Significant increase in company-based training provision

Compared to the period over the last 10 years, the overall summary of training market development for 2018 has produced a large number of record values. For example, in comparison with the previous year, the company-based training places on offer increased by +17,800 or 3.2% and, at 574,200, was the highest ever since 2009. However, the number of training positions remaining unfilled also achieved a new highest level. At a figure of 57,700, this was more than three times as high as 2009 and was +8,700 or 17.7% higher than 2017. In purely mathematical terms, the chances of young people gaining a training position were better than they had ever been for many years; around 97 offers were made to every 100 people seeking a training position in 2018.

In view of the increasing problems with filling training positions, efforts made by the economy to increase the interest of young people in dual VET were successful among young men. 384,900 applied for a training position, a new record value since 2009. The trend among young women however went in the entirely opposite direction. Only 225,100 were recorded as applying for dual vocational education and training—a historic low. This negative record also lessened the growth in the number of newly concluded training contracts which, at a figure of 531,400 was +8,100 (+1.6%) higher than in the previous year.

These are the key findings of the analyses of training market development carried out in 2018 by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB). They are based on the BIBB survey of newly concluded training contracts as of 30 September, as well as training market statistics from the Federal Employment Agency (BA).

According to BIBB analyses, the fall in demand among young women is less surprising than the sharp increase in demand among men. This is because over recent years the number of school leavers fell among both genders, while among both genders the trend towards higher-level school leaving certificates and degrees continued. As a consequence of this, the number of individuals commencing training fell significantly in the primary service occupations which previously had the highest levels of lower secondary school leavers. This includes, for example, salespersons specialising in foodstuffs and restaurant specialists.

There has been much greater success among men than among women in attracting new groups of people interested in vocational education and training outside the current generation of school leavers. These include:

• males with the upper secondary school leaving certificate whose grades are not as good as those of women and who therefore increasingly consider vocational education and training
• male students who on average drop out of their degree more frequently than women and who subsequently would like to commence dual vocational education and training and
• male migrants who are significantly more likely to be found among young refugees than female migrants and over the last three years have been increasingly attracted to vocational education and training.

Due to these developments, it was possible to increase the number of men with concluded training agreements in 2018 to 335,500, representing an increase of 9,900 compared to the previous year. By contrast, the number of young women with concluded contracts fell to 195,900; once again lower than the previous year by 1,800.

BIBB President Friedrich Hubert Esser considers it a success for dual vocational education and training that it has clearly succeeded in attracting—in addition to the current classes of school leavers—interested parties on a broader scale. “However, the high number of unfilled training positions demonstrates that we are some way from sounding the all clear in terms of meeting the demand for skilled workers. If the interest of young women in certain occupations falls away more sharply than anticipated based on the demographic trend, then that is cause for alarm. A review must be undertaken of how young women view certain occupations and of whether measures for enhancing their appeal might be needed.” The president added that filling training positions is increasingly becoming a challenge for the economy as there are now already occupations in which more than one third of company-based training places on offer are never taken up.

Further information, statistics, tables, graphics and interactive regional maps on the BIBB website at  www.bibb.de/naa309-2018 (German only).

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