Red alarm level: Number of trainees in Hamburg at a historical low point!

Red alarm level: Number of trainees in Hamburg at a historical low point!

Schleswig-Holstein, Deutschland - The current situation in Hamburg is worrying: The number of trainees has reached a low, as n-tv today. In the training year 2024/2025, only 32,943 young women and men begin their professional career in the Hanseatic city. That is the lowest level in almost 25 years and a significant decline compared to the 34,865 trainees in 2000.

The decline has been particularly noticeable since the high level in the 2008/2009 training year, when it was much more and more colorful with 39,604 trainees. CDU expert David Erkalp therefore expresses great concern about this development and partly attributes it to the fact that more and more young people are striving for at universities. The number of students in Hamburg has almost doubled since the turn of the millennium - from 65,000 to 121,397 in the winter semester 2024/2025.

The reactions of politics

In order to counter the downward trend, the CDU is increasingly calling for measures to promote training, especially in the craft. The proposal includes, among other things, the creation of dormitories for trainees, the assumption of the costs for master exams and the introduction of a "day of craft" at schools. The aim is to make targeted advertising for school internships in craft businesses and present attractive professional fields.

challenges on the job market

The decline in the trainees is in the context of a comprehensive shortage of skilled workers in Germany, as the analyzes of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The monitoring of skilled workers notes that the number of employees drops and immigration as well as a higher disclosure cannot compensate for this development. Working hours per person is low and an increase is not in sight.

The demographic changes affect the labor market and the consumption of private households becomes the main driver of economic growth. The observations show that 618,000 people will flock to the labor market in the next five years without a degree, while only 396,000 helper positions are released. These are alarming numbers, especially when you consider that high demolition rates in educational institutions primarily affect people of foreign nationality.

long -term perspectives and solutions

The analyzes also take a look into the future and shed light on different scenarios to increase the potential for labor, especially for women, older workers and people with a migration background. The fit problems on the labor market and ongoing structural change through demography, digitization and decarbonization are identified as great challenges. Regional differences in demographic change can be expected, particularly in structural weak regions.

There is a lot to the actors on the training market. It is time to break new ground and set the course for a positive development. Will Hamburg succeed in increasing the attractiveness of the apprenticeships again? The coming years will show it.