Overview

• A new IAB study reveals that 13% of Germans under 35, or 1.6 million individuals, lack vocational qualifications as of 2025.
• The number of unqualified young adults increased by 460,000 between 2013 and 2024, driven in part by migration trends.
• Nearly 45% of younger refugees from countries like Afghanistan and Syria and over 20% of EU-origin under-35s lack formal training.
• German companies report significant challenges filling 70,000 apprenticeship positions, exacerbating skilled labor shortages.
• Analysts point to the minimum wage's paradoxical impact on vocational training incentives for both employers and youth.