ifo Institute: Fewer and fewer applicants for training places in Germany

The smaller cohorts in Germany are increasingly making themselves felt among trainees: In 68 percent of the companies, fewer applications were received in the past five years, only in 10 percent the number increased, in 18 percent of the companies it remained unchanged. This is the result of the latest ifo-Randstad personnel manager survey. However, two-thirds of the companies stated that the number of trainees in their company was in line with their target, but one third still wanted to train more young people. Nowadays, most trainees have a secondary school leaving certificate (56 per cent), followed by a lower secondary school leaving certificate (34 per cent) and an upper secondary school leaving certificate (30 per cent); multiple answers were possible. Secondary school leaving certificate and lower secondary school leaving certificate are most common in industry and commerce, while high school graduates are particularly frequently employed in industry and by service providers. A-levels and vocational A-levels play an above-average role in large companies.