Aigner strengthens vocational education and training

State government upgrades technology in vocational schools and VET in Bavaria.

An additional €32 million will be provided next year to support this, as Minister of Economic Affairs, Ilse Aigner (CSU), explained on Friday in Munich. The money is intended mainly for vocational school equipment and for business training facilities.

The 'master bonus' given to newly qualified master craftspeople following a successful examination is also being increased from €1,000 to €1,500. The reason is the lack of apprentices in Bavaria; Aigner is seeking to make vocational education and training more attractive.

"Over the past year, more than 10 per cent of training positions remained unfilled", she said. According to figures from the Chambers of Industry and Commerce, the shortage of skilled workers in Bavaria is already 227,000, and by the end of the next decade it could be as much as 400,000. "We both want to, and have to, respond to this," explains Aigner.

The CSU politician stressed the fact that non-academics can make it into office, "You can become Minister of Economic Affairs for Bavaria and Deputy Prime Minister," she joked. Aigner did not study at university, but is an electrical engineer.