According to a VDMA survey, most companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector expect the number of junior staff to remain stable over the next twelve months. For example, 50% of those surveyed assume that the number of trainees in their company will not change significantly. With regard to interns, dual students and Bachelor's/Master's theses, more than 60 percent believe this will be the case. 27 percent of those surveyed want to offer fewer apprenticeships in the future, while 23 percent want to increase the number of apprenticeships on offer.
Noticeable bottlenecks on the training market
At the same time, companies are still experiencing bottlenecks on the training market. For example, 35% report severe bottlenecks and 50% report slight bottlenecks. "Our companies know that it is important to stay on the ball when it comes to training young talent, even in times of crisis," comments Hartmut Rauen, Deputy Managing Director of the VDMA. After all, there are still bottlenecks in finding young talent. And the demographic development will continue to influence the market for young talent.
Companies and universities advertise together
In response to this, the VDMA has launched the "Weeks of Technology". For six weeks - from April 28 to June 6, 2025 - VDMA member companies and universities will jointly promote technical training and technical degree courses on site and on social media. More than 370 locations with career and study orientation offers are already listed on the central campaign platform talentmaschine.de - from taster internships and parents' evenings to open days. The program also includes a nationwide ideas competition for school pupils and a final conference on 3 June in Frankfurt.