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Prospective skilled workers are desperately wanted in many industries and regions - the only thing that is often lacking is payment
Photo: Thomas Barwick / Digital Vision / Getty Images
“In the last year of my apprenticeship, I earned 925 euros gross.
That's a lot compared to other apprenticeships - only I have to pay 650 euros a month for rent in the very expensive region here, "writes Lucian *, 20, who completed his training as a warehouse logistics specialist at a textile manufacturer in Baden last year -Wuerttemberg has completed.
To make matters worse, his training company was 15 kilometers away from his apartment, so he needed a car.
"Without a mini job alongside my training, I would not have been able to afford all of this."
Lucian is one of eight trainees who responded to a SPIEGEL request in a trainee forum on Facebook and reported how much they earn during their training.
And above all: whether they can make ends meet with it.
»I use this to pay my rent, my fixed costs and - if possible - fuel and food.
There is nothing else in it. "
Apprentice Celin
There is, for example, Nora, 24, who, as a future carpenter, receives EUR 1,070 gross in her second year of apprenticeship: »Compared to others, I earn well, especially in the craft.
And thanks to the low rents in the rural area, I get along well here. "But there is also Celin, who commutes 80 kilometers a day to train as a paralegal and earns just 650 euros gross, plus child benefit:" I pay my rent from this, my fixed costs and - if possible - fuel and food.
There is nothing else in it. "
53,100 empty training positions
For years, employers' associations and companies have complained about the shortage of skilled workers in Germany and warned that effective countermeasures must be taken.
According to the 2020 Vocational Training Report, which is based on the 2019 figures, the number of newly concluded training contracts is falling at the same time.
Around 53,100 apprenticeship positions remained unfilled in 2019.
more on the subject
A trainee says: That is why the minimum wage of 515 euros per month is not enough.By Ole-Jonathan Gömmel and Jannis Große
“There are two main reasons for this,” says Harald Pfeifer, who heads the Economics of Vocational Training Department at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB).
First: The number of school leavers has declined in the past ten years due to demographic reasons by more than 100,000 per year, so there are also fewer potential trainees.
Second: More and more young people would do their Abitur and would also have the option of studying - and then starting a possibly better-paying job.
"Security plays an important role for young people, both at work and financially," says Pfeifer.
In uncertain times, such as the corona crisis, these developments seemed to intensify.
With all this, training professions find it difficult to remain attractive.
There has been a statutory minimum remuneration for trainees since January 1, 2020, but this was increased again on January 1, 2021.
Nevertheless, apprentices continue to earn little - »significantly too little«, as the IG Bau trade union criticizes.
During his apprenticeship, warehouse logistics specialist Lucian received more than the minimum amounts that are now mandatory.
Nevertheless, he writes, he also delivered newspapers eight hours a week to pay for repairs to the car, fuel, insurance or food: "It was already clear to me when I started my training that the money would not be enough."
Kevin also earned money with a part-time job.
The 29-year-old is currently completing vocational training as an administrative clerk at the city of Flensburg.
"In the first year of my apprenticeship I got 750 euros a month, now in the third year it is 850," he reports.
He could just live from that, but it wasn't enough for parties or membership in a sports club.
Before Corona, he also worked in a bar on the weekends.
"You always have to see the training allowance in relation to the cost of living," says researcher Harald Pfeifer.
"A few hundred euros in rural East Germany can be worth more than 800 euros in downtown Munich." Nevertheless, in many places the remuneration is not sufficient to make a living from it.
But it shouldn't be.
"Life is not easy at the bottom"
The German education system started in the Middle Ages.
Craftsmen took in apprentices in their homes and in return gave them places to sleep and food;
in addition, they received no remuneration, but even had to pay hardship.
The training was seen as a personal investment in the future and at the same time served as an education.
The idea still resonates today when, for example, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the initial training serves as an interface between school and the world of work "personal development" and should therefore be placed in a worse tax position than a second training.
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It was not until 1969 that training remuneration became mandatory in Germany.
Since then, it has been regularly discussed how high it should be: "Employers' associations want to keep them low in order to reduce the economic burden on companies, unions want to increase them so that trainees can make a living from it," says researcher Harald Pfeifer.
Traditionally, the remuneration paid by the company should not be enough to cover the entire cost of living, but merely contribute to it.
