“All school leavers who want an apprenticeship will get one”

The shortage of skilled workers in Hamburg is getting worse - and there is no improvement in sight through sufficient trainees. In the current training year, Hamburg companies have not been able to fill every tenth training position. Instead of more than 14,000 as in 2019, just over 11,000 young people and young adults started an apprenticeship in the Hanseatic city in 2022.

The chairman of the employment agency in Hamburg, Sönke Fock, is therefore taking an unusual approach. On Tuesday he promised all school leavers who want to start an apprenticeship that they will find a place.

"My promise and the associated message are primarily aimed at students who are interested in vocational training," said Fock. But he also wants to convince those around the school leavers, such as parents, teachers and sports trainers, of the training opportunities in the Hanseatic city "and win them over as multipliers, because: training promises a future." immerse "There are really interesting alternatives to studying there," says Fock.

In order for the promise to work, however, the school leavers are also asked. On the one hand, they would have to be clear about which professions would be suitable for them - and on the other hand, they would have to reconcile desire and reality. "My promise falls through if someone with a high school diploma wants to be an astronaut. But if he or she is interested in aerospace, there are a wide variety of apprenticeships in this industry,” says Fock.

The head of the employment agency deliberately chose the time for his announcement early. The mid-year reports will be available in Hamburg on January 27th. By the end of February at the latest, the young people and young adults should start looking for an apprenticeship.

Anyone who needs help with this can get it from one of the youth employment agencies. Advisors from various institutions sit in the agencies. These include the employment agency, the school authorities and the districts. "Some only need detailed information because their career aspirations have already been decided," explains Karolin Babbe-Voßbeck, the consulting training expert. Other school leavers are advised and accompanied over weeks or months because the process can take a long time - "and may."

There are currently 6,500 vacant training positions registered with the employment agency. By the start of the current training year, there were almost 9,800 jobs in autumn 2022. Prospective nursing staff and future retail salespeople are particularly frequently sought after. The employment agency's database also contains 55 training positions for engine drivers, for example.

The chances of a top-class apprenticeship in Hamburg are good - much better than many assumed, says Fock. The head of the employment agency is also getting tailwind from the figures for the general labor market, which he also presented on Tuesday.

The number of unemployed in Hamburg rose slightly in December. Compared to the previous month, it increased by 632 or 0.9 percent to 74,719 unemployed. Compared to December 2021, the number of unemployed rose by more than 3,750 or 5.3 percent.

However, according to Fock, one of the reasons for the increased number of unemployed is the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the associated high number of refugees. "At the end of December, 5,286 Ukrainians were registered as unemployed," said Fock.

A look at other figures shows how good the job market is. Fock: “The most recent data show a total of 1,057,900 employees subject to social security contributions in Hamburg. An increase of 31,400 or 3.1 percent within one year, which is again well above the national average increase of 1.5 percent.”

He expects a similar development for the coming year. The training market alone has lagged far behind the numbers of the pre-Corona years. Mobilizing young people for vocational training is therefore one of the most important tasks of all those responsible on the training market.”