In the eastern German mechanical engineering sector, the gap between demand and need is wider than ever before ahead of the new training year. According to a survey conducted by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) East, 77 percent of training companies reported that they are having difficulties filling vacancies. Ten years ago, the figure was 50 percent.
Unfruitful search for applicants
According to the data, at the time of the survey in mid-July/mid-August, one in two companies still had vacancies for industrial/technical apprenticeships and one in five companies had vacancies for commercial apprenticeships. The majority of companies see little chance of filling these by the start of training. 69 percent of companies rate the prospects as "rather low", 22 percent consider it "hopeless".
Around 85 percent of companies offering technical apprenticeships attribute the problems to a lack of applications due to the frequent desire to study and insufficient careers guidance at schools. 60 percent also criticize the fact that school leavers are not sufficiently prepared for professional practice.