Also because trainees cannot usually be deployed like fully trained workers: They switch between the company and vocational school and have to be instructed in their work.
As a result, they initially tie up more manpower and cost more money than they can perform or generate profits.
Apprentices only cost money?
No!
"I believe that when trainees reach a certain level, they should be paid like normal employees."
Warehouse logistics specialist Lucian
Warehouse logistics specialist Lucian, however, remembers: "I actually finished my training after a year and knew my tasks inside and out."
"That is why I am of the opinion that when trainees reach a certain level, they should no longer be paid like trainees, but rather like normal employees."
Expert Pfeifer also knows from his research that training is worthwhile for both parties.
Together with his working group, he has been investigating what trainees cost, why some companies do not train and whether the investment pays off for those who do.
According to his analysis, the average gross costs per trainee in the 2017/2018 training year were just under 21,000 euros.
On average, they paid two thirds of the costs back during their training;
around 28 percent of the trainees even earned more than they cost.
Even more important is continued employment after the training, says Pfeifer: Almost 70 percent of the trainees are taken on.
"Through training, companies save personnel recruitment costs, reduce dependency on the labor market and avoid possible downtime costs due to personnel shortages." Larger companies, however, benefit more from this effect than smaller ones - they lose their trainees more often to better paying competitors after their training.
What financial aid can trainees apply for?
Vocational training allowance (BAB) arrow up arrow down
In order to top up low salaries, apprentices in Germany have different means at their disposal, depending on the situation, educational path and age.
The BAB is something like BAföG for trainees and can be applied for at the Employment Agency.
Trainees
in a
recognized training
occupation
whose training company is
too far away
to live with their parents
are entitled
to benefit.
Anyone
over 18
who already has
children
themselves
, is
married
or lives in a stable partnership in a joint apartment can apply for BAB.
There is no BAB for school-based training such as that of a physiotherapist.
For
people with disabilities
, special rules apply.
Housing benefit Up arrow Down arrow
In some cases, those who do not receive a BAB can apply for housing benefit.
In addition to the
rent,
the
income of the other household members can play
a role in
the calculation
, for example in a shared apartment.
You can apply for housing benefit at the local municipality, city, district or district administration - usually at the town hall.
Child support and child benefit Up arrow Down arrow
Parents are entitled to child benefit if their children are under 25 years of age, are in education and have not yet completed vocational training.
Conversely, in most cases they have to
pay
maintenance
to
their children
.
How much the children have to get from their parents depends on the parents' income and the amount of their own training allowance.
As a rule, they are granted a lump sum of 90 to 100 euros per month for “training-related additional needs”, the rest of the training allowance is
deducted from their maintenance entitlement
.
An example: 19-year-old Lena earns 505 euros a month as an apprentice in a hairdressing salon.
Actually, she is entitled to € 650 maintenance from her parents.
However, your income, minus the 90 euros, will be deducted from the maintenance claim.
So she is still entitled to € 235 maintenance.
Unemployment benefit II / Hartz IV arrow up arrow down
Apprentices can
top up
a low income
with unemployment benefit II
.
To do this, it must first be checked whether and to what extent you are entitled to receive BAB or housing benefit.
If this funding is too low to make a living from, an application for ALG II can be submitted to the regional job center.
In May 2020,
almost 60,000 trainees
nationwide received
ALG II, as a spokesman for the Employment Agency reported to SPIEGEL.
If the trainee lives in a boarding school or dormitory, however, ALG II is only
paid
as a
loan
and must therefore be repaid at the end of the training.
There are special regulations for mothers-to-be, single parents or for additional medical expenses (see here under point 8.8.4).
Administrative trainee Kevin would like to stay with his employer, the city of Flensburg, after completing his training.
Mainly because he feels well looked after there: »My employer tries hard.
For example, I had problems with accounting, and they provided me with a tutor free of charge. ”A BIBB study confirms that Kevin is not alone in his point of view, says Pfeifer:“ Those interested in training have things like job security, good working atmosphere, flexible working hours and the compatibility of family and work at the top. "
Humanity, flexibility and good care are important factors that fit the common image of generations X and Y. The question is how long that will last for them.
* The protagonist wants to remain anonymous, his name is known to the editors.
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