According to the Federal Government’s new vocational training report, apprenticeship contracts have continued to decline over the past year. In 2025, a total of 476,000 contracts were completed nationwide, marking a fall compared to 486,300 in the previous year, and nearly 490,000 the year before that.
The report also noted a shrinking job offer from companies. Last year, 530,335 available apprenticeships were registered, which is 25,331 fewer than the year before, representing a decline of 4.6 percent. This degree of drop matches, in terms of comparison, only the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic since 2009.
Despite the contracting supply, the demand from young people for vocational training increased slightly, rising by 3,662 to reach 560,308. This marks the third consecutive year of growth in demand, significantly surpassing the available supply. Consequently, approximately 40,000 young people were left entirely without provisions-meaning they found neither an apprenticeship slot nor alternative entry solutions such as internships or preparatory courses. This figure is the same as the amount reported in 2009.
Facing what she called an “apprenticeship crisis” Elke Hannack, Deputy Chairwoman of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), demanded decisive counteraction. She told the newspaper that, “Despite all the complaints about a perceived shortage of skilled workers, fewer employers are training apprentices”. The DGB urged for the right to vocational training, or ‘Ausbildungsgarantie,’ to be expanded.
