Training: Young people between possibilities and excessive demands

“I just don’t know what to do.” Trainers hear this sentence more and more often these days. Often after several internships, career advice or applications that have already been sent. Some young people cancel at short notice, others ghost companies after they have accepted an offer. Others start training – and realize a few weeks later that they had imagined something different.

The impression quickly arises: The young generation doesn’t want to commit, doesn’t want to just “hold on,” and is constantly looking for optimization. But it’s not that simple. Many young people today experience something different: enormous uncertainty when choosing a career and too little certainty about their own abilities and skills. And this has less to do with a lack of motivation than with a world of possibilities.

Too many options, too little orientation?

In the past, career orientation was often more straightforward. Parents, school or personal environment conveyed relatively clear ideas about which careers were “good”, “safe” or “sensible”.

Today things look different. Young people grow up with countless options: training, dual study, university or even a job, as around one in five people plan to do after school, as the latest youth study by the Bertelsmann Foundation shows. Then there are gap years, self-employment, influencer careers and the prospect of reinventing yourself professionally several times. At the same time, the world of work is changing rapidly. Sectors, professions and the requirements in the world of work are constantly changing.

For young people this means one thing above all: pressure to make decisions. Anyone who can theoretically become many things is often even more afraid of making the wrong decision and seeks helpful information and advice. However, more than half of young people find it difficult to find their way around choosing a career despite having enough information. The question is therefore not only: “What interests me, what can I do?”, but also: “Does the job have a future?”, “Do I earn enough?”, “Is the working atmosphere right?”, “Can I change later?”, “Does that make me happy?” or “Am I missing something better?”

Social media increases the pressure

These orientation problems are further exacerbated by social media, which is ubiquitous. According to the current Bitkom children and youth study, 94 percent of 14 to 18 year olds use social media every day. For 16 to 18 year olds it is 134 minutes a day. There, young people see seemingly perfect CVs, successful influencers or people who are already pursuing a career in their mid-twenties, earning a lot of money with ease, traveling and always seem happy. It is rarely apparent that uncertainty, detours, effort or doubt are part of almost every career path. The pressure to make the “right” decision as early as possible continues to grow.

This problem is now widespread: 55 percent of young people in the current youth trend study in Germany stated that the use of social media contributes to an increase in psychological stress. Many young people are constantly comparing themselves – and are increasingly losing confidence in their own decisions and the ease of trying things out and making mistakes.

Parents are also looking for guidance

In addition, many parents are looking for guidance themselves and usually have little insight into the breadth of educational and employment paths. The world of work has changed so much in recent years that some families can hardly assess professional developments anymore. Which professions are future-proof? Which apprenticeships offer good career opportunities? What skills will be in demand in ten years?

Dual training in particular is often underestimated. In many minds, studying is still seen as the supposedly better and more lucrative path. This shows that even academic degrees are no longer a guarantee of a problem-free career entry. At the same time, there is an urgent shortage of skilled workers in many training occupations, for example in crafts, trade or healthcare – with excellent career and development opportunities. Many parents and young people simply don’t know this. Or they hear about it too rarely.

Training offers practical experience and cohesion

Dual training offers something that many young people long for, especially in uncertain times: structure, orientation and real practical experience with activities that are beneficial and achieve visible results. Trainees experience directly how processes and procedures work in the company, what meaning their work has, where their strengths lie and what they enjoy. You experience success, earn your own money, take on responsibility and develop step by step.

Nevertheless, the decision is often difficult. Even several internships do not automatically lead to greater clarity. Many companies now experience young people who have already had a taste of different areas and still say: “I still don’t know what really suits me.”

That sounds paradoxical at first. In fact, it shows a fundamental problem of our time: information and fleeting insights alone do not provide orientation. It takes experiences, emotions and the willingness to make decisions. If you keep comparing, evaluating and looking for the perfect option, you tend to become even more insecure.

How companies can contribute to orientation

For companies, this means aligning their recruiting more consistently with specific target groups, a personal approach and offering practical experience – designing their training marketing as a candidate journey. Young people need real experiences for orientation: What is everyday life really like? How do colleagues treat each other? Who will support me if I am unsure or make mistakes? How is my development supported and how can I get involved?

Internships and company visits are still at the top of young people’s wish lists – and most companies also offer them, as a current IW survey of HR managers shows. Conversations at eye level, authentic trainee reports from training ambassadors in class, internships with real involvement or uncomplicated contact options with low-threshold application processes have significantly more effect than elaborately produced advertising campaigns.

Orientation comes from people

Schools and parents also remain important partners. Career orientation must not begin just a few months before graduation. Young people need opportunities to get to know careers at an early stage – and, above all, people who can help them classify their impressions. Because orientation does not come from brochures, but from conversations, experiences and trust.

Companies should not underestimate the role they are now taking on. Today, training means more than recruiting skilled workers. Many companies become real reference points for young people in a complex working world.

This is how companies and young people benefit

Contemporary training marketing requires sufficient resources and new strategies. Because of the significantly increased heterogeneity of applicants and declining school performance, supporting young people has become significantly more difficult for companies. Understanding the situation and different life situations of young people and their insecurities also helps. The younger generation is no less committed or less willing to perform. However, it grows up under different conditions and is characterized by a variety of crises: with more possibilities, more comparisons and at the same time fewer clear guardrails.

Perhaps this is exactly where there is an opportunity for companies. Anyone who not only offers young people a training position, but also security, development and personal support will be more attractive in the long term. Because many young people are not looking for the perfect career. Above all, they are looking for the feeling of being somewhere right and to feel that they are in good hands.

(You can read more about young people and how companies can get them interested in training here: Address Generation Z actively and specifically to the target group – KOFA and here Attracting young talents for training as trainers: Network Q)