"Serious" corona consequences: companies offer fewer training positions

The corona pandemic is also leaving its mark on the training market. According to a survey among German companies, there will be around seven percent fewer training places in 2020 than in the previous year. Nevertheless, the takeover prospects for skilled workers remain good.

This year, the range of apprenticeships will probably be around due to the corona pandemic and the continuing high propensity to study remain seven percent below the previous year's level. This was the result of a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK). Overall, the Corona pandemic has "serious effects" on employment in Germany, said Deputy DIHK general manager Achim Dercks. "The application processes in the companies have stalled. Recruitment is delayed in many places. But there are still many opportunities," said Dercks on the occasion of the presentation of the latest DIHK training survey at over 15,000 companies.

Overall, the development of the training market in this year of crisis is more difficult to estimate than in previous years. Many companies have not yet made a final decision about the number of their training positions. "This shows that current placement efforts, but also incentives through financial support, make sense," said Dercks. The corona pandemic had almost suspended the dialogue between trainees and companies for two to three months. Many companies therefore still have vacant training positions shortly before the start of the new training year.

Despite the tense labor market situation, the prospects for takeover remain good for trained specialists. According to the survey, 62 percent of companies want to take on all of the trained apprentices. In 2016 it was 68 percent. In addition, according to the study, the overall situation on the training market is better than during the financial crisis in 2009. Because in 2020 almost 100,000 more training positions will be reported to the Federal Employment Agency than in 2009 – with a total of 120,000 fewer school leavers today, according to the DIHK. "This underlines that securing their skilled labor needs remains a critical success factor for companies and that they invest in maintaining training capacity wherever possible," said Dercks.

Catching up on digitization

Currently, there is an overall higher range of training places compared to 2019 only in the construction industry and in health / care. In addition, there are industries that reduce the offer below average and thus contribute somewhat more to the preservation of the training place offer, according to the survey results. This includes real estate, banking / insurance, IT and trade. In contrast, industries that were particularly hard hit by the Corona crisis are disproportionately reducing the number of training places they offer. These include, for example, the hospitality industry, media, industry and company-oriented service providers.

According to the survey, the corona crisis has highlighted insufficient digitization in Germany even more. "There was a lot of catching up to do at the vocational schools, where up-to-date equipment is urgently required," according to the DIHK study. When implementing the digital package, the IHK training companies would like 74 percent to offer a learning platform, followed by blended learning offers for their trainees (64 percent).