Germany: Excellence in VET brings together new and proven initiatives to address skill shortages

Skilled labour strategy

Many companies are urgently looking for engaged and committed apprentices. According to the latest skilled labour survey, in 2026 there will be 240 000 more vacancies than there will be workers available. As the current BIBB data report shows, young people have withdrawn from the VET market far more than was expected. With 475 143 training contracts concluded at the beginning of the training year 2022, the number remains significantly below the level of 2019. The dropout rate in 2021 was 26.7%. One challenge is to match the supply of apprenticeship places and the demand of those interested in apprenticeship. In response to this increasing need for skilled workers, the Federal Government adopted the Skilled labour strategy in October 2022. This strategy bundles the joint activities of politics, business and society to secure skilled labour.  

Excellence for VET initiative

One component of the Skilled labour strategy is the Excellence for VET initiative, which was launched at the end of 2022 with a budget of over EUR 750 million until 2026. The measures of the initiative fall into three fields of action:

• promoting opportunities for talent in VET;
• establishing an attractive and innovative VET landscape;
• expansion of international orientation in VET.

New and existing initiatives to promote VET

A variety of new, but also existing initiatives intertwine. The actions planned foresee:

• the established Aufstiegs-BAföG (Support for Excellence in VET) is to be amended to improve financial support opportunities for high-performing trainees;
• to extend vocational orientation to digital formats, concepts of digital vocational orientation offers were selected in the D-BOP competition until end of February 2023; 
• the information and communication campaign Die Duale will be further developed to ensure greater visibility of VET;
• the expansion of the InnoVET programme in 2023 to InnoVET Plus supports the development and testing of further innovative concepts for qualification offers in initial and continuing education and training. This will enable the latest developments around digitalisation, sustainability and technological transformation to be taken on board;
• the National Continuing Education Strategy (NWS) will be further expanded. Higher qualification VET programmes and qualification concepts for new technologies will be further developed;
• learning venues such as inter-company vocational training centres (ÜBS) are to be turned into centres of excellence with an integrating character as a third learning venue. Funding guidelines support the expansion of digital and sustainable equipment;
• a new portal is under development to make qualification offers for teachers and trainers transparently accessible. Awareness is to be raised for increased cooperation between training companies and vocational schools;
• VET should be thought of more internationally. Incentives will be supplied to motivate trainees and young employees to go abroad for vocational training and learning. The funding programmes  Erasmus+ and AusbildungWeltweit and the European and international world championships of the professions are to be used more intensively for this purpose. Financial subsidies for the recognition of foreign qualifications should help to attract excellent skilled workers to Germany.

Read more

• BMBF Key Issues Paper dated 6.12.2022: Excellence Initiative in Vocational Education and Training
• Skilled labour strategy of the Federal Government
• https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-en/service/skilled-labour-strategy-2133762
• BIBB Data report 2023