German Bundestag, September 11, 2020, Plenarprotokoll 19/174, pp. 21845-21846.
Right
honorable Frau President. Right honorable ladies and gentlemen. Right honorable
Frau Minister.
We
are discussing the 2020 vocational education report which refers to data from
the year 2019. The report was already completed in April and submitted to
interested readers. Now, in September, we discuss it here in parliament for the
first time. Ladies and gentlemen, that shows which priority you in truth assign
to this topic; namely, not the first. That must be urgently changed.
Stephan Albini (CDU/CSU): Nonsense!
That was in the meantime!
And,
if in the meantime the data for the most part has naturally become out of date,
some long-term trends may still be gathered from the submitted report – and these,
ladies and gentlemen, are alarming. From 2008 to 2019, we have registered a
regression of 15 percent in the number related to completed training contracts.
The dual vocational training which enjoyed a high reputation internationally –
justly so – is in truth long since chronically ill. The reasons for that are
various.
For
one, the demographic crisis is to be named. Ever fewer children, before all,
ever fewer German children are born and that naturally leads to us having ever
fewer of those of school age. During the past ten years, there has been a
decline of around 100,000. In addition, among those in school ever fewer can
present a solid Haupt- and Realschul graduation certificate which
is the most important entry card into the dual vocational training.
Instead,
ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing a bloating and inflation of the Abitur, a bloating even in the
universities. We have ever more academics.
Kai Gehring (Greens): Where did you
study?
Nevertheless,
we also know – the numbers, Herr Gehring, you still do not wish to hear; they
are right, though – that every third student discontinues his studies unsuccessfully.
And this also belongs to the truth: The discontinuation rate among foreign
students is twice as high as among German students.
Franciska Brantner (Greens): That’s
not right!
Ladies
and gentlemen, we think these young people for the most part do not belong in
the universities.
Helin Evrim Sommer (Linke): That is
an expression of your inhuman ideology!
They
belong in vocational training.
Helin Evrim Sommer (Linke): That is
still offensive, what you are saying here!
Your
policy naturally in the meantime leads to us to having a terribly high rate of
the unskilled; namely, it comes to 14.4 percent. That is 2.12 million young
people of age from 20 to 34. Here also – you again do not wish to hear it – : Among
migrants, the rate is twice as high. Among people of Turkish origin, we even
have 52 percent without training.
I
cite only from the submitted report. You can look up all of it.
Ladies
and gentlemen, it is also true that the rate would be worse still if we
included the refugees. We not longer do that; since, as the report reveals to
us, in 2017 the survey methods were changed. Refugees who no longer live in
private households will no longer be included in regards their level of
training.
Bernd Baumann (AfD): Yeah, great!
Ladies
and gentlemen, the Federal government’s Corona policy in addition leads to the
fact that many of the 400,000 businesses engaged in training are on the edge of
ruin. We are of the opinion that we must especially assist the smaller
businesses. The AfD delegation has therefore submitted a motion [Drucksache 19/22193] which contains
eight concrete measures which can particularly assist small business. Included
is the payment of part-time wages for trainees beginning on the first day.
René Rospel (SPD):And then earn even less with your training compensation.
That is preposterous!
Ladies
and gentlemen, it is the trainees today in training who will tomorrow generate
our pensions.
Birke Bull-Bischoff (Linke): Not a clue
about anything!
I
think we ought not leave them in the lurch.
Many
thanks.
[trans: tem]
