Erfurt (dpa/th) - After the slump in recent years, the number of young people completing vocational training in Thuringia has stabilized. At the end of 2021, a total of around 25,400 young people were in training, around 400 fewer than in the previous year, according to figures from the State Statistical Office on Thursday. At the same time, the number of newly concluded training contracts last year rose by almost 200 to around 9,700. That corresponds to an increase of 2.1 percent.

There were more job starters in industry and trade in particular, with an increase of 4.7 percent, while the trades had to accept a drop in the number of training contracts concluded by 5.4 percent to around 2,500. Young people were also in demand for supposedly secure career paths in the public sector. The number of contracts concluded in the public sector rose almost 13 percent to 365 compared to the previous year. There was also a slight increase in agriculture with 2.8 percent to 435.

The most frequently chosen training occupations among young men were motor vehicle mechatronics technician (460 contracts), salesman (240 contracts) and retail clerk (234 contracts). Among the female trainees, the most popular were sales assistants (311 contracts), retail clerks (259 contracts) and office management clerks (245 contracts).

According to the state office, 645 young people with a foreign passport were among the new trainees last year. The largest group were Vietnamese and Syrians.