Lack of applicants in the Lörrach district: Many open training positions!

Lack of applicants in the Lörrach district: Many open training positions!

The training market in Cologne is facing a serious challenge: the number of applicants is falling, while the number of open training positions remains high. This is stated in a recent report by Jaumann publishing house illuminated. Training companies are increasingly faced with the difficulty of finding suitable candidates, which has a significant impact on the market situation.

In reality, it turns out that the decline in applications is a structural problem. Around 32 percent of companies that wanted to offer training positions last year received no applications. Last year this figure was 35 percent, meaning that although the situation is slowly improving, it still remains worrying. Overall, the training market is suffering from an increasing shortage of qualified applicants and matching problems, such as DIHK determines.

The impact on businesses

Given this situation, have loud DIHK 14 percent of companies were forced to let go of trainees during their probationary period. But that's not all: a total of 10 percent of companies also mentioned that trainees had terminated their contract during the training period. A development that is extremely worrying and could harm the economy in the long term.

• 32 % der Betriebe erhielten 2024 keine Bewerbungen auf Ausbildungsplätze
• 73 % der Betriebe mit Besetzungsschwierigkeiten fanden keine geeigneten Bewerber
• 14 % mussten Verträge während der Probezeit lösen
• 5 % planen 2025 weniger Stellen anzubieten

Companies seem to be faced with a real dilemma when looking for skilled workers: on the one hand, the positions are necessary, but on the other hand, there is a lack of suitable applicants. What is particularly alarming is the fact that many companies are planning the coming training year with fewer places on offer than before. This could not only hinder young people's individual career planning, but could also exacerbate the shortage of skilled workers in many industries in the long term.

What are the possible causes?

The reasons for this development are varied and range from internal restructuring of companies to the constantly changing requirements for applicants. Many young people find themselves in a situation where expectations of their training opportunities often do not match their abilities or expectations. In addition, how could Heise reports that incorrect links and the wrong connection to the professional world lead to potential applicants losing access to information and therefore opportunities.

The challenges are by no means new, but they are noticeably getting worse. The market urgently needs measures to increase the attractiveness of training places and to promote the flow of talented young people into the relevant professions. This is the only way to create a balance between the requirements of the company and the expectations of the training candidates. It is up to everyone involved to find solutions and pull together.