The number of new foreign trainees in Germany rose significantly by 17 percent in 2024. It almost doubled between 2014 and 2024: from 36,000 to around 70,000. In contrast, new contracts for German trainees fell by 4 percent in 2024. Many new trainees came from Syria and Ukraine. This is reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
In 2024, a total of 475,100 new contracts for in-company training were concluded nationwide – around 1 percent less than in 2023 and 8 percent less than in 2014. Apprentices with foreign citizenship more than doubled their share of newly signed contracts in the ten years leading up to 2024: from 7 percent in 2014 to 15 percent.
Many come from Syria and Ukraine
As reported by Destatis, young people of Vietnamese (7,100), Syrian (6,800), and Ukrainian (5,800) nationality were particularly likely to sign a new contract in 2024. Compared to 2023, new contracts for Ukrainian trainees almost tripled: from 1,900 to 5,800. In contrast, there was a decline of 110 new contracts for young Syrians compared to 2023, with 6,900 contracts.
Women choose medicine, men choose technology
There are clear differences in career choices. Young women most often chose to train as medical assistants, followed by office management specialists and dental assistants. As in the previous year, young men most often chose to train as motor vehicle mechatronics technicians. Training as IT specialists and electronics technicians followed in second and third place.
Public service is becoming more popular
At the end of 2024, there were more than 1.2 million trainees in Germany – mainly in industry and commerce (58 percent) and skilled trades (28 percent). Since 2014, the number of trainees has declined in many sectors. This is particularly true in domestic services, which saw a 51 percent decline. This was followed by commerce with a 15 percent decline and skilled trades with an 8 percent decline. In contrast, training in the public sector (up 19 percent) has become more popular over the past ten years.
Skilled trades in the region on the rise
The Reutlingen Chamber of Skilled Trades provides up-to-date regional data. It records a 1.6 percent increase in new training contracts for 2025 compared to 2024. In contrast, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce recorded a 10 percent decline in new contracts. In the districts of Tübingen, Reutlingen, Freudenstadt, Sigmaringen, and Zollernalb, a total of 1,754 young people had opted for in-company training in the skilled trades by September 1, more than twice as many as in 2024. Of the new trainees, 428 are foreign nationals. Most of them come from Turkey, Vietnam, Ukraine, and Syria, according to the Chamber of Skilled Crafts. Most apprenticeship contracts were concluded in the fields of automotive mechatronics, electronics, and plant mechanics for sanitary, heating, and air conditioning technology.
Further details can be found at DESTATIS | Press release no. 314 and HWK Reutlingen | More apprentices in the regional skilled trades
For the legal rules governing the training of young people with foreign citizenship, see Media Service Integration | Legal regulations on training
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