Crafts sector records significantly more training contracts – AI fears drive young people into apprenticeships

Four reasons for the boom

How great the interest has become is shown by an example from Stuttgart. As Dittrich reported, a master electrician from Stuttgart with a company of 130 employees had struggled for years to fill his three or four training positions in the vicinity of the automotive industry. Now he has received 90 applications. In some chamber districts, there are even double-digit increases.

Overall, Dittrich spoke of a "Lichtblick in einer insgesamt schwierigen Wirtschaftslage". The figure is "eine nachdrückliche Botschaft: Junge Menschen entscheiden sich bewusst für das Handwerk". Alongside AI concerns, the Chamber of Crafts cites future prospects, job security, enjoyment of the profession, and climate protection as motives.

Despite the upswing, the situation on the training market is not balanced. At the end of June, the apprenticeship job board of the Chambers of Crafts listed 20,460 open training positions in more than 60 occupations. An additional 1,247 free positions were registered with the chambers' apprenticeship job board. At the same time, the sector is missing around 200,000 skilled workers, according to the association.

Open positions and skilled labor shortage

Dittrich emphasized that starting an apprenticeship is "noch bis weit in den Herbst hinein möglich", even though the training year begins in many federal states as early as the beginning of August. The situation is particularly good in the construction trades, in the sanitation, heating and climate technology sector, in the electrical crafts, and among automotive mechatronics technicians.

The challenge of attracting more young women to crafts occupations remains great, as Hjalmar Stemmann, president of the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts, said: "Eine unserer größten Herausforderungen bleibt es, junge Frauen für Handwerksberufe zu gewinnen." The share of women among newly signed training contracts was most recently around 20 percent.

Women remain underrepresented in the crafts sector

Unlike the previous year, the Chamber of Crafts is hearing from many businesses this year that they were able to fill all their training positions. The Hamburg Chamber of Crafts expects numbers to continue rising in 2026. How many training positions Hamburg's crafts businesses are offering in total is unclear, however, as there is no reporting obligation.

Dittrich also used the figures to make political demands. "Die Gleichwertigkeit von akademischer und beruflicher Bildung müsse endlich gesetzlich verankert werden", he said. Germany must also grow economically again: "Deutschland muss wieder wachsen."

Demand for equivalence in education

Dittrich was critical of the sector's infrastructure. "Es kann nicht sein, dass wir junge Menschen in Bildungszentren schicken, die 30, 40 oder 50 Jahre alt sind und dringend modernisiert werden müssen." The renovation of the training centers has not yet been fully financed. "Dieser Sanierungsstau muss genauso ernst genommen werden wie bei maroden Brücken."

The federal program "Passgenaue Besetzung und Willkommenslotsen" is set to expire at the end of 2027. To inspire young people for crafts occupations, the pilot project HandwerksjahrPlus has existed since this year. While the overall number of apprentices is declining in the economy as a whole, the crafts sector is enjoying growing popularity.