Germany reports high proportion of young Syrian and Afghan migrants lack vocational qualifications

Data from the 2025 Mikrozensus released by the German Federal Ministry of Education show that 74.5% of Syrian and 72.1% of Afghan migrants aged 25‑34 have no recognised vocational qualification. The share is even higher among Somali migrants (85.8%) and, overall, 42.1% of foreign‑born young adults lack a qualification compared with 13.9% of German nationals.

AfD parliamentary spokesperson René Springer warned that “we do not solve the skilled‑labour shortage through mass immigration of a ‘education prekarariat’.” The ministry attributes the gaps to disrupted schooling caused by war and the absence of comparable vocational systems in the migrants’ home countries, and says a new “qualification offensive” has been launched to improve transition from school to work for young migrants.