23/07/2026
Thuringia has more reported Ausbildung positions than applicants.
Yet thousands of employers and young people still have not found each other.
The latest figures show:
📌 7,125 registered applicants
📌 9,591 registered Ausbildung positions
📌 3,099 applicants still searching
📌 4,226 positions still vacant
This is not only a shortage problem.
It is a matching problem, between occupations, regions, candidate preferences and employer requirements.
Vacancies remain especially high in:
🛍️ Sales: 871 positions
📦 Warehousing, delivery and freight handling: 269
⚙️ Mechanical and plant engineering: 199
For employers, the answer is not simply to advertise more.
Companies may need to make lesser-known occupations more visible, offer trial opportunities, reconsider rigid selection criteria, explain working conditions clearly and support relocation where distance is the main barrier.
International candidates can also strengthen the pipeline.
The number of foreign Ausbildung applicants in Thuringia increased by 22.4% to 1,076.
But successful international recruitment requires more than sourcing. Language preparation, school equivalence, housing, employer expectations and integration must be addressed before the Ausbildung begins.
Germany does not only need more applicants.
It needs better matching.
Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit data reported on 15 July 2026
