There has been strong growth in the number of new contracts for apprenticeships. At 15,521, the number of new trainees even exceeded the pre-Corona level. It is encouraging to note that the proportion of women starting an apprenticeship with electrical contractors rose by 4.8 percent in 2022.

The energy transition and digitization are often served to promote the electrical trades. Last year was characterized not only by a considerable increase in sales, but also by a significant rise in the number of employees, with a positive trend among young people. This has been confirmed by the apprentice figures for the past year*.

More new apprenticeship contracts than in the pre-Corona year 2019.

In 2022, for example, a total of 15,521 young people entered an electrical training program – an increase of 2.6 percent over the previous year (2021: 15,122). This means that the number of new apprenticeships is not only higher than in the pre-Corona year 2019; it actually exceeds the figure by a significant margin (2019: 15,172). In the years 2020 and 2021, which were marked by the pandemic, the number of new apprenticeships had declined slightly, mainly because of lacking or severely limited opportunities for contact between companies and young people in the career orientation phase (training fairs, internships, etc.).

These growth figures are also positive when compared to the current situation with regards to demographic trends, increasing academization and the growing need for skilled workers. But this also shows that the efforts of the electrical trades in marketing to young people have been fruitful and that more and more young people are interested in working as climate protectors and progress-makers.

Electronics technician specializing in energy and building technology most popular

The electronics technician specializing in energy and building technology was largely responsible for the growth. Here, the number of new apprenticeships rose by 403 to 13,850 (2021: 13,447). This corresponds to an increase of 3 percent. There was strong growth (+ 16.8 percent) in the area of electronics technicians for building systems integration. Last year, 153 young people opted for this still fairly new option. This is all the more pleasing because this kind of expertise will be of particular importance in the future in the context of the energy transition and sector integration.

More women start e-trade training

However, there were slight declines in the number of apprentices in the occupations of information electronics technician and electronics technician for machines and drive technology. On the other hand, the number of female trainees in the electrical trade increased by 4.8 percent (+ 20) in 2022, which is a noticeably high increase. A total of 436 women opted for an electrical apprenticeship last year.

Moderate increase in total number of trainees

The positive trend in new apprenticeship contracts is also leading to growth in the number of apprentices. Thus, in 2022, a total of 45,967 young people completed an apprenticeship in one of the major industries of the future – in the previous year, the figure was 45,808 (+ 0.3%). There is a simple reason for the relatively moderate growth: the total number of apprentices is not only influenced by the number of new apprentices in 2022, but also by the number of people who leave the company.

New profession is in demand

Once again, the electronics technician specializing in energy and building technology was responsible for the increase (+ 1.0%). The number of electronic technicians for building systems integration rose from 128 to 231 (+ 79.1 %). This sharp increase can be explained by the fact that the occupation was not created until 2021 as part of the reorganization of trainings for the electrical trade. There were also slight decreases in the total number of information electronics technicians and electronics technicians for machines and drive technology. On the positive side, however, the proportion of female electronics technicians again increased. Last year, for example, there were 1,196 women in an electrical apprenticeship – an increase of 4.4 percent on the previous year (2021: 1,146). The proportion of women among apprentices also increased, albeit only slightly, but steadily. While it was still 2.5 percent in 2021, it rose to 2.6 percent in 2022.

* Training statistics from the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH).