labour market
IAB: Almost 40 percent of the apprenticeship positions are not filled
A study shows that almost 40 percent of the apprenticeship positions were not filled this year. Photo: Martin Schutt / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The corona crisis is having an impact on the filling of apprenticeship positions. A study shows that many training positions have remained open, especially in small businesses and in construction.
Almost 40 percent of the apprenticeship positions in Germany that could have been filled by companies had not been allocated by September in the current apprenticeship year.
This is the result of a study by the Nuremberg Institute for Employment Research (IAB), which was presented in Berlin. The crisis is particularly pronounced in smaller companies with fewer than 50 employees and in construction, said the head of the institute, Bernd Fitzenberger.
49 percent of the smaller companies remained seated on the training positions they offered. In the construction industry, 60 percent of the apprenticeships remained open. “We are in a corona training crisis that could have dramatic consequences,” said Fitzenberger. The situation has an impact, for example, on the potential of skilled workers in Germany, but also on the life satisfaction of young people. In the case of high school graduates, this collapsed dramatically.
The IAB surveyed companies entitled to train in the period from 6 to 20 September. Not all of the training positions that companies would have liked to have been reported to the Federal Agency for. Accordingly, the figures do not completely match the figures published by the Federal Agency. According to this, 63,200 positions were still open at the end of September, compared to 24,200 unplaced applicants.
The main reasons given by the companies for not filling training positions were the lack of applications and suitable applicants. “We can’t really afford not to employ young people who apply,” said Fitzenberger. The companies would have to be more willing to compromise.
Overall, according to the Federal Employment Agency, the number of those looking for a training place fell by 7.7 percent in the current training year.