PRESS STATEMENT Apprenticeship Training: “The Country Is Losing Its Future”

Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member of IG Metall responsible for education policy:
“With so few apprenticeship positions, young people are losing their prospects and the country is losing its future. Nationwide, 2.64 million people aged 20 to 34 are out of work without a vocational qualification. In the IG Metall sectors alone, employers have cut apprenticeship positions equivalent to the population of a small town over the past five years: companies are training 40,000 fewer people.

This is not the way to secure a skilled workforce. Instead of tapping into potential, many companies are still weeding out applicants. Companies must finally rethink their hiring practices and invest more heavily in training. Skilled workers can only be developed through attractive training and working conditions.

It is high time to hold companies that have not been providing apprenticeships to date accountable: Those that do not provide apprenticeships must finally contribute to a nationwide apprenticeship levy.”