Around 12 per cent of trainees do not gain a vocational certificate the first time they undertake a dual-system apprenticeship. Either they drop out before the final examination or they fail to pass it after all permitted attempts.
Around one-third of these trainees, however, attempt another dual-system apprenticeship in the subsequent 24 months. If other forms of initial vocational training - school-based training, civil servant training, higher education studies - are also taken into account, at least half of those concerned are placed within a two-year period on another initial vocational training programme leading to a full vocational qualification.
This is shown by the findings of a special evaluation of the "Transition Study 2011" by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) - published in the new issue of BIBB REPORT, Issue 21/13: "Duale Berufsausbildung ohne Abschluss - Ursachen und weiterer bildungsbiografischer Verlauf" (Dual system apprenticeship ending without certification - causes and subsequent progression of educational biographies).
Relatively high numbers of young people change companies during their apprenticeships
The proportion of trainees who do not successfully complete their first dual-system apprenticeship is considerably lower than the rate of early contract dissolutions, which was around 24.4 per cent in 2011. This is because relatively high numbers of young people change companies during their dual-system apprenticeships, which means dissolving their original training contract and concluding a new training contract with a new firm. Dissolving a contract in those circumstances does not represent an unsuccessful outcome of dual-system initial vocational training from the trainee's point of view.
"From the relatively low proportion of trainees who do not bring their apprenticeships to a successful conclusion, it is clear that dual-system initial vocational training offers much better chances of success than a higher education degree", states the President of BIBB, Friedrich Hubert Esser. "The high success rate for dual-system training occupations is evidence of the effectiveness of the German initial vocational training system. Nevertheless, effective efforts must be made to further reduce the numbers dropping out of apprenticeships." An especially important role can be played here by the advisory and support services provided to companies and trainees by chambers and industry associations.
More young women than young men fail to complete apprenticeships successfully
According to the BIBB analysis, the frequency with which a dual-system apprenticeship ends without certification also varies substantially depending on which school leaving certificate young people have attained at the time they begin initial vocational training. While the rate of unsuccessful outcomes is around 9 per cent for those with an intermediate secondary school leaving certificate, it is 18 per cent or twice as high for those with a lower secondary school leaving certificate. The chances are therefore worst for young people whose highest qualification is a lower secondary school leaving certificate and whose school grades were low. Young people with migrant backgrounds and trainees whose parents have no vocational certificates are also found to run a higher risk of ending an apprenticeship without certification.
It is striking that significantly more young women (15 per cent) than young men (10 per cent) fail to complete apprenticeships successfully. One reason for this is that they quite often end their apprenticeships early due to pregnancy or childcare responsibilities. Prof. Dr. Esser, President of BIBB sees a need for action here: "Young women whose completion of vocational training is jeopardised by pregnancy or motherhood need particular support. An innovative instrument is part-time initial vocational training, which has been enshrined in the German Vocational Training Act since 2005."
Another important factor in successful certification is whether the training occupation was the trainee's original first choice. If young people are not being trained in their "preferred occupation" the risk of an unsuccessful outcome is considerably greater. For this reason, it often turns out to be unwise for young people to start an apprenticeship in an occupation that is far removed from their own preferences. The authors of the BIBB study also recommend paying more attention to this factor in careers guidance practice in future.