"In a survey, 47 percent of companies said they would not be able to fill all vacant apprenticeship positions."
The shortage of apprentices is worsening in Germany: Half of the companies lack apprentices.
The companies in Germany cannot find enough apprentices to fill all training positions. This is the result of a survey by the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).
There is no reason to be optimistic about these figures, which you are about to read. Rather frightening and one wonders how the situation will develop in 5 or 10 years.
According to the survey:
47 percent of companies stated that they had unfilled apprenticeship positions, more than ever before.
37 percent of the companies with vacant training positions did not even receive a single application.
Nevertheless, the DIHK sees a reason for optimism.
By the end of July, nearly 207,000 training contracts had been signed at the chambers of industry and commerce – 3.7 percent more than in the same period last year.
It must be said that the comparison period Covid existed and the companies were generally cautious with new hires.
Therefore, one has to be careful with the increase or interpretation. In general, the trend has been downward for years.
“That’s a silver lining on the horizon, but it’s still a long way from easing,” said Achim Dercks of the DIHK. He did not want to give a forecast for the year as a whole.
Demographic change leads to shortage
The data is based on an online survey conducted in May, in which more than 14,000 companies participated. The situation is particularly tight in the hospitality, industrial and retail sectors, according to the survey.
“Today, there are about 100,000 fewer school leavers than ten years ago,” Dercks said. “Among other things, this means that soon up to 400,000 more employees will leave the labor market than new ones will enter.”
These numbers sound frightening and it makes you wonder where all these workers are supposed to come from. There is probably only one solution and that is abroad. People who secure Germany’s prosperity with their education.
In addition, he said, young people often don’t immediately know what they should do after school.
Eight out of ten companies stated that they wanted to counteract the shortage of trainees
Eight out of ten companies stated that they wanted to counteract the shortage of trainees with internships, events and targeted advertising. According to the DIHK, more companies are also planning to offer tutoring than in the past.
Especially the tutoring offer and support has become more and more important for many companies in recent years in order to bind apprentices smoothly and in the long term to the company.
DIHK sees great commitment among companies
“Many companies are making a great effort to find and retain junior staff,” Dercks said.
The needs of trainees are increasingly in the foreground. For example, companies are increasingly striving for flat hierarchies and offers with modern IT technology. In addition, 42 percent of the companies wanted to offer future trainees financial incentives, for example, through subsidies for mobility or housing.
One sees that the enterprises understood that it needs more than only an advertisement to place. You have to offer something to today’s trainees, support them and entice them with additional benefits.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of new training contracts stagnated at a historically low level last year.
According to the report, the number of new contracts in dual vocational training increased minimally by 0.8 percent to 469,900 in 2022.
Compared to the pre-Corona year 2019, the number of training contracts declined by eight percent.
https://www.zeit.de/arbeit/2023-08/dihk-umfrage-ausbildungsstellen-unbesetzt-haelfte-betriebe