Even though there are more and more trainees with a migrant background, there are still major differences between young people with and without foreign roots when it comes to education and the world of work. Many young people from migrant families still cannot imagine doing vocational training in the dual system, write Bernd Fitzenberger, Director of the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), and his colleague Yuliya Kosyakova in the journal IAB-Forum. Given the large number of unfilled apprenticeships and the shortage of skilled workers, this means that valuable potential remains untapped. The IAB is a research institution of the Federal Employment Agency.
39 per cent without vocational training
Last year, the number of new foreign trainees in Germany rose by 17 per cent (tun25090205). Nevertheless, the proportion of young people without completed vocational training is significantly higher than among those of purely German origin. 39 per cent of young immigrants between the ages of 20 and 34 had no vocational training. In addition, they are overrepresented in secondary schools and underrepresented in grammar schools. In 2023, 61.5 per cent of 20- to 29-year-olds without a migrant background had a high school diploma or technical college entrance qualification. The figure was 57 per cent for children of migrants born in Germany and 36.8 per cent for those born abroad. In the latter group, 12.3 per cent had not completed their school education. Incidentally, 42.3 per cent of school-age children have a migrant background.
Apprenticeships often unknown
According to the authors, one reason why young people with foreign roots find vocational training so difficult is that the world of German apprenticeships is difficult for newcomers to understand. In their countries of origin, dual training in a company and at a vocational school is often unknown and not held in high regard. Whether young people decide to pursue vocational training also depends heavily on whether they want to stay in Germany permanently. In addition, foreign qualifications are often not recognised. And there is another important point: ‘Vocational training is associated with low income, while at the same time the labour market for unskilled workers often offers better earning opportunities in the short term,’ the article states. In the long term, however, the researchers say that the prospects for unskilled workers are significantly worse.
https://iab-forum.de/ungenutzte-potenziale-migration-und-ausbildung/
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