New Offensive
January 13, 2008
The German cabinet agreed this week to help around 100,000 youth, who had applied in vain for an apprenticeship and now face a bleak future, by offering incentives to companies to hire them.
German Education Minister Annette Schavan said companies who offered extra apprenticeships for such young people could get as much as 6,000 euros ($8,825).
The measure is part of an initiative called "rising up through education" for which Berlin has earmarked around 500 million euros until 2010.
According to statistics, the number of young graduates who had failed to find an apprenticeship has risen to over 300,000.
Schavan pointed out the goal was to offer these young people "a second chance" and a professional future.
Tackling a skills crunch
Germany has what is known as a "dual system" of education, where graduates of high schools and vocational schools take an official, paid apprenticeship, usually around three years in length. At the same time, they study classroom skills related to their profession. It is a time-tested route into the German job market for people in a wide array of vocations, from carpentry to graphic design to office administration.
Schavan added that a further goal of the initiative was to boost education opportunities, fulfill demands for skilled labor as Germany's population ages and cut the number of school drop-outs. According to the Federal Statistics Office, some 76,000 youth in Germany dropped out of school in 2005 without completing it.
German companies have for years complained of a lack of qualified professionals in critical high-tech sectors, warning that it could seriously undermine the country's competitiveness in an increasingly globalized world.
A recent study commissioned by the German economics ministry said that the economic loss resulting from unfilled jobs could amount to more than 20 million euros ($26.8 million) or one percent of gross domestic product.
The crunch is particularly acute in areas such as engineering, the metal and electronics industry and the services sector. Young brains are missing in academic subjects such as mathematics, natural sciences and technology, the study said. It calculated that Germany would lack up to 95,000 engineers and 135,000 scientists by 2014.
Mixed reaction
The latest measure has sparked a mixed reaction among top business groups and industry associations.
"The planned bonuses will come into effect in an area where there are problems: the training of youths who have a tough time on the job market either because of their poor abilities at school or limited social skills," said Volker Giersch, head of the IHK.
Others however pointed out that the planned incentive for companies "is not acceptable in this form." Companies would be forced to accept poorly qualified youth that would end up lowering the standards of apprenticeships.