Crisis in the training market Where the trainees are most absent

Status: 08.06.2021 2:09 p.m.

Much fewer apprenticeships, far fewer applicants – Corona has massively thinned the training market. What alarms experts: Professions in which there is already a shortage of skilled workers are severely affected. From Philipp Reichert, SWR Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, significantly fewer training positions have been offered than before. This is shown by figures from the Federal Employment Agency SWR has evaluated. According to this, companies across Germany reported only around 430,000 apprenticeship positions from October 2020 to the end of April, i.e. after more than half of the current application year. That is around 60,000 fewer than in the same period of 2018/2019, i.e. before the pandemic. This means that by the end of April, around every eighth training position in the country was no longer offered. The number of applicants also fell significantly in the same period: from around 418,000 to 345,000 – a decrease of around 18 percent.

The healthcare and hospitality industries are particularly hard hit

Accordingly, there were particularly strong slumps in the tourism industry and in the hotel and restaurant sector. By the end of April, an average of every third apprenticeship position was no longer offered compared to 2019. But also in large occupational groups in the craft, for example in food production, the metal industry and in some technical professions, thousands fewer training positions were reported. The SWR -Data analysis shows that all federal states are affected by the development – albeit to different degrees.

Young people feel insecure

The Federal Employment Agency attributes the decline in training places and applicants primarily to the Corona crisis. “This mainly reflects the pandemic restrictions and the associated economic uncertainties,” it says SWR -Inquiry. Young people are also unsettled because personal consultations were more difficult in the pandemic and, for example, training fairs were canceled. “We also suspect that some of the young people are withdrawing from the dual training market in the current situation and switching from the outset to alternatives such as further schooling or possibly studying,” says the Federal Employment Agency. In addition to the corona crisis, changes in the labor market, for example in the automotive and supplier industry, as well as demographic change have contributed to the development.

Can the gap still be closed?

For labor market experts like Stefan Sell from the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences, the development is alarming. “These are extremely strong slumps, they are extraordinarily high.” Sell ​​therefore fears long-term consequences if fewer young people start an apprenticeship in the fall of the new training year. “Losses of this magnitude could never be made up again.” Past crises would have shown that. “Unfortunately, we have to expect that the level of apprenticeships will remain significantly lower overall than before the Corona crisis,” said Sell. From the labor market expert Sell’s point of view, it is particularly problematic that such occupational groups are also affected in which companies already need an above-average long time to fill vacancies. According to calculations by the Institute for Employment Research, for example, companies in the field of mechatronics and in some technical and health professions are looking for skilled workers for a particularly long time. “Even before Corona, we did not train enough in these professions,” says Sell.

Criticism of “small funding programs” by the government

The SWR data analysis shows: It is precisely in these occupational groups that there are now also significant drops in the number of applicants. At least one in ten applicants broke away there compared to the time before Corona. Labor market expert Sell sees the significant drop in applicants in the professions with a shortage of skilled workers extremely critical. “In some of these areas, such as the health professions, we will run into significant shortages,” said Sell. The responsible Federal Ministry of Education divided up SWR request with, you take the decline in the training market very seriously. That is why a program to secure training positions was decided last summer, which for example provides training and employment bonuses as well as grants for training and trainer remuneration. 700 million euros are earmarked for this and the coming year. Sell, however, criticizes that the program is insufficient to cushion the decline in the training market. “This is a small funding program, one should have set clearer signals.” The program was also too late and too complicated for companies.