German Handcraft Apprenticeship Numbers Rise for Fourth Consecutive Year

Between January and June 2026 the German handcraft sector recorded 67,800 new apprenticeship contracts, a rise of 3,160 contracts or 4.9 % compared with the same period a year earlier. The June figure was the highest since 2018, which the central association’s president Jörg Dittrich described as a “clear signal that young people are deliberately choosing the handwerk.”

Around 20,460 apprenticeship vacancies remain unfilled, and in some regions applications have risen double‑digits. An electrician master in Stuttgart, for example, received 90 applications for four positions after years of difficulty filling them. Dittrich attributes the increase to several factors: the perception that handcraft offers a secure job amid AI‑driven change, successful image campaigns, improved wages and career prospects, and the fact that many industrial firms have cut their own training places due to the global market situation. He called for additional funding for vocational training centres and for legal parity between academic and vocational education.

The trend runs counter to the broader economic slowdown affecting other sectors, highlighting the handwerk’s resilience and its role in providing stable employment.