Training For All : Germany

As a matter of principle, no young person in the Federal Republic of Germany should begin working life without training if at all possible. The dual system of vocational training has proved its worth in imparting skills to new generations of workers and is being further developed. A number of other countries have expressed their interest in this system and are examining whether they, too, can delegate some of the responsibility for training young people to companies.

Despite the increasing demand for training places for young people, it has thus far been possible to achieve a balance between supply and demand. Under the Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic on the Establishment of German Unity (Unification Treaty), vocational training qualifications earned in east and west were recognized as equivalent in order to afford young people greater mobility in working life.