Young people are looking for apprenticeships online and are particularly active on platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube.
Companies are looking for trainees who are themselves looking for apprenticeships without success. They hardly seem to find each other. A survey shows that the communication channels are to blame.
There is no talk of a positive mood on the training market: According to a survey of 14- to 25-year-olds, one in four complains that there are not enough training places in Germany. One reason why companies and potential trainees cannot find each other is probably the lack of advertising for vacancies on the right social channels. This was the result of the joint representative youth and company survey conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the German Economic Institute (IW).
Apprenticeships are being sought online
Young people and companies generally agree: the search for a training place takes place online. Both use online job advertisements the most, followed by placement via the Federal Employment Agency. For the study, the iconkids & youth institute surveyed more than 1,700 young people between the ages of 14 and 25 in February and March on behalf of the Bertelsmann Foundation. IW surveyed the human resources managers of 895 companies between March and May.
Differences can be seen in social media, among other things. While the younger generations are more active on platforms such as YouTube, Tiktok or Snapchat, 70 percent of companies place their job advertisements on Facebook – although only one in four young people spend time there. Of these, 30 percent say they use Tiktok “often” – which less than four percent of companies do. According to the study, where the two groups find their common ground is Instagram.
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“Companies should adapt their communication more to the media behavior of young people in order to reach more potential applicants,” recommend the study authors. Analogue communication should not be neglected either, as job advertisements in newspapers or on bulletin boards are used by younger people with a lower level of education.
Competencies more important than school qualifications
Almost three quarters of companies believe that the skills and characteristics of applicants are increasingly important, while formal qualifications are becoming less important. This needs to be communicated better: the study shows that only just over half of young people are convinced that their personal skills are important. A third even explicitly disagree with this assessment.
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“Young people should not forego applying even if their grades are weaker, but should trust in their strengths,” emphasizes Clemens Wieland, an expert at the Bertelsmann Foundation for Vocational Training.
The training has a good reputation: over 80 percent of companies and young people see it as a good professional foundation. Six out of ten of those surveyed also believe that with training you can later afford “a good life”. Nevertheless, more than 45 percent of companies and a good 55 percent of young people believe that dual training is not valued much in society.
