Apprenticeships: does the German model deliver?
Germany trains most of its young people by alternating between firm and school, and its youth unemployment is among Europe’s lowest. France has been borrowing from it since 2018. What the figures show, and what research allows us to conclude.
Scope: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain and the European Union; Eurostat Labour Force Survey and education statistics, same definitions for every country, up to the latest published year.
Key points
- Low youth unemployment, but not only thanks to apprenticeships. In 2025, 7.1% of economically active 15-24 year-olds are unemployed in Germany, against 19.8% in France and 15.2% in the EU. Relative to unemployment at all ages the gap narrows: young Germans are 1.9 times more affected than average, young French people 2.6 times.
- Vocational qualifications lead to work faster in Germany. One to three years after leaving education, 91.5% of vocational graduates work in Germany, against 72.9% in France. In both countries they do better than general graduates of the same level (24.4 pt gap in Germany, 20.7 pt in France).
- France has expanded apprenticeships strongly since 2018. The share of vocational pupils trained partly in a firm rose from 25% in 2018 to 33% in 2024. According to the Senate, apprenticeship contracts rose 38% between 2020 and 2021, with €4.5bn of State aid in 2021.
- Research confirms the effect for individuals, not yet for countries (evidence level B). An apprentice finds a job more easily than a vocational student, but mostly because the training firm hires them; France’s youth unemployment relative to all ages has not fallen since 2018 (2.4 in 2018, 2.6 in 2025).
How to read these figures
The unemployment rate of 15-24 year-olds only covers active young people (in work or looking for it): a country where many young people study without working can have a high rate with few unemployed. This is why the deep dive also shows the ratio to unemployment at all ages, which removes the common business cycle, and the share of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET).
A German apprentice is counted as employed: they sign a work contract. Comparing countries that count their pupils differently calls for care. Above all, these charts show correlations: low German youth unemployment also reflects demography, industrial structure and the labour market. The “What the research says” block states what is established as an effect, and with what level of evidence.
1. Youth unemployment in Germany and its neighbours
Apprenticeship countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) have much lower youth unemployment than France, Italy or Spain. But their unemployment is low at every age: the ratio between youth and overall unemployment narrows the gap.
Unemployment rate of 15-24 year-olds
% of the 15-24 labour force, annual average, EU Labour Force Survey.
- European Union
- Spain
- Italy
- France
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Germany
Source:Eurostat
Show the chart data
| Period | Germany | Austria | Switzerland | France | Italy | Spain | European Union |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | – | – | – | 22.3% | – | – | – |
| 2006 | – | – | – | 23.5% | – | – | – |
| 2007 | – | – | – | 20.9% | – | – | – |
| 2008 | – | – | – | 20.2% | – | – | – |
| 2009 | 11.9% | 11.3% | – | 25.1% | 25.4% | 37.7% | 21.2% |
| 2010 | 10.5% | 10.1% | 8.2% | 24.7% | 28.0% | 41.5% | 22.4% |
| 2011 | 9.1% | 9.5% | 7.7% | 24.2% | 29.2% | 46.2% | 22.5% |
| 2012 | 8.6% | 10.0% | 8.3% | 25.9% | 35.3% | 52.9% | 24.4% |
| 2013 | 8.3% | 10.3% | 8.7% | 26.5% | 40.0% | 55.5% | 25.2% |
| 2014 | 8.2% | 11.0% | 8.6% | 25.7% | 42.7% | 53.2% | 24.1% |
| 2015 | 7.7% | 11.3% | 8.8% | 26.2% | 40.3% | 48.3% | 22.4% |
| 2016 | 7.5% | 12.0% | 8.6% | 26.0% | 37.7% | 44.4% | 20.7% |
| 2017 | 7.2% | 10.5% | 8.1% | 23.6% | 34.6% | 38.6% | 18.6% |
| 2018 | 6.6% | 10.0% | 7.9% | 22.1% | 32.2% | 34.3% | 16.7% |
| 2019 | 6.1% | 9.1% | 8.0% | 20.8% | 29.2% | 32.5% | 15.7% |
| 2020 | 7.9% | 11.7% | 8.6% | 21.6% | 29.8% | 38.3% | 17.6% |
| 2021 | 7.0% | 11.0% | 8.3% | 18.9% | 29.7% | 35.0% | 16.7% |
| 2022 | 6.0% | 9.5% | 6.8% | 17.4% | 23.7% | 29.7% | 14.6% |
| 2023 | 5.9% | 10.4% | 7.9% | 17.3% | 22.7% | 28.7% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 6.6% | 10.3% | 8.2% | 18.8% | 20.3% | 26.5% | 15.0% |
| 2025 | 7.1% | 11.5% | 8.8% | 19.8% | 20.6% | 24.9% | 15.2% |
Youth unemployment relative to unemployment at all ages
Unemployment rate of 15-24 year-olds divided by that of 15-74 year-olds. A ratio of 2 means young workers are twice as often unemployed as the average.
