A good two months before the start of the next training year, Saxony's skilled trades sector is reporting an increase of 6 percent in new apprenticeship contracts. By the end of May, 2,264 such agreements had been concluded, 128 more than at the same time last year. A career in the skilled trades remains attractive for young people, said Frank Wetzel from the Saxon Crafts Association when asked. "Qualified young professionals are indispensable if the many well-established craft businesses in urban and rural areas are to remain competitive."
Young women interested in supposedly male professions
More than a fifth (22.3 percent) of new trainee contracts were concluded with young women. They mostly opted for professions such as hairdresser, optician, dental technician, hearing aid technician or specialist salesperson in the food trade. However, apprenticeships in supposedly "male domains" such as automotive mechatronics, electronics and roofing are also increasingly in demand from female trainees, said Wetzel.
In general, there is currently more demand than in 2024 for apprenticeships in the professions of automotive salesperson, food salesperson, butcher, baker and roofer. As has been the case for years, however, automotive mechatronics technicians, electronics technicians and sanitary, heating and air conditioning mechanics top the list.
Still looking for more young talent
The skilled trades sector is now also relying on last-minute applicants, "preferably high school graduates and university dropouts", to fill as many of the remaining apprenticeship vacancies in around 80 professions as possible. According to Wetzel, there are currently numerous unfilled vacancies, including in the automotive, metalworking, carpentry, bricklaying, refrigeration and plumbing, heating and air conditioning trades. "Around 400 can be researched online."
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