Overview
- The Bertelsmann‑Stiftung study, which was published Thursday, found nine out of ten apprentices rate their training positively and 87 percent would choose the same apprenticeship again.
- About one third of school‑leavers want to begin an apprenticeship immediately and another 44 percent can imagine doing so, making vocational training the most popular post‑school option in the survey.
- Young people with low formal schooling are markedly more pessimistic about access, with 38 percent doubting they will find a placement, while the system shows a mismatch of applicants and vacancies with roughly 84,000 unsuccessful applicants and more than 54,000 unfilled training posts last year.
- The foundation recommends lowering entry barriers and valuing practical skills over grades through measures such as Einstiegsqualifikationen, longer internships and Assistierte Ausbildung, and unions have warned that planned federal cuts to orientation programs would worsen access for vulnerable youth.
- The stakes are concrete: 2025 unemployment ran about 21 percent for people without a vocational qualification versus 4 percent for those with one, so experts say improving selection, guidance and low‑threshold entry routes could reduce youth joblessness and ease skilled‑worker shortages.