- European Union
- Spain
- Italy
- France
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Germany
Source:Eurostat
Show the chart data
| Period | Germany | Austria | Switzerland | France | Italy | Spain | European Union |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | – | – | – | 2.5 | – | – | – |
| 2006 | – | – | – | 2.6 | – | – | – |
| 2007 | – | – | – | 2.6 | – | – | – |
| 2008 | – | – | – | 2.7 | – | – | – |
| 2009 | 1.6 | 2.0 | – | 2.8 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 2.3 |
| 2010 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| 2011 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| 2012 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| 2013 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| 2014 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| 2015 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| 2016 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| 2017 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| 2018 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| 2019 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| 2020 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.4 |
| 2021 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| 2022 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| 2023 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| 2024 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
| 2025 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 2.5 |
Young people not in employment, education or training (15-29)
% of the population aged 15 to 29 (NEET rate).
- European Union
- Spain
- Italy
- France
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Germany
Source:Eurostat
Show the chart data
| Period | Germany | Austria | Switzerland | France | Italy | Spain | European Union |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 13.8% | 10.1% | 7.8% | 13.2% | 20.0% | 14.0% | 15.3% |
| 2006 | 12.7% | 9.6% | 8.0% | 13.2% | 19.2% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
| 2007 | 11.6% | 9.4% | 7.1% | 12.8% | 18.8% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 2008 | 11.0% | 8.9% | 6.9% | 12.6% | 19.3% | 15.3% | 13.0% |
| 2009 | 11.4% | 9.6% | 8.8% | 14.7% | 20.5% | 19.9% | 14.8% |
| 2010 | 10.8% | 9.1% | 8.1% | 14.8% | 22.0% | 20.0% | 15.4% |
| 2011 | 9.7% | 8.5% | 8.0% | 14.7% | 22.5% | 20.6% | 15.4% |
| 2012 | 9.3% | 8.2% | 7.7% | 15.1% | 23.8% | 22.2% | 16.0% |
| 2013 | 8.7% | 8.6% | 8.0% | 13.8% | 26.0% | 22.5% | 16.1% |
| 2014 | 8.7% | 9.3% | 7.7% | 14.1% | 26.2% | 20.7% | 15.7% |
| 2015 | 8.5% | 8.7% | 7.3% | 14.7% | 25.7% | 19.4% | 15.2% |
| 2016 | 8.9% | 8.9% | 7.5% | 14.3% | 24.3% | 18.1% | 14.5% |
| 2017 | 8.5% | 8.4% | 7.2% | 13.8% | 24.1% | 16.4% | 13.7% |
| 2018 | 7.9% | 8.4% | 6.6% | 13.6% | 23.2% | 15.3% | 13.1% |
| 2019 | 7.6% | 8.3% | 6.2% | 13.0% | 22.1% | 14.9% | 12.5% |
| 2020 | 9.1% | 9.5% | 6.3% | 14.0% | 23.5% | 17.3% | 13.8% |
| 2021 | 9.3% | 9.4% | 10.0% | 12.8% | 23.1% | 14.2% | 13.1% |
| 2022 | 8.6% | 9.1% | 12.7% | 12.0% | 19.0% | 12.7% | 11.7% |
| 2023 | 8.8% | 9.4% | 7.7% | 12.3% | 16.1% | 12.3% | 11.3% |
| 2024 | 8.9% | 9.2% | 9.0% | 12.7% | 15.2% | 12.0% | 11.2% |
| 2025 | 9.5% | 10.3% | 8.7% | 12.9% | 13.3% | 11.5% | 11.0% |
2. After the diploma: does the vocational track lead to work?
The dual system’s main argument is the transition to work: the young person already knows a firm and a trade. German vocational graduates do indeed almost all work soon after leaving school.
