Struggling Dortmund Firms Sense an Educational Barrier Yet Youth Remain Uncatered
In the heart of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund is working tirelessly to bridge the gap between the supply and demand of apprenticeship opportunities in the handicraft sector. Organisations such as the Westdeutsche Handwerkskammertag (WHKT), the Ehrenamtsakademie Handwerk on Schloss Raesfeld, UnternehmerFrauen im Handwerk NRW, and the Junioren des Handwerks NRW are collaborating to address this issue.
However, Dortmund itself did not achieve a balanced result in 2016, with only 746 training contracts registered, a decrease of 14% compared to the previous year. Despite this, there were a total of 183 places for out-of-company training, 477 places for vocational preparation measures, 74 places for assisted apprenticeships, and 286 places for an entry qualification available.
Jutta Reiter from DGB commended the chambers' efforts to find apprentices but emphasised that more needs to be done to ensure suitable offers for all young people who want to enter dual training. To this end, the Youth Career House, a new approach against unemployment in Dortmund, unites the youth welfare office, job center, and employment agency under one roof.
Despite many unfilled positions, 1,000 young people in Dortmund have not yet found an apprenticeship. However, there are still 160 free apprenticeship positions advertised in the Dortmund Chamber of Crafts for the current year. The Dortmund Employment Agency and the Dortmund Job Center are investing around 15 million euros to support job seekers in their path to an apprenticeship or during their apprenticeship.
The need for support to prepare apprentices for their training is increasing. The classic apprenticeship remains a successful model for Dortmund companies to secure their skilled workforce. In 2016, the IHK achieved 5,000 new apprenticeship contracts in the Dortmund region, with Dortmund companies offering 3,420 in-house apprenticeship positions, which is 1.7% more than the previous year.
The Employment Agency in Dortmund criticises companies for not taking up training offers sufficiently, with only 13 out of 500 companies implementing the new model of assisted training. From January to October 31, a total of 5,002 contracts were registered in industry, trade, and services in the Dortmund region, representing a decrease of 2.3% compared to the previous year.
Apprenticeships offered in Dortmund include Plant Mechanics for Sanitary, Heating, and Air Conditioning Technology, Electronics Technicians for Energy and Building Technology, Painters and Lacquerers, and many other trades. From October 2015 to September 2016, 4,658 job seekers registered with the Dortmund Employment Agency for an apprenticeship position, which is 1.6% less than the previous year. In the reporting year, 107 job seekers in the context of migration registered with the Employment Agency, 37 of whom have started an apprenticeship.
Astrid Neese, chairwoman of the management of the Employment Agency in Dortmund, stated that the growth in training places offered by companies is too low to balance the imbalance between supply and demand. Despite the challenges, Dortmund continues to strive towards providing opportunities for the next generation of skilled workers.
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