Renewed German Training Alliance Puts €23 Billion Annual Investment Behind Youth Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship dropout in Germany costs €6,478 per person on average, the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training calculates. That sum is a powerful argument for early intervention — and a key reason the country’s freshly extended training partnership is pushing harder on prevention, health management and language support.

On June 3, Federal Minister Bärbel Bas joined representatives from business, unions and regional governments to announce that the Alliance for Training and Further Education will continue through 2029. The coalition’s overriding goal: steer more young people toward a recognised vocational qualification and strengthen the dual-education system. “We will accompany the transition from school to work much more intensively,” Bas said. German companies already invest roughly €23 billion every year in training the next generation.

That money flows into a landscape of regional experiments and persistent mismatches. In Hesse, the number of new dual-training starters rose to 34,210 in the 2024/25 school year — a 7.2 percent increase over five years. Still, the figure remains about four percent below the pre-pandemic level of 2019/20. Hesse’s Economy Minister Kaweh Mansoori called the uptick a positive trend, but noted that more ground needs to be regained.

Other states are rolling out distinct remedies. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will introduce a new pre-apprenticeship programme called “AVdual” (training-preparation dual) starting in the 2026/27 school year. The aim is to cut the share of school-leavers who fail to land a direct career start, which recently stood at 18.6 percent. North Rhine-Westphalia, where only one in five companies currently offers training, launched an “Ausbilden jetzt!” (Train now!) campaign back in April. Saxony is dedicating roughly €63 million from the ESF Plus guideline “Future of Vocational Education” to fund new training and further-education formats.

At the local level, the Dessau-Roßlau Federal Employment Agency teamed up with the Youth.Career.Centre to host a “Night of Careers” on the same day as the alliance announcement. More than 35 companies set up booths for young people still searching for an apprenticeship slot.

Health and language are emerging as critical levers for retention. Workplace health management is gaining traction because, according to experts, every euro spent on stress management, nutrition or exercise programmes certified by health insurers yields an average return of €2.70. Separately, vocational schools in Rhineland-Palatinate require a German proficiency level of B2. The alliance recommends that employers check language-support needs before signing a training contract.

Comprehensive health management also means ensuring your workplace meets safety standards. Without proper risk assessments and safety documentation, even well-intentioned health initiatives can fall short. A free Health & Safety Toolkit provides ready-to-use templates for risk assessments, COSHH, fire safety, and more, helping you stay compliant and protect your team. Download the free Health & Safety Toolkit

Financial cushions are available, too. Apprentices can claim vocational training allowance (BAB), BAföG or child benefit up to age 25. Private foundations add further incentives: the VerbundVolksbank OWL-Stiftung awarded its €25,000 “Dual Training” prize for the fourth time in May, and the Bremer Werner-Stiftung is accepting applications for its education-support programme until June 26.

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