For EU leaders racing to and from Berlin yesterday, a pit stop at a Steinecke bakery would have been just as instructive in how to tackle Europe’s youth jobs crisis as chancellor Angela Merkel’s summit. (Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor)
The bright and cheery branch on Steinplatz, run almost exclusively by apprentices, is a good example of why Germany doesn’t have a youth unemployment problem.
Just one-third of German school-leavers each year go to university; the other two-thirds enter the dual trainee programs like Steinecke’s. It has 46 trainees in Berlin participating in its programme, developed in-house, combining practical work experience – bakery, office or sales in one of 246 Berlin branches – with classroom training, social events and factory visits to learn about everything from flour to coffee-roasting. Those who complete the three-year course with good grades, assessed by the company, are guaranteed a job and a cash bonus. The trainee-run branch in Berlin is a time-consuming and costly experiment for Steinecke that goes against today’s European mainstream of state-subsidised internship programmes. But Ms Steinecke is confident that investing in new employees now generates greater loyalty in the future, securing the family firm regardless of economic cycle.
Read the whole story at
Related Posts
Higher or vocational education? A conversation on TED.com
In the last years the idea that higher education can actually be considered a bubble took shape and is increasingly brought to debate. In more and more countries there are dozens of students graduating and instead of entering the workforce, they go straight to unemployment. With some notable exceptions (like Computing, Medicine etc.) there are … Continue reading »
German Scheme / Is this good for Europe? (video)
Across Europe, one young person in four has no job and the problem is considerably worse in countries such as Spain and Greece. Many German companies are keen to recruit new talent so the government is paying for language classes, travel costs and expenses for internship programmes. But is this good for Europe – or is it creating further problems for the future? Continue reading »
Europe Summit / Youth unemployment / Is a guarantee of a job, training or apprenticeship enough ?
While the EU agreed in April to re-target 6 billion euro to offer a “guarantee” of a job, training or apprenticeship within four months of someone becoming unemployed or leaving formal education, many think the measure alone isn’t sufficient enough Continue reading »
Apprenticeship / Leads to substantially lower unemployment rates research finds
How to best prepare non-college bound youth for the labor market? asks Matthias Parey in Vocational Schooling versus Apprenticeship Training — Evidence from Vacancy Data on cep.lse.ac.uk (Adapted chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor to follow). Different approaches compete in this field, including firm-based apprenticeships, full-time vocational schooling, and on-the-job learning. Little is known about how effective these … Continue reading »
German-Style Apprenticeships – Would it Work in the U.S.?
In a world of high youth unemployment, where the supply of skilled labor often fails to match employer demand, Germany believes help can be found in its Dual Vocational Training System (TVET)—a time-tested economic model now incorporated into the Federal Republic’s law. This program, many supporters believe, is the reason why Germany has the lowest jobless rate among … Continue reading »
The Trouble With Apprenticeship – And Some Success Stories
HR magazine’s first HR Lunchtime Debate, brought to you in Réapprentissage conjunction with Commsight (an Opinion Matters service), is an online TV show that brings together experts to discuss the whys and wherefores of setting up an apprenticeship scheme. During the live debate you will hear from Jason Holt, CEO of the Holts Group, who led the … Continue reading »
Discussion
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
Pingback: Swedes in German Apprenticeship / Students will be offered German language training in Sweden | Job Market Monitor - October 21, 2013
Pingback: Apprenticeships in South Carolina / A German company is training students in skilled labor through the model | Job Market Monitor - December 23, 2013
Pingback: Germany / Employment hits new annual record | Job Market Monitor - January 2, 2014
Pingback: Germany – The number of jobless remained above 3 million | Job Market Monitor - April 3, 2014
Pingback: Germany – Unemployment declined for an eighth month in May | Job Market Monitor - June 3, 2015
Pingback: The German Dual VET System – What can it be imported ? | Job Market Monitor - March 5, 2016
Pingback: The German Dual VET System – What can be imported ? | Job Market Monitor - March 5, 2016