Status: 07/14/2021 5:28 p.m.
For the first time since German reunification, the number of training places has slipped below 500,000. In an IG Metall study, 40 percent of young adults say they have to reorient themselves professionally because of Corona.
For many adolescents and young adults, the pandemic has thoroughly thwarted their life plans. “Plan B” is the name of the study for which IG Metall asked more than 4,000 people under the age of 27 to be interviewed. However, many members of the so-called Generation Z have not yet found their Plan B, says youth researcher Simon Schnetzer. The uncertainty is correspondingly great. In the representative survey, 54 percent stated that they see poorer chances for themselves on the job market.
Corona has thrown many off course
Again and again he heard in the conversations that young people feared that their degrees, which they had acquired during the pandemic, would not be viewed as full. Because the quality of training has undoubtedly suffered in the course of the lockdown. Vocational schools and universities have been slow to adapt to the pandemic conditions. “Many young people have really curled themselves up,” says Schnetzer, “they now urgently need outside nudges to get out of this feeling of inferiority.” Because for many members of Generation Z, the most important part of this phase of life has disappeared: social contacts. As a result, 61 percent of respondents said that their mental health had deteriorated, 51 percent even believe that they can no longer control their own life.
The contact restrictions were particularly noticeable when it came to professional orientation. No trade fairs for young professionals, no information events or personal advice: Many young people simply know little or nothing about their dream job and how to find it. The possibility of inserting an internship in order to gain insight into a professional field was only possible to a very limited extent.
Warning of “Generation Corona”
But even those who have an apprenticeship position often face an uncertain future. Because final exams are postponed, there is growing uncertainty about being taken on after the training. Therefore, the second chairwoman of IG Metall Christiane Benner appeals to the companies to give the trainees as much planning security as possible. The situation is already bad enough for many young people. The number of training contracts concluded fell by ten percent last year and youth unemployment rose by 25, she says.
It is also in the interests of companies to change that, because new skilled workers are urgently needed for a coming upswing. The companies should therefore make more use of the training bonus of 6,000 euros decided by the federal government, says Benner, so that in the long term no “Corona generation” will grow up and cause permanent professional and personal damage. This also requires a rethink in many companies, stated youth researcher Schnetzer. “It’s just not enough to post a job advertisement and wait for applications,” he says. Generation Z relies on personal address. Many management and personnel marketing offices would have to adjust to this first.
No trace of hedonsimus
Despite all the uncertainty: The study also revealed positive things. The accusation that Generation Z is self-centered, selfish and apolitical cannot be confirmed. Almost 80 percent of those surveyed say that it is important to them to work for a future worth living and to fight against injustice. Not least for IG Metall as a union, this is a comforting result. It currently has 200,000 members under the age of 27. The number has decreased slightly in the pandemic. “But we will certainly make up for that again soon,” says union member Benner optimistically.