Employment rate of vocational graduates, 1 to 3 years after leaving
20-34 year-olds who left upper-secondary or post-secondary vocational education one to three years earlier and are no longer in education, %.
- European Union
- Spain
- Italy
- France
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Germany
Source:Eurostat
Show the chart data
| Period | Germany | Austria | Switzerland | France | Italy | Spain | European Union |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 89.4% | 86.9% | 85.2% | 68.4% | 40.2% | 55.3% | 72.5% |
| 2015 | 90.0% | 84.3% | 84.2% | 61.0% | 42.7% | 57.4% | 72.3% |
| 2016 | 90.1% | 85.5% | 85.6% | 65.9% | 48.7% | 61.3% | 75.0% |
| 2017 | 91.3% | 89.2% | 85.1% | 63.2% | 50.8% | 58.5% | 75.9% |
| 2018 | 92.4% | 87.3% | 85.7% | 72.2% | 53.9% | 70.0% | 79.1% |
| 2019 | 93.4% | 88.0% | 85.7% | 68.8% | 56.7% | 66.0% | 79.2% |
| 2020 | 91.0% | 85.4% | 86.4% | 68.5% | 53.4% | 50.3% | 75.9% |
| 2021 | 91.5% | 86.0% | 86.3% | 68.3% | 53.9% | 65.7% | 76.0% |
| 2022 | 93.2% | 87.1% | 85.7% | 68.9% | 60.7% | 65.9% | 79.7% |
| 2023 | 92.6% | 89.2% | 86.3% | 75.6% | 62.2% | 62.4% | 80.7% |
| 2024 | 91.9% | 85.3% | 86.5% | 72.9% | 63.7% | 68.4% | 79.9% |
| 2025 | 91.5% | 84.8% | 85.2% | 72.9% | 64.9% | 68.8% | 80.1% |
3. How many young people learn in a firm
In Germany and Switzerland nearly every vocational pupil spends part of their training in a firm. Austria also keeps large full-time vocational schools. In France the share has risen since the 2018 reform but remains a minority.
Share of upper-secondary vocational pupils trained partly in a firm
Pupils in combined school and work-based programmes, % of upper-secondary vocational pupils. Italy and Spain not shown: no combined programme reported for Italy, classification break in 2025 for Spain.
- European Union
- France
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Germany
Source:Eurostat
Show the chart data
| Period | Germany | Austria | Switzerland | France | European Union |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | – | 45% | – | 26% | – |
| 2010 | 85% | 48% | – | 27% | – |
| 2013 | 86% | 48% | 84% | 27% | – |
| 2014 | 86% | 48% | 90% | 26% | – |
| 2015 | 86% | 47% | 90% | 25% | 22% |
| 2016 | 87% | 46% | 90% | 24% | 22% |
| 2017 | 87% | 46% | 90% | 24% | 22% |
| 2018 | 89% | 45% | 90% | 25% | 23% |
| 2019 | 89% | 49% | 91% | 25% | 24% |
| 2020 | 89% | 50% | 91% | 26% | 24% |
| 2021 | 89% | 50% | 91% | 28% | 24% |
| 2022 | 89% | 50% | 91% | 31% | 25% |
| 2023 | 89% | 50% | 91% | 33% | 25% |
| 2024 | 89% | 50% | 90% | 33% | 25% |
| 2025 | 88% | 50% | – | – | – |
4. Apprenticeship across Europe: who stands where
Each dot is a European country. The first chart places each one by the share of its vocational pupils trained in a firm (to the right, the countries most committed to apprenticeship) and by the unemployment gap between young people and all workers (at the bottom, the young people least exposed). In the 10 countries where at least 40 % of vocational pupils are apprentices, young people are a median 2.3 times as often unemployed as the average; in the 7 countries where fewer than 15 % are, the ratio rises to 3.1.
