Based on data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the proportion of new apprentices in Germany who possessed a university or higher vocational school qualification had dropped slightly over the last decade. In 2025, more than a quarter-specifically 26 percent-of apprentices starting a new contract had this educational background, compared to 28 percent in 2015.
In terms of general educational attainment, the majority (43 percent) of trainees starting in 2025 had attained a middle school qualification, such as a “Realschulabschluss”. This figure was an increase of one percentage point compared to 2015. Meanwhile, 23 percent of apprentices began their training with only a basic primary school qualification (roughly equivalent to a “Hauptschule”), down from 26 percent ten years earlier. Extremely few, at only three percent of new starters, lacked any primary school qualification, a rate consistent with that seen in 2015.
The rate of apprentices holding a high school diploma (“Abitur”) varies significantly depending on the sector and the specific trades offered. The public service sector saw the highest proportion of “Abitur”-qualified starters, with nearly half (48 percent) of new recruits coming from this background. Many graduates of the high school system also began their careers in industry and trade (30 percent) and in independent professions (27 percent). In agriculture, about one in five (22 percent) new apprentices had an “Abitur”, while in craftsmanship, it was approximately one in six (16 percent). Conversely, the catering and hospitality sector saw the lowest uptake from high school graduates, with only four percent of new starters in that field having previously obtained their “Abitur”.
