The number of trainees in Germany is at a historically low level – except for Deutsche Bahn. The company achieved a new record, while many companies are unable to fill their apprenticeship positions.
While many companies do not fill their training places, Deutsche Bahn (DB) is hiring more trainees than ever before. With around 5,500 young professionals starting in the fall, around 300 more than last year. “In a highly competitive job market, DB has once again set a recruitment record,” HR Director Martin Seiler told the AFP news agency today.
Most DB trainees become engine drivers
Around 800, and thus most of the young people, are being trained to become a train driver. Around 750 young people each decided to train in the professions of dispatcher and electronics technician, as the DB further announced. The Group offers 50 apprenticeships and 25 dual study programs.
Jobs at the railways are “lived climate protection,” said Seiler. “We need a lot of young people for that.” In total, DB trains more than 14,000 people, making it one of the largest trainers in Germany. The group wants to hire around 25,000 new employees this year.
Seiler emphasized that apprenticeships were still advertised for this year. Hiring for the coming year has already begun. According to Bahn, the chatbot “DB Smile” serves as a personal assistant as part of the applications. Since its introduction in January, it has been used around 43,000 times.
Numerous apprenticeship positions remain vacant
For years, fewer and fewer young people have tended to choose classic training in companies and vocational schools. In 2022, too, comparatively few young people started an apprenticeship, as the Federal Statistical Office recently reported. The number of new contracts in dual vocational training increased by a minimal 0.8 percent to 469,900, but remained “at a historically low level”. For comparison: in 2012 the number of new training contracts was still 544,400.
According to a DIHK survey of more than 14,000 companies, more companies than ever before are unable to fill all of the training positions they have on offer. According to this, 47 percent cannot find an apprentice for every training position. A good third of the companies (37 percent) did not even receive a single application.
One reason is the growing trend towards academization. In 2021 there were more than twice as many students (2.9 million) as trainees (1.3 million) in Germany. This means that there were 4.3 trainees for every ten students. In 1950 there were 75.5 trainees for every ten students.