Apprenticeship shortage
Apprenticeship shortage (also apprenticeship gap ) is a term for a surplus of applicants for apprenticeships, i.e. there are more applicants for apprenticeships than vacancies. The calculation method and the size of this gap are hotly debated in politics. The term apprenticeship surplus is used only rarely.
Measurement of the apprenticeship shortage
An objective measurement of a shortage of apprenticeships is not possible. There are official statistics from the Federal Employment Agency (see below). These statistics show on the one hand the number of registered vacancies and on the other hand the number of registered applicants. If the first number exceeds the second, there is a statistical excess, otherwise there is a gap. However, this statistic is necessarily biased.
Reasons that lead to an oversubscription of the apprenticeship gap are:
- Multiple applications: In many cases, apprenticeship applicants do not deregister if they have been accepted for an apprenticeship position that is not their first choice. They hope to be offered another job in their dream job
- Newcomers: High school graduates often apply for a study place and an apprenticeship place at the same time. Even if you have already received a place at the university, you do not always cancel for the reasons mentioned above.
- Start of training: In principle, training begins in early autumn. At this point in time, a large number of apprenticeship positions are always unoccupied and a large number of school leavers are unsupplied, as companies hope for better qualified candidates and applicants for better offers. In many cases, however, there are still trainees hired after the deadline .
- Messages not made. Training companies that do not report their vacancies to the Federal Agency are excluded from the statistics
Reasons for underestimating the apprenticeship gap are:
- School leavers who are "parked" in measures such as the vocational training year or other qualification measures do not appear in the statistics
- Messages not made. Training seekers who do not report their need to the Federal Agency are not included in the statistics
Even if the number of apprenticeships and applicants were mathematically balanced, not all apprenticeships could be filled because of supply and demand
- spatial (e.g. school leavers in Brandenburg, training place in Hamburg)
- content (for example, a school leaver wants to become a banker , training position as a hairdresser is free) or
- qualitative (requirements for the apprentice are not met by the school leaver)
diverge.
Extent of the apprenticeship gap / surplus
| year | Open apprenticeships | Applicants not placed |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 126.6 | 13.0 |
| 1993 | 85.7 | 17.8 |
| 1994 | 54.2 | 19.0 |
| 1995 | 44.2 | 25.0 |
| 1996 | 34.9 | 38.5 |
| 1997 | 25.9 | 47.4 |
| 1998 | 23.4 | 35.7 |
| 1999 | 23.4 | 29.4 |
| 2000 | 25.7 | 23.6 |
| 2001 | 24.5 | 20.5 |
| 2002 | 18.0 | 23.4 |
| 2003 | 14.8 | 35.0 |
Evaluation of the apprenticeship situation
The assessment of the apprenticeship situation is very different depending on the interests.
Unsuccessful applications by young people are assessed by those concerned themselves and by the trade unions as an expression of a general lack of apprenticeships. The training companies, on the other hand, attribute this to inadequate applications, a lack of training maturity and a lack of professional and regional mobility.
The changes in the number of apprenticeships offered by the companies are interpreted by the companies as a result of economic fluctuations in the number of jobs available and as a reaction to the lack of suitable applicants. Trade unions speak of the withdrawal from training responsibility and short-sighted personnel policy.
In 2005 the situation was as follows: According to the DGB , 275,000 apprenticeship positions were missing; There were around one million school leavers in Germany , of whom around 400,000 began studying and around 800,000 wanted to complete an in-company training (many young people start studying after completing their vocational training). On the one hand, there are arithmetically more applicants than apprenticeships, on the other hand there is a displacement: high school graduates and school leavers with secondary school leaving certificate are often preferred to applicants with a qualified or basic secondary school diploma or without a secondary school diploma as well as graduates from special schools . As a consequence, many young people begin school-based vocational training at vocational schools or attend other general schools and aim for higher school qualifications. However, some remain unskilled and are therefore particularly at risk of unemployment .
Web links
- Study by the Federal Agency for Civic Education
- Study by the DGB ( Memento from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Source: Federal Employment Agency, status: 11.2004
- ↑ Joachim Gerd Ulrich et al., Transitions in the System of Vocational Training, page 7 ( Memento of the original dated August 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 970 kB)
