Print version Recommend this page Press release
39/ 2007
Bonn, 06.09.2007
Finding a training place faster with the fire department
Volunteer work is worth one's while: According to the findings from a representative survey conducted by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training ("BIBB"), young people who volunteer at the local fire department, technical emergency services, rescue services or similar organizations while still at secondary school find a training place more quickly. Some 2,600 lower and intermediate secondary school-leavers who were seeking a training place were interviewed for the BIBB study which looked into, among other things, the factors that shortened or lengthened the time it took to find a training place. The findings from the study are documented in the second issue of BIBB REPORT.
Volunteer work has the following three functions for young people:
- Young volunteers learn important social and organizational skills and thus foster the fundamental knowledge and attitudes required for successful vocational training (training function).
- They can include their volunteer work in their résumé and thus give a positive signal to personnel decision-makers (signal function).
- They meet important people where they work and, in the process, create more opportunities for informally accessing possible training places in the region (networking function).
The good news is that a particularly large number of lower secondary school students do volunteer work in such organizations. However, volunteer work at the local fire department or technical emergency services is primarily the domain of adolescent boys or young men. In addition, the number of young people with an immigration background who do volunteer work in these services is comparatively small.
Other important factors: Good marks, open communication at home
In addition to volunteer work, good marks at school play a particularly large role in helping young people quickly find a training place. In this connection, an intermediate secondary school-leaving certificate is more advantageous than a lower secondary school-leaving certificate. However, having good average marks in one's school-leaving certificate is often more important than the type of certificate one has.
Family background also plays an important role: As with the question of whether an individual will one day study at university, children whose parents have a higher level of education also have better chances of landing a training place for in-company vocational training. According to the findings of the BIBB study, this is due not only to the fact that these youths did better at school. Their parents advise them more intensively and better in matters regarding their choice of occupation, their search for a training place and application strategies. Open, problem-oriented communication at home therefore demonstrably increases the likelihood that an individual can find a training place more quickly.
First-year trainees under the age of 18 are now a minority
The length of time between the end of secondary schooling and the start of vocational training has steadily increased in recent years. Among young people who have completed intermediate secondary school it takes approximately one year until at least two thirds of those who are looking for a training place start their in-company training. This figure is two years for school-leavers from lower secondary schools. In the early 1990s, more than half of the youths starting vocational training were under 18 years of age. Today, only one third of them are. Another third is more than 20 years old. Presently, the average age of all first-year trainees has risen to 19.3.
Reasons for the later start
An important reason for the rising age of first-year trainees is the growing - qualitative and quantitative - gap between supply (training places) and demand (applicants). In qualitative terms, training standards are rising, while (from the enterprises' standpoint) ever fewer school-leavers have the fundamental knowledge and attitudes that are necessary for successful vocational training. In quantitative terms, the downward employment trend that lasted until 2005 led to a sharp drop in the number of training places on offer. At the same time however the number of school-leavers grew at an ever-faster pace.
Problems for youths with an immigration background - and for young women
Youths with an immigration background are particularly affected by the problems involved with finding a training place. According to the BIBB study however, this can only be partially explained by the region where they live, their level of education or their family background. Young women also have poorer prospects of finding an in-company training place - even though they have better school-leaving qualifications and better marks on average than their male counterparts. However, the vast majority of young women focus on just a handful of occupations. The competition for the available training places for these occupations is correspondingly stiff.
The BIBB homepage offers further information in German at www.bibb.de/bibbreport where visitors can also download the entire BIBB REPORT (Issue 2, September 2007).
Points of contact at BIBB for further information:
- Michael Friedrich, Tel.: +49 (0) 228 / 107-2023; E-mail: friedrich@bibb.de
- Dr Joachim Gerd Ulrich, Tel.: +49 (0) 228 / 107-1122; E-mail: ulrich@bibb.de
- Ursula Beicht, Tel.: +49 (0) 228 / 107-1314; E-mail: beicht@bibb.de
At the 5th BIBB Congress being held from 12 - 14 September 2007 at the Congress Center Düsseldorf (CCD), Düsseldorf, Germany, the transition from general school to vocational training will be the focus of the "Thresholds, hurdles, waiting loops - Transitions between education and the employment system" working group in Forum 4.
More information about the conference is available in English at http://www.bibb.de/en/25537.htm .
