According to a study, less than half of young people in Germany make the transition from school to training or university in the time allotted for it. An apprenticeship and a bachelor’s degree usually last three years, but only 43 percent of young adults have a first degree after this time.
15 percent have not managed to get started after four years or have dropped out of training again. This is shown by an evaluation of data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) by the Universities of Göttingen and Hamburg on behalf of the Bertelsmann Foundation. For this purpose, the educational path after school was analyzed by 7168 people.
“These figures mean that with around 750,000 school leavers every year, more than 100,000 young people are at risk of not having a vocational qualification in the long term,” says Claudia Burkard, training expert at the Bertelsmann Foundation. “As unskilled workers, they have poor chances on the job market. And with that, low income, few opportunities for advancement and later a small pension.”
Often low qualifications and disadvantaged families
According to the study, an above-average number of the young people affected have a low school qualification, come from disadvantaged families and have a migration background. Just over every fourth woman (27 percent) and every fifth man (20) with a secondary school leaving certificate is not yet in training four years after leaving school.
Every fifth young person only succeeds in making the transition to training or studying after a delay of one or two years. The authors of the study cite problems in the search for the right subject or the right apprenticeship as the reason. Burkard therefore calls for better offers for career orientation in all types of schools.
DIHK alerted
Achim Dercks, Deputy General Manager of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, speaks of the alarming findings of the study. “In times of an increasing shortage of skilled workers, we can afford less and less young people between school and training or studies. There is no shortage of offers on the training market, quite the opposite,” said Dercks according to the announcement. The chances of getting an apprenticeship are better than ever. According to a current survey by the DIHK, 42 percent of the training companies were not able to fill all the places offered last year. 27,000 companies have not received a single application.
“Future opportunities for young people must finally be at the top of the political agenda. We cannot afford to park young people in queues,” said the deputy chairwoman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Elke Hannack, in a reaction. Much of the transition area is ineffective and in need of reform. Like the Bertelsmann Foundation, Hannack demands a training guarantee for all young people.