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Number of apprenticeship contracts has fallen significantly
After two years of upward trend, the number of apprenticeship contracts signed in 2024 has declined significantly again. It is the second-lowest figure in three decades; only in 2021, the year of the coronavirus pandemic, did fewer young people begin apprenticeships in the Darmstadt Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) district. The reason is not a lack of available apprenticeship positions.
“Even though the weakening economy is now impacting the labor market, this has nothing to do with the apprenticeship figures,” clarifies Dr. Marcel Walter, Head of Vocational Training and Continuing Education at the Darmstadt Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). The number of apprenticeship contracts signed in the Darmstadt IHK district (2,606) has decreased by 3.1 percent compared to the previous year (2,703) (as of December 31, 2024). The Darmstadt IHK district comprises the districts of Bergstraße, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Groß-Gerau, Odenwald, and the city of Darmstadt.
“We have significantly more open apprenticeship positions than applicants. Our companies are eager to train apprentices.” Dr. Walter attributes this to inadequate career guidance in secondary schools. “At grammar schools, there is often only university guidance, but insufficient career guidance.” He says that the diverse career opportunities offered by dual vocational training are not adequately conveyed. “There are 250 IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce) apprenticeship occupations alone in the commercial and industrial-technical sectors. We know from our graduates what they value about the apprenticeship: the practical training, where you earn money immediately and have good career advancement opportunities based on performance. And those who subsequently complete further professional development with a qualification as a certified specialist or master craftsman have a qualification equivalent to a bachelor's degree.” The figures show that the proportion of grammar school graduates in apprenticeships has declined again. The percentage of apprentices with a university entrance qualification (Fachhochschulreife or Abitur) is at its lowest level in ten years, at 28.59 percent. In 2014, the combined share was 31.06 percent, and in 2023 it was 30.30 percent.
Career guidance needs to be improved
“We also need the very best students in dual vocational training who, through programs like the ‘3 qualifications in 3 years’ in retail, can directly climb the career ladder to management positions,” says division head Dr. Walter, calling on the Hessian state government to expand career and study guidance at secondary schools and give them at least equal weight. “Many trainees were previously university dropouts. If they had received comprehensive career guidance in school, it would have occurred to them earlier that vocational training would offer them more opportunities,” Walter is convinced. “Our economy doesn’t need more university graduates, but rather skilled workers from dual vocational training. When the baby boomers leave the labor market in the coming years, the next generation of skilled workers will have the best chances in companies. But young people need to understand this so they can make good decisions for themselves.” According to Dr. Walter, structural problems also need to be addressed. Walter believes that action must now be taken to ensure that dual vocational training becomes a viable alternative to university studies for young people: "Vocational schools must be equipped so that they can compete with modern universities. The federal government, states, and municipalities are called upon to establish a modern vocational school infrastructure."
The decline was most pronounced in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district
Most apprenticeship contracts were signed in Darmstadt (766) followed by the Groß-Gerau district (653 / a decrease of 2.2 percent). While Darmstadt was able to largely maintain the number of contracts with a decrease of 1.7 percent, apprenticeship contracts in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district declined significantly by 7.2 percent. The Odenwald district experienced the second-largest percentage decrease (minus 6.3 percent). The Bergstraße district, with a decrease of 3.3 percent, falls in the middle of the pack.
Across the entire Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) district, the most apprenticeship contracts were signed in the retail sector (609), metal technology (396), and chemistry (161). The most popular apprenticeship occupations are office management assistant (235, compared to 3rd place last year), retail sales assistant (229, compared to 2nd place last year), and sales clerk (227, compared to 2nd place last year). As in the previous year, IT specialist (136) remains in fourth place.
Many trainees from the refugee group
As in previous years, the largest proportion of trainees with foreign origins come from Turkey (105). Trainees with Syrian (62) and Polish passports (62) share second place. Ukrainian nationals occupy eleventh place with 22 trainees. "Our companies recruit a significant number of trainees from the group of refugees from Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Ukraine," says Torsten Heinzmann, Team Leader for Vocational Training at the Darmstadt Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). "Without immigration, we would have massive problems filling apprenticeship positions and thus attracting the skilled workers of tomorrow," Heinzmann says.
(Chamber of Industry and Commerce)
