New apprenticeship contracts in manufacturing, Germany
New apprenticeship contracts in manufacturing, Germany stood at 137,640 Contracts in 2025, according to Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB). It is one of the indicators in the Apprenticeship market by occupational area table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 2022 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Apprenticeship market by occupational area table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany, all occupations | 475,950 | 486,261 | 489,183 | 475,143 | |
| Occupational areas | |||||
| Mining, production and manufacturing | 137,640 | 144,129 | 143,370 | 134,484 |
Understanding new apprenticeship contracts in manufacturing, Germany
Industrial vocations spanning raw material extraction, machining, equipment fabrication, processing, and plant assembly are combined within this manufacturing aggregate. Every newly certified agreement in core production trades—such as industrial mechanics, electronics technicians for industrial systems, chemical operators, and toolmakers—is captured here. It sets industrial shop-floor and processing occupations apart from the construction and logistical disciplines tracked in adjacent lines. Unskilled industrial operatives, company internships, tertiary engineering sandwich placements, and in-house continuing education for established workers do not enter the calculation.
Assessing this manufacturing series across consecutive years illuminates corporate appetite for entry-level technical talent across shifting industrial climates. Because factory apprenticeships synchronize with the autumn intake, the annual compilation provides an unpolluted baseline free from monthly factory shutdowns or temporary production stoppages. Users must avoid conflating this new intake metric with overall manufacturing employment patterns; plant modernizations and automation can shift apprentice recruitment independently of total factory headcounts, while contract rescissions during initial trial periods are not stripped out after publication.
Frequently asked questions
- Are university engineering students undergoing factory internships included here?
- Academic internships and dual degree programs governed by tertiary institutions are excluded from these vocational training contract figures.
- Which specific trades fall into this manufacturing group?
- The category includes recognized dual apprenticeships in tooling, metalworking, chemical processing, plastics manufacturing, and production machinery maintenance.
- Does a decline in this figure indicate factory job cuts?
- Not necessarily, because contract volumes reflect forward-looking recruitment decisions for beginners rather than net changes across existing payrolls.