Sunday 23 May 2021
Number of applicants collapsed
Corona crisis slows down the training market
There are currently significantly fewer applicants for apprenticeships. The corona crisis is responsible for this, as career counseling is only possible to a limited extent in class. Sectors that have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic are also offering fewer jobs.
The training market in Germany collapsed noticeably during the Corona crisis. By April 2021, both the number of applicants and the number of apprenticeships on offer decreased significantly compared to the previous year, as the Funke media group reported, citing the Federal Employment Agency (BA). Accordingly, the number of applicants fell by ten percent in the 2020/21 training year.
By April there were around 345,000 people interested in an apprenticeship position nationwide. In the same period, the BA recorded a five percent decline in the number of apprenticeships available. The number of registered apprenticeships was recently around 429,800. In April, according to the BA, 250,000 company training positions were still vacant. At the same time, 190,000 applicants had not yet found a training position or an alternative in the past month.
BA boss Detlef Scheele justified this development mainly with difficulties in the ongoing Corona crisis. “The fact that there are currently fewer applicants for apprenticeships is not due to lower numbers among school leavers or a lack of interest among young people, but primarily to the pandemic,” Scheele told the Funke newspapers. Where schools are closed, careers advice cannot take place in the classroom in the usual way. Internships in companies are also rarely offered. “Some young people therefore go on to school or look for other alternatives. The uncertainty about how the individual sectors will develop economically may also play a role,” explains the head of the authorities.
According to the BA, fewer apprenticeships are currently being offered in those sectors that are particularly affected by the consequences of the pandemic, such as the hospitality industry and tourism. Scheele encouraged applicants not to be discouraged despite the Corona crisis. There are currently more apprenticeships than interested parties almost everywhere, “the chances are good to find a start into professional life”. At the same time, Scheele appealed to employers “to remain active despite all the challenges in training”.
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