The second chart adds the cost: spending per vocational pupil and the employment rate of vocational graduates. Germany (15,154 PPS per pupil, 92.6% of graduates in work) and France (13,270 PPS, 75.6%) spend similar amounts; German graduates find work more often. The frontier is held by countries that spend little, sometimes with very different labour markets: it shows what is attainable, not a model to copy.
Apprenticeship share and youth unemployment, European countries
Horizontal: pupils in combined school and work-based programmes, % of upper-secondary vocational pupils. Vertical: unemployment rate of 15-24 year-olds divided by that of 15-74 year-olds (lower = young people less exposed). No frontier: the apprenticeship share is a choice of model, not a cost. At 100 %, the country classes its whole vocational track as combined (Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia). 21 countries, latest year available (2024 – 2025). Correlation, not causation.
Source:Eurostat
Show the chart data
| Country | Apprenticeship share (%) | Youth / all-ages unemployment | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 4% | 2.3 | 2024 |
| Belgium | 5% | 3.1 | 2024 |
| Bulgaria | 6% | 3.7 | 2025 |
| Estonia | 6% | 2.8 | 2025 |
| Sweden | 9% | 2.8 | 2025 |
| Romania | 11% | 4.3 | 2025 |
| Poland | 13% | 3.9 | 2025 |
| Luxembourg | 22% | 3.0 | 2025 |
| Finland | 26% | 2.2 | 2025 |
| Slovakia | 27% | 3.6 | 2024 |
| France | 33% | 2.5 | 2024 |
| Malta | 44% | 2.9 | 2024 |
| Austria | 50% | 2.0 | 2025 |
| Iceland | 64% | 2.5 | 2024 |
| Norway | 76% | 3.0 | 2024 |
| Germany | 88% | 1.9 | 2025 |
| Switzerland | 90% | 1.9 | 2024 |
| Denmark | 100% | 2.2 | 2025 |
| Ireland | 100% | 2.5 | 2024 |
| Latvia | 100% | 2.1 | 2025 |
| Hungary | 100% | 3.4 | 2024 |
Spending per vocational pupil and employment of its graduates
Horizontal: spending of institutions per upper-secondary and post-secondary vocational pupil, in purchasing power standards (PPS). Vertical: employment rate of 20-34 year-olds who left the vocational track one to three years earlier (higher = better). The dotted line is the efficiency frontier. 26 countries, 2023 – 2023. Switzerland does not publish this spending.
Source:Eurostat
Show the chart data
| Country | Spending per pupil (PPS) | Graduates in work (%) | Period | On the frontier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 2,825 PPS | 78.4% | 2023 | yes |
| Romania | 3,937 PPS | 66.2% | 2023 | |
| Poland | 5,563 PPS | 78.7% | 2023 | yes |
| Türkiye | 5,645 PPS | 65.3% | 2023 | |
| Hungary | 6,000 PPS | 83.8% | 2023 | yes |
| Greece | 6,209 PPS | 67.4% | 2023 | |
| Estonia | 6,679 PPS | 84.6% | 2023 | yes |
| Slovenia | 7,260 PPS | 82.8% | 2023 | |
| Finland | 7,499 PPS | 80.6% | 2023 | |
| Malta | 8,111 PPS | 95.8% | 2023 | yes |
| Latvia | 8,334 PPS | 74.8% | 2023 | |
| Czechia | 8,826 PPS | 85.2% | 2023 | |
| Slovakia | 9,090 PPS | 76.8% | 2023 | |
| Lithuania | 9,970 PPS | 71.3% | 2023 | |
| Denmark | 11,370 PPS | 90.6% | 2023 | |
| Sweden | 11,549 PPS | 86.2% | 2023 | |
| Spain | 11,894 PPS | 62.4% | 2023 | |
| Netherlands | 12,534 PPS | 91.6% | 2023 | |
| France | 13,270 PPS | 75.6% | 2023 | |
| Belgium | 13,384 PPS | 80.9% | 2023 | |
| Austria | 13,447 PPS | 89.2% | 2023 | |
| Iceland | 13,903 PPS | 97.4% | 2023 | yes |
| Norway | 15,013 PPS | 90.5% | 2023 | |
| Germany | 15,154 PPS | 92.6% | 2023 | |
| Cyprus | 18,766 PPS | 69.6% | 2023 | |
| Luxembourg | 20,768 PPS | 80.0% | 2023 |
5. France has bet on apprenticeships since 2018
The law “for the freedom to choose one’s professional future” of 5 September 2018 opened up apprenticeships: training centres can be set up freely and are funded per contract, and France compétences centralises the funding. Since 1 July 2020, an exceptional hiring aid, for qualifications up to five years of higher education, has made enrolments soar.
