As of: March 27, 2024, 7:44 p.m
By: Moritz Maier
Comments
Press
Split
The shortage of skilled workers starts with training.
There are enough young people, but they can't find their way into companies.
AI should help – and a dating platform for careers.
Kiel – At first glance, it is a contradictory picture: Practically all German companies are now complaining about a lack of skilled workers and too few trainees.
Nationwide, over 70,000 positions were recently vacant, the highest number in 30 years.
At the same time, however, in 2021 alone there were over 2.6 million people between the ages of 20 and 34 without a professional qualification.
So potential skilled workers of tomorrow are there, they just don't end up in companies.
School-based career orientation is coming into focus.
Is it out of date?
This is what Kiel entrepreneur Julia Brenner claims.
Lack of skilled workers and trainees as a result of outdated career orientation?
“Career orientation must be contemporary,” says Brunner, criticizing the fact that this has not been the case for a long time.
“We have been observing the problem for years.” The entrepreneur has been working on networking young people and companies for years.
“In schools, career orientation usually takes the form of tests, often with a program from the employment agency.
“It takes two hours and young people regularly give feedback that they are not at all satisfied with it,” says Brenner.
“Two completely different worlds meet here.”
School career guidance is firmly established in the curricula; in addition to tests, there are usually internships to get to know the right companies.
But Brenner is not the only one to criticize the system.
Young trainees also expressed their concerns at the federal government's skilled workers' congress, which took place in Berlin a few weeks ago.
In direct conversations with Federal Ministers Hubertus Heil (Labor and Social Affairs, SPD), Bettina Stark-Watzinger (Education, FDP) and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Economy, Greens), the young people complained that the career orientation provided too little orientation and too little practical experience give the way.
“Dating platform” for professions
The entrepreneur Brenner therefore launched the broodi project in 2023.
“You can think of it as a kind of dating platform – only for professions,” says Brenner.
The idea is to bring young people and companies together on one platform and to find a “match” based on their respective strengths.
In the style of a dating app.
The first contact between potential trainees or interns and the company can also be made on the platform.
To do this, Brenner relies on AI and a digital orientation program for students.
“On our platform, the test takes five to ten minutes and it is well received by young people; they register in droves.”
The founder advocates better integrating modern and digitalized models of career guidance into schools.
According to Brenner, enthusiasm from the responsible authorities and companies has so far been limited.
In view of the skilled workers and training crisis, the entrepreneur would like to have more courage for creative approaches.
“Despite the big problems, politicians don’t seem to think outside the box and want to take new paths.”
There is also agreement in politics: Germany must become more modern
In fact, politicians also see room for improvement.
“When it comes to career guidance, digitalization and AI offer enormous potential that must be exploited.
“Intelligent learning programs can recognize personal strengths and weaknesses and therefore provide tailor-made recommendations for professional fields,” said the education policy spokesman for the CDU in the Bundestag, Thomas Jarzombek, to our editorial team in view of the shortage of trainees.
My news
Baby happiness after the end of his career: Olympic ski champion becomes a father for the first time a few days after retirement
Crimea is reeling: Putin's nightmare “Neptune” has struck again
Bankruptcy of German industry giant: next traditional company goes bankrupt
“Technical problems” with the Leopard: Denmark points to Germany after bumpy Ukraine donation
Flixbus accident on the A9 near Leipzig: First witnesses report on the fatal accident read
Princess Kate has cancer – this is how Victoria of Sweden and Mette-Marit of Norway react
The spokeswoman for the Green parliamentary group for education and research, Anja Reinalter, is also in favor of more funding.
“Young people need more career guidance – earlier, more often, more regularly.
A week of orientation in the 8th grade is not enough,” said the Bundestag member.
Labor and Social Affairs Minister Heil also says that Germany can no longer afford several million young people without a professional qualification in the interests of its prosperity and that something has to change: “We are still a strong country, but this country needs an update.”