Praktikanten: Auf der Suche nach dem Weg (Trainees: Looking for a path)

"Internships are helpful as vocational orientation and often for finding one's first job. However trainees should not merely be seen as cheap and flexible employees but should have the chance to learn and improve their qualifications. From the point of view of individual companies however, internships also serve the purpose of an 'in-house flexibility buffer'. In view of the weak negotiating position that trainees have, companies are often tempted to use them like normal employees. The Federal Government is aware of this and has decided to take action: Young people who have concluded their vocational training are no longer to carry out internships without being paid where companies employ them like regular employees but without the prospect of regular employment. For the trainees, the aspect of learning is to be focused on more clearly so that trainees get a better overview of the world of work at the very beginning of their professional life." (Authors' abstract, IAB-Doku)