Strengthen Career Guidance – Don’t Punish Companies
Employers’ President Dr Rainer Dulger on the Latest Training Market Figures:
Strengthen Career Guidance – Don’t Punish Companies
Berlin, 30 January 2026. “The problems in the training market are real and they are intensifying. The perspective of companies is disappearing from the current debate: only just over half of all companies are able to fill the majority of their training positions. In nearly one in three companies, three out of four apprenticeships remain vacant. The issue is not a lack of willingness among companies to provide training. According to the BDA Employer Barometer, the greatest challenges in attracting young talent are a lack of applications (76%) and insufficient qualifications (54%).
A training levy solves none of these problems. The example of Bremen already shows: even with the levy, the number of training places is falling, and the number of unplaced applicants is rising. For committed companies that simply cannot find apprentices, the levy effectively becomes a penalty tax despite their willingness to train.
We have long known what actually works: we need better schooling and better career guidance. More than 80 per cent of the companies surveyed confirm that work placements and cooperation between schools and businesses are the most successful ways to motivate young people and fill training places. Practice shows that this model works – provided that all schools, including upper secondary centres and grammar schools, actively cooperate with the Federal Employment Agency and partner companies. What is crucial is mandatory, early and practice-oriented career guidance in all general education schools.”
Results of the BDA Employer Barometer:
Half of the companies providing training (51%) were able, according to the BDA Employer Barometer, to recruit suitable applicants for 75 per cent of their training places, whereas nearly one in three companies (29%) were only able to fill one in four vacancies (25%).
The most important ways of recruiting apprentices, according to the companies, are through direct contact – personal recommendations (86%), work placements (81%) and cooperation with schools (59%).
The biggest challenges in attracting young talent are a lack of applications (76%), insufficient qualifications (54%) and high expectations from applicants (51%) – for example regarding salary prospects and working hours.
The BDA Employer Barometer measures the mood of the German economy and businesses on a quarterly basis. On behalf of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, the social research institute forsa surveys around 1,000 companies with at least ten employees in Germany. The first survey was conducted in September, October and November 2025.
