Print version Recommend this page Press release
01/ 2008
Bonn, 08.01.2008
Negotiated apprenticeship pay 2007:Greater increase than in the previous year
On average, the 2007 gross earnings of trainees amounted to 644 € per month in West Germany. The negotiated apprenticeship pay increased on average by 2.4% and thus more than in 2006, when the figure was 1.0% (see Chart 1). In East Germany the negotiated apprenticeship pay increased in 2007 by 2.8% to an average of 551 € per month - likewise a greater increase than in the previous year (1.3 %). There was a slight decrease in the gap between the eastern and western pay scales: In 2007 the pay level in the east was 86% of that in the west, whereas in the previous years - since 2001 - it had been 85%. The average negotiated pay in the Federal Republic as a whole in 2007 was 628 € per month, which was 2.5% more than in the previous year (613 euros). These are the findings of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in its 2007 assessment of negotiated apprenticeship pay.
Chart 1:
The average pay was determined for 185 occupations in West Germany and 151 occupations in East Germany. Eighty-eight per cent of the trainees in the west and the east were trained in those occupations. The higher amounts for trainees aged 18 years or older agreed in about five per cent of the wage contracts were taken into consideration.
Chart 2:
There were substantial differences in the amount of pay between training occupations (see Chart 2). The occupation with the highest apprenticeship pay by far in west and east was that of inland sailor at 925 € per month. Very high rates of pay have been negotiated for many years in the main building trades as well (masons, for example). The 2007 average in the west was 859 € and in the east 679 € per month. The pay was also high in West and East Germany in the occupation of insurance and financial clerk: 817 € per month.
Rather low rates were paid, for example, in the occupations of painter and varnisher (west: 399 €, east: 373 €), barber/hairdresser (west: 419 €, east: 266 €), florist (west: 424 €, east: 312 €), and baker (west: 457 €, east: 351 €).
One should bear in mind in the case of the occupation-specific average rates determined that there are often substantial differences in negotiated apprenticeship pay in one and the same occupation depending on the region and the business sector. One should also consider that the negotiated apprenticeship pay rates only apply in in-company training. In publicly funded extra-company training, the trainees generally receive substantially less pay. These rates are not considered here.
All in all, the apprenticeship pay rate distribution in the occupations examined was as follows in 2007: In West Germany the rates of pay for 62% of the trainees were between 500 and 749 €. Ten per cent of the trainees received less than 500 €; pay rates below 400 € were rare. Twenty-eight per cent of the trainees received 750 € or more. In East Germany 42% of the trainees were paid 500 to 749 € a month. The pay rates were under 500 € for 46% of the trainees and for 13 per cent of them it was even under 400 €. Twelve per cent of the trainees received 750 € or more.
The BIBB also calculated the average pay rates for female and male trainees: In the west, male trainees averaged 659 € and female trainees 620 €. In the east the average for male trainees was 564 € and for female trainees 527 €. These diverging averages result from the different distribution of male and female trainees in the occupations; young women are more often found in occupations with low rates of apprenticeship pay than young men.
Chart 3:
There were substantial differences in the amount of pay between spheres of training (see Chart 3). Above average apprenticeship pay rates were negotiated in manufacturing and commerce (west: 714 €, east: 616 €), and in the public service (west: 671 €, east: 649 €).
In the craft trades, the liberal professions and agriculture, on the other hand, the pay rates were below the general average. One should not forget, however, that the pay rates for the individual occupations differ widely, especially in the spheres of manufacturing and commerce and in the craft trades.
All the sums mentioned are the average rates of pay for the entire period of training.
For the individual training years, the rates for 2007 were as follows:
- In West Germany the pay averaged 573 € per month in the first year of training, 638 € in the second year and 713 € in the third year.
- In East Germany it averaged 489 € per month in the first year, 554 € in the second year and 609 € in the third year.
Further information at the BIBB website under www.bibb.de/de/783.htm
