VET is becoming increasingly complex

Vocational education and training is growing in popularity for those with the higher education entrance qualification. This is what the figures show for the start of training in 2019 as well as for previous years according to information from the Hochrhein-Bodensee Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK).

 "We are witnessing a very clear trend here," explains Chamber of Commerce and Industry General Manager Claudius Marx. "The occupations are becoming ever more complex and demanding. As a result, vocational education and training is engaged in increasingly intense and positive competition with universities and institutes of higher education."

In September, 2,470 individuals will commence training in the Hochrhein-Bodensee Chamber of Commerce and Industry district and. 682 of them have the higher education entrance qualification. That is 28 percent, emphasises the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. While the numbers of new training contracts fluctuate slightly from year to year in absolute terms, the trend for us in the quality levels of the school-leaving certificate is clearly positive," explains Marx.

"This is a thoroughly pleasing development which shows that despite all the stereotypes, vocational education and training is attractive for those with the higher education entrance qualification and provides a meaningful alternative for degree dropouts. The incorrect image of dual training as last resort for all educational "losers" is most definitely passé."

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry anticipates another significant increase in the numbers of those with the higher education entrance qualification within the vocational education and training by the end of the year, as university drop outs and those who have not found a place to study will then begin training slightly later.

Occupations in the commercial sector are particularly popular among individuals with the higher education entrance qualification. This includes industrial and bank clerks as well as management assistants in retail and foreign trade. In the industrial and technical sector, information technology specialist, mechatronics fitter and electronics technicians for devices and systems are very popular.

Basically, the overall number of training contracts over recent years has remained stable in the Chamber's district with slight fluctuations within the ten percent range. In 2018, the number of newly registered training contracts was 2,586; in 2017 the number was 2,465. "There may be number of reasons for these fluctuations. These include the number of school leavers, economic developments, - or the simple issue that sometimes it just isn't the right match," it goes on to say.

In a survey of Chamber of Commerce and Industry training companies, alongside the response that a company couldn't find any trainees at all, there was also the complaint that some candidates are not sufficiently well qualified. This relates to basic qualifications such as reading, writing and numeracy, but also to social competencies such as punctuality, resilience and a sense of responsibility, explains the head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Generally speaking, there is still an oversupply of training positions - 30 percent of companies surveyed in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry district had, according to their own statements, struggled to fill their positions. "This certainly puts us in line with the national trend. However, it does not mean that we have to accept it. This shortfall will only be made up once vocational education and training is regarded in exactly the same way as a degree," believes the Chamber of Commerce and Industry General Manager.


Source: verlagshaus-jaumann.de (website of the German publication company Verlagshaus Jaumann), revised by iMOVE, November 2019