Germany must become a driving force for education reforms

Too many young people in Europe drop out of school. Approximately 60,000 German adolescents quit without a proper degree. In Europe, there are six million persons between the age of 18 and 24 years who have neither a school degree nor a vocational qualification.

The consequences are severe: many companies suffer from shortage of qualified staff and youth unemployment rises. The European Union (EU) average amounts to 20 per cent. Compared to other European countries the German rate of 9 per cent seems rather low. Many attribute this low rate to the dual system of vocational education and training.

The EU heads of state and government agreed to reduce the numbers of early school-dropouts to under 10 per cent by the year 2020, as part of their key strategy programme "Europe 2020."

The EU Commission has issued an announcement and a proposal for the EU ministers of education on January 31, 2011, which states that greater national efforts are needed to combat the rising numbers of school dropouts. The EU Commission points out that early workplace experience greatly enhances the transition from school into a working environment.

Therefore, it is necessary for the federal states, the federal government and the domestic industry to cooperate in order to improve the fitness of young people for vocational training as well as their career orientation. One concrete measure of the industry is to match partner companies with interested schools.