Jörg Dittrich, the President of the Central Association of German Craftsmen (ZDH), is campaigning for a fundamental shift in how vocational training is valued within society and politics. He stressed that prosperity is not achievable solely through university degrees or high school diplomas, but is equally attainable through professional skills training.
Dittrich emphasized the need for a clear political commitment to treating academic qualifications and vocational achievements as equally valuable, a parity that must also be secured legally. To this end, the craft sector continues to push for a national qualifications framework act. Equally important, he demanded significantly increased investment in vocational training facilities, noting that the current deficit and need for modernization amount to over four billion euros. He argued that funding must reliably increase, as promised in the coalition agreement, stating, “We are competing with the high-tech lecture halls of the universities; we cannot compete with a workshop equipped like it was in the 1970s”.
Despite demographic changes, Dittrich reported that the craft sector maintains a relatively stable trajectory regarding training. Contrary to many other economic sectors, the industry has seen slightly increasing numbers of new apprenticeship contracts for the past three years. He pointed out that fields focused on social care and modern transformation-such as electricians, roofers, chimney sweeps, and HVAC mechanics-are showing particular positive medium-term growth. Overall, he remained optimistic, concluding that those seeking security and meaningful work should turn to the skilled trades.
While positive, Dittrich acknowledged that making the apprenticeship pathway even more attractive must be a continuous effort, recognizing that both the jobs and the expectations of young people are constantly changing. “It is a permanent competition” he stated.
However, Dittrich strongly criticized the proposed changes to apprenticeship funding, citing plans in cities like Bremen and Berlin where businesses are expected to pay for apprentices who do not learn the trade. He expressed his strong disagreement with this, adding that such measures also penalize companies that are ready to train but are unable to find candidates. He countered these concerns by highlighting the sector’s substantial performance: vocational training accounts for roughly one in three apprenticeships nationwide, representing nearly 30 percent of all training, and the skilled trades account for more than 12 percent of the entire national workforce-a “great, disproportionate achievement”. Therefore, he argued, imposing additional financial burdens specifically on the crafts sector is unjust and unacceptable.