Many businesses in Germany are desperately searching for apprentices, and yet each year, many apprenticeships remain vacant. Companies and industries are increasingly competing in the search for new young talent, and that competition is starting to have an effect: the amount of money paid to apprentices has risen, drastically in some industries. According to a recent analysis by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, the health and care sectors are leading the way. It’s strange to think that the industries that came to be synonymous with low pay and poor working conditions during the pandemic are now paying apprentices the most. Last year, apprentices in these industries working in Germany received an average salary of 1,139 euros each month from their employer. In contrast, up until a few years ago, young workers who wanted to complete an apprenticeship for a job in the caring professions had to pay money in order to enter into an apprenticeship.
In second place in terms of earnings are apprentices in aviation, from airplane mechanics to those working on the commercial side of air travel. They received an average of 1,054 euros each month. Behind them are those working in the maritime industry, who earn an average of 1,051 euros each month, and apprentices for environmental professions, who earn an average of 981 euros each month. Jobs that have traditionally been associated with male workers, such as metalwork, electronics and technical and IT specialities have dropped to the middle of the pack, with average salaries ranging between 950 and 980 euros according to the statistics. Trades are towards the bottom of the list (901 euros) and those training to be artists are by far the worst off (783 euros).
Apprenticeship pay is related to the size of the company
When looking at the factors that determine apprenticeship salaries, it seems that it’s not just the apprentice’s chosen profession that makes a difference: the size of the company they are training with also has a role to play. As an example, larger businesses from all professions (those with over 1,000 employees) paid an average of 1,253 euros each month to apprentices, those with only 100 to 249 employees paid an average of 992 euros each month. Small businesses, those with fewer than 10 employees, on the other hand, only paid their apprentices an average of 828 euros each month.
The fact that, on average, more apprenticeships are on offer than there are people applying to fill them is related to demographic trends in Germany and is exacerbated because many more students are now choosing to go directly to university instead of completing an apprenticeship first. However, there is also an additional problem: in Germany, around 6 percent of young adults leave school each year without a school-leaving certificate. In 2021, that was approximately 47,500 students. Many early school leavers do not go on to do an apprenticeship, and are thus only eligible for employment as unskilled workers.
Skilled labour shortage
As a result, there are around 2.33 million adults between the ages of 20 and 34 in Germany who, according to the latest Report on Vocational Education and Training, do not have a professional qualification. That’s almost every sixth person in this age range. The percentage of those without a professional qualification is particularly large amongst adults who did not finish school, at over 64 percent. Of the adults who received the earliest possible school-leaving certificate in Germany (Hauptschulabschluss), just under 36 percent do not have a professional qualification, still quite a large number. Among people who have immigrated to Germany and their descendants, the percentage of those without a professional qualification is also higher than average. Professionals are very keen to ensure that those young people without a professional qualification join apprenticeship programs, and that the number of those leaving school without a school-leaving certificate is reduced significantly, and not just because there is currently a skilled labour shortage in Germany.