Because the aid is open to higher-education qualifications, the increase is not limited to the low-qualified young people the German model targets. The sources used here do not split contracts by level of qualification.
- 38%Increase in apprenticeship contracts signed between 2020 and 2021
Source:Sénat
- 800,000Contracts expected in 2022 (high estimate)between 750,000 and 800,000 according to the Senate
Source:Sénat
- €4.5bnState spending on the two apprentice-hiring aids, 2021
Source:Sénat
- €9.3bnFrance compétences spending on work-study contracts, 2021against €8.8bn of employer contributions
Source:Sénat
6. What can be concluded
The charts above do not, on their own, say that apprenticeships lower unemployment. Research makes it possible to separate the effect for a young person from the effect for a country.
What the research says
For a given young person, learning a trade in a firm rather than in a classroom eases entry into work: several solid studies show it. Whether expanding apprenticeships is enough to lower a country’s youth unemployment is not established, and the advantage can fade later in the career.
- BEichhorst, Rodríguez-Planas, Schmidl and Zimmermann (2015), ILR ReviewMethod: review of international studies of vocational training, including quasi-experimental evaluations
Apprenticeships that combine the firm and the school tend to be more effective for labour-market entry than school-based vocational training alone.
- BCahuc and Hervelin (2020), IZA, “Apprenticeship and Youth Unemployment”Method: field experiment in France (fictitious applications sent to employers) and administrative data
Apprentices’ employment rate is about 15 points higher than vocational students’, yet employers do not call them back more often: the advantage comes mostly from being hired by the training firm. Expanding apprenticeships would have very limited effects on youth unemployment.
- CHanushek, Schwerdt, Woessmann and Zhang (2017), Journal of Human ResourcesMethod: comparison of employment rates by age between general and vocational graduates, data for eleven countries, confirmed on German and Austrian data
The early-career employment advantage of vocational graduates is offset later by lower adaptability, more so in apprenticeship countries such as Germany.
The scale
- A: causal effect shown by several studies with a rigorous design (experiment, reform compared with a control group), in several countries.
- B: causal effect shown by at least one rigorous study, or several quasi-experimental studies that agree.
- C: strong correlations and a plausible mechanism, no causal proof.
- D: descriptive observation or expert opinion only.
What we know, what we don’t
What the figures establish
- Vocational graduates find work faster in Germany than in France.
- For a given young person, training in a firm eases entry into work (several solid studies).
- France has trained a growing share of its vocational pupils in firms since 2018, with large public aid.
What they don’t tell
- Whether expanding apprenticeships lowers a country’s youth unemployment: the available studies find a limited effect.
- What becomes of French higher-education apprentices compared with similar students.
- Whether the early-career advantage holds up as technology changes.
Sources
Series downloaded from their producers on Nov 14, 2026, the snapshot date. Only published periods are used: no projection.
- Eurostat Unemployment by sex and age, annual data (une_rt_a)
- Eurostat Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (edat_lfse_20)
- Eurostat Employment rates of young people not in education by attainment and years since completion (edat_lfse_24)
- Eurostat Pupils in upper-secondary education by programme orientation (educ_uoe_enrs04)
- Eurostat Expenditure on educational institutions per pupil, by education level and programme orientation (educ_uoe_fini04)
- Sénat Avis n° 118 (2022-2023), tome VI, projet de loi de finances pour 2023 : Travail et emploi, Nov. 17, 2022