Situation
Danish companies are facing a shortage of skilled labour, which many expect will only grow in the coming years. It is therefore important to educate more skilled workers already now, so that future needs can be met. Most of the training takes place in companies, and there is therefore a need for both enough companies taking in apprentices and a high quality, so that professionally competent skilled workers are educated for the future.
Complication
Despite the fact that most of the training takes place in a company, there is currently limited knowledge about companies’ experiences of having apprentices. This makes it difficult to make it more attractive for companies to take on apprentices, so that more companies will contribute to training skilled workers in the future. To gain a better understanding of companies’ needs, Epinion conducted a business survey among 1,046 companies registered as training providers.
Recommendation
The study shows that 34 percent of the companies currently find it difficult to attract apprentices to vacant training placements. At the same time, as many as 67 percent of companies do not know where to turn for help regarding apprentices with mental health difficulties, and many feel insufficiently equipped to support apprentices with additional needs. Companies are generally positive about taking on more apprentices, especially if there is increased activity in the company, apprentices have better social and vocational skills, and the administrative workload is reduced.
