports industry initiatives, for example, the skilled trades initiative, to get youths with a university entrance qualification and university drop-outs interested in vocational education and training in the dual system. Vocational education and training offers good career prospects for them as future specialists and executives.

Following a shortened apprenticeship, university drop-outs can immediately continue with advanced training. The 'Jobstarter plus' programme supports projects that provide university drop-outs with new prospects in the field of vocational education and training.