Strong demand for training places

According to the LO trade union confederation, there is an immediate need for around 8,500 training places in Denmark in early 1999. This is seen as a significant problem, since many young people never acquire skills, and the situation could lead to future shortages of qualified labour.

In 1998, 34,512 training contracts were entered into in Denmark - a figure which was 11% higher than in the previous year. However, figures from the Ministry of Education and Research show that there is a growing shortage of training places. The average shortfall increased by 13% in 1998 to 7,900, up from 7,200 in 1997. At the end of 1998, some 8,581 prospective trainees were waiting for training places, according to an enquiry conducted by the Danish Federation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark, LO). The greatest increase in applications for training places in 1998 was in the commercial and clerical area, where applications were up 64% compared with 1997. The area which registered the greatest increase in training contracts was technical vocational training, where 13% more agreements were concluded.

Despite the increase in the number of training contracts, LO is very concerned about the situation. LO secretary Harald Børsting is sceptical about the training efforts of the business sector, claiming that the increase in the number of trainees without places shows that training is not taken seriously by firms. Mr Børsting states that there are still far too many young people who never receive vocational training, and that firms should thus create more training places. Unless business focuses its attention on training, the end result of the present trend could be that it will be more difficult in future to find qualified labour on the labour market, it is claimed.

The shortage of training places means that there is a risk that some potential trainees will drop out of the training system. At present, people have to wait four months to enter college-based training if they do not succeed in finding a training place in the business sector. Peter Høier of LO predicts that around 25% of young people without college training will drop out of training and join the group of people who never receive training. Mr Børsting believes that the four-month waiting period should be reduced to a maximum of two months, or else many young people will choose to continue to be unskilled instead of completing their training.