This year the Forum will focus on creativity, jobs and local development. We will examine how localities can support culture and creative industries as a source of knowledge and job creation and how the creative industry can act as a powerful driving force areas such as tourism, urban regeneration, and social inclusion.

1. Youth employment programs, employer involvement
and vocational training in Germany
Werner Eichhorst, IZA
OECD LEED 12th Annual Meeting
Creativity, Jobs and Local Development
Venice,18th April 2016

2. Overview
1. Introduction
2. The German training system
3. Preparatory Schemes
4. ALMP measures
5. Employer initiatives
6. Conclusion
2

3. Introduction
 Transition process from education to work strongly shaped by
institutions (public authorities, employers, business associations)
 Vocational education system in Germany strongly important
 Relatively smooth transition for young people
 Employers are systematically involved
 Apprentices e.g. from the craft sector are mainly supported by SMEs
 Provide dual vocational training, partly fund the system and have a
strong influence on the development of curricula and examinations
 General trend towards higher education provides more options to
continue academic training after obtaining a vocational degree
 Major initiatives are trying to tackle the issue of vulnerable young
people
 Different ALMPs (preparatory training schemes, employer-led
initiatives) are concerned
3

4. The German training system
 Training system has a long tradition in Germany
 A relatively large share of apprentices in the past
 Development of apprentices remained relatively constant in the 1990s
 But: Number of apprentices and students drifted apart in the early
2000s
 At present, number of new students and new apprentices are almost
equal
 German dual training system combines practical on-the-job training
with rather theoretical education in vocational schools
 It is guaranteed that the apprenticeship and its certificate are
recognized throughout Germany thus ensuring labor mobility across
regions
 Dual vocational training system is based on the voluntary involvement
of the employers
 Inter-company vocational training centers contribute to ensuring the
ability of SMEs to provide VET and support their competitive capability
4

5. The German training system
5
Source: WZB (2014)
Pathways into and within the German VET system and tertiary

6. The German training system
Vocational training share in upper secondary education, 2013
6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
School and work-based vocational programmes Vocational / professional programmes
Source: OECD Education at a Glance

7. The German training system
7
Source: Federal Institute for Vocational Training (BIBB)
12.90
44.70
67.60
83.20
6.00 6.00 5.30 4.70
0
20
40
60
80
Micro enterprises (<10 EE) Small enterprises (<50 EE) Medium-sized enterprises (<250
EE)
Large-scale enterprises (>=250 EE)
In%
training companies apprentice
Participation firms by size, 2013

8. The German training system
Top five apprenticeships in 2014 in Germany for males and females
8
Total 1 358 550 100 Female 520 692 100 Male 837 858 100
Office clerk 1. 75 543 5,6
Office
clerk
1. 56 718 10,9
Motor vehicle
mechatronics
1. 60 738 7,2
Motor vehicle
mechatronics
2. 62 913 4,6
Medical
assistant
2. 37 116 7,1
Industrial
mechanic
2. 44 688 5,3
Retail
salesman
3. 61 416 4,5
Retail
salesman
3. 33 324 6,4
Electronics
technician
3. 34 329 4,1
Industrial
clerk
4. 51 885 3,8
Industrial
clerk
4. 31 440 6,0
Mechanic for
sanitary,
heating and
air
conditioning
4. 31 272 3,7
Industrial
mechanic
5. 47 394 3,5
Dental
assistant
5. 29 835 5,7
Retail
salesman
5. 28 092 3,4
Source: Statistisches Bundesamt (2015)

9. Preparatory Schemes
 No formal minimum requirement for starting dual vocational education
 Not all young people interested in vocational training have easy
access to an apprenticeship
 Vulnerable youths face major barriers in entering the regular
vocational training system
 Several approaches are initiated to overcome this drawback of the
system
 Possibility of a pre-vocational training year („Berufsvorbereitungsjahr“)
 In Germany, possibilities to bridge the time between school and
employment are offered (state- funded civic engagement program like
„FSJ“ (voluntary social year) or state- funded voluntary programs like
„BFD“ (federal volunteer service), „FÖJ“ (voluntary ecological year)
and last but not least „FWD“ (voluntary military service))
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10. Customized Placement of Trainees in Enterprises (PV)
 Cooperation between employers and institutions providing external
vocational training should be increased
 Regions with high degrees of mismatches should be supported by
additional external vocational training
 Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) introduced
the aid program PV for SMEs, especially of craft and service sector,
to obtain suitable young talents for dual vocational training
 Intermediaries are hired, adopt the role of a “headhunter“, to provide
the SMEs with advisory and agency services, aiming to achieve a
better “matching“
 In medium- to long-term perspective, PV funding program reaches
the target group of SMEs; Craft enterprises are represented with
44% and service companies with around 17%
10

11. Introductory Training for Young People (EQ)
 Addresses young people with severe placement obstacles (with
individual difficulties regarding training search and placement) under
the age of 25
 After completion of the program the firm has the opportunity to take
over the trainee as an apprentice
 Chamber of Crafts and Chamber of Commerce acquire 67% (73%)
of EQ positions in their member enterprises
 Companies with training experience are actively addressed to
provide EQ positions
 Operational EQ (certification by company and chamber of
commerce) achieves a higher transition into training or employment
 Three-quarters of young people end up in vocational training
 Innovative ALMPs also occur at the regional level
11

12. Youth Employment Agency (YEA)
 Hamburg became the first federal state to introduce special job
agencies for young people („Jugendberufsagentur“) -> a lighthouse
project
 YEA is an organizational unit focusing on the transition between the
end of compulsory education and the start of training or work,
consolidating the offers of different institutions as well as guide,
advice and support all young people
 Characterized by a three-tier-model (local level in schools, regional
level in all districts of Hamburg and federal level with Board of
Directors)
 Cooperation with the private sector succeeds with the teams
„AzubiPlus“ for each district
 Raising awareness of youth challenges with the private sector,
providing them with different support services
 Further challenges in the coming years, e.g. providing education for
young immigrants or refugees, better permeability between
vocational and academic education
12

13. Employer initiatives
 Not just initiatives of public authorities, but also employer initiatives
exist:
 “Nord-Chance“ is a model initiated by the employers’ association
“Nordmetall”, covers 250 enterprises in the metal and electronics
industry in northern Germany; In case the apprentice is suitable for
the job, he/she receives a vocational training opportunity
 “Zukunft durch Ausbildung und Berufseinstieg” is carried out by
the employers’ association “BAVC” of the chemical industry;
Prepare young people (young school leavers, long- term
unemployed persons) for training maturity
 “Senior Experten Service” (SES) introduced the public supported
“VerA” initiative in cooperation with the industrial and craft sectors
as well as liberal professions; Makes offers at the transition from
school to profession, ensures the perception and evaluation of the
initiative by outside partners
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14. Conclusion
 Vocational education system is one of the key elements in German
youth- related labor market policy
 Embedded and affected by policy innovations
 Two major issues facing the German youth labor market are the
inclusion of disadvantaged young people and removing path
dependencies
 Employers are involved systematically as they provide dual
vocational training positions, partly fund the system and have a
strong influence on the development of curricula and examinations
 Participation rate of German employers strongly depends on the
workforce of the enterprise
 By increasing the cooperation between employers and institutions
more external and preparatory vocational training for youths can be
provided – and many young people with initial difficulties can then
become apprentices, thereby easing skill shortages in particular with
SMEs
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15. Werner Eichhorst
IZA
IZA, P.O. Box 7240
53072 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 228 - 38 94 – 531
Fax: +49 (0) 228 - 38 94 - 510
E-mail: eichhorst@iza.org
http://www.iza.org