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Applicants for training places who found alternative solutions, but continue to wish to undergo vocational trainingAnother major relief, in terms of figures, was the fact that 46,700 applicants agreed to follow an alternative course - even though vocational education and training will continue to be their top priority goal. The number of such applicants for vocational training places who start on a job, enrol in a vocational preparation scheme or engage in other activities has risen sharply in recent years. These young people relieve the pressure on the market for training places in mathematical terms because they are not officially registered as unplaced applicants.
Without these efforts made by government, the labour market authorities and flexible young people the situation - in terms of figures - would be much gloomier in many states: In some regions hardly more than 50 company training places would have been available for 100 applicants. And this does not even include the special efforts made by many companies. In spite of their difficult economic situation they agreed to provide more training places than they actually needed to meet their own needs. Unfortunately, there are no official data available reflecting these endeavours. But the successes of training place developers from chambers and employment offices indicate that quite a considerable number of training places were created in this way.
Development since the early 1990s
But the ratio of 96.6 training vacancies per 100 applicants, which in the final analysis is more or less balanced in purely mathematical terms, should not detract from the fact that since the early 1990s it has become more and more difficult to integrate young people into the vocational education and training system. This is clearly demonstrated by a comparison of the total number of training places offered with the number of general-school leavers. Whereas in the early 1990s far more than 80 training vacancies were available to 100 school leavers, there were only 61.6 recently. As the supply of training places was shrinking, the mathematical percentage of school-leavers officially registered as applicants also dwindled: The demand rate plummeted from about 80 per cent in 1992 to 63.7 per cent in 2003. At the same time, the percentage of applicants who had to fall back on alternative long-term solutions increased. This should not have been such a great problem for young people with university entrance qualifications who could also go to university; given the growing demand for university graduates it was in fact a welcome development that the rate of new students rose from 25.5 per cent in 1993 to 39.6 per cent in 2003 (cf. Federal Statistical Office). Stepping up the number of fully qualifying training places at full-time vocational schools (in 2002 there were already 159,266 young people who started their vocational education and training in such a school) should also provide a viable alternative. The situation is more difficult for young people with a somewhat weaker general education who at the same time tend to be rather weary of schooling. They are hit particularly hard by the lack of in-company training places. On the other hand, training requirements in many occupations have clearly become more stringent so that it is harder for companies to offer this group of young people adequate training places. Consequently, the number of young people who will remain without any vocational qualifications at all in the long term is expected to rise rather than drop.
New training contracts by training sectors
In 2003, a total of 560,086 new training contracts were concluded, that is 12,237 (2.1 per cent) fewer than in the year before. With 308,565 new contracts, trade and industry was again the strongest sector. At 2,798 or 0.9 per cent, the decline was relatively moderate, compared with the previous year. There were much sharper drops in the craft trades sector with 168,257 contracts - down 5,631 or 3.2 per cent on 2002 - and the liberal professions which include self-employed lawyers, doctors, pharmacists and tax consultants. Here the number of new training contracts fell by 3,846 or 7.2 per cent so that a total of only 49,408 new contracts could be registered. With a rise of 1,019 or 7.3 per cent to 15,010 contracts agriculture alone could achieve a clear gain. In the public sector where 13,800 young people started vocational training the number of new training contracts edged down by 1,015 or 6.9 per cent. It should be noted, however, that to a substantial degree the public sector and also the liberal professions provide vocational education and training in occupations that are not assigned to these sectors. Such training contracts rather come under the categories of trade and industry or craft trades where they are officially registered.
The next few years: An outlook
For demographic reasons alone 2004 will see growing challenges. The number of young people leaving general schools will again go up nationwide; according to an estimate by the Federal Statistical Office, it will rise by 8,400 to 942,000. But only the western part of the country will be affected by this increase (by 12,600 to 724,800). In the east the number of school-leavers will fall by 4,200 to only 217,200. This decline already foreshadows the sharp demographic drop which will halve the number of school-leavers in Berlin and the new German states within a few years after 2006/2007. Current estimates for 2004 indicate, however, that an increase in the demand for training places will have to be expected nationwide.
For detailed results of the survey of new training contracts concluded by 30 September 2003 and a breakdown by training sectors, occupations and regions please click here >>
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