Post by GoAusbildung

The Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks reported today that 20,460 apprenticeship places in the German skilled trades remain unfilled, with entry still possible well into autumn. Between January and June 2026, 67,800 new training contracts were entered into the chambers' apprenticeship registers. That is 3,160 more than the same period last year, an increase of 4.9 percent, and the fourth consecutive year of growth. ZDH president Joerg Dittrich noted the June figure is the highest since 2018. Part of the driver is a transfer effect. Dittrich pointed to industrial employers cutting apprentice intake in response to global market conditions while the trades absorb the redirected applicant flow. He cited an electrical contractor in Stuttgart with 130 employees who spent years unable to fill three or four apprenticeship places and received 90 applications this year. Dittrich also named AI-driven job security concerns, sustained image campaigns, and improved pay and progression as factors. For international talent placement, the 20,460 positions listed through the chamber job boards represent unmet training capacity concentrated in the trades rather than in industry. Dittrich separately warned against the scheduled 2027 expiry of the Passgenaue Besetzung und Willkommenslotsen programme, which supports regional matching of applicants to Betriebe. Reported by dpa, carried by Handelsblatt. #GoAusbildung #Handwerk #Ausbildung