Jörg Hofmann, First Chairman of IG Metall:
“The further training law that is now planned is an important step for a socio-ecological transformation. Employees are given new perspectives in times of change. As an innovative instrument, the qualification allowance helps to stay in the same company with new activities. Whole parts of the workforce can now be supported in their professional reorientation on the basis of a collective agreement or a works agreement in the event of structural change. This corresponds to the idea of the transformation short-time work allowance demanded by IG Metall. A large group of workers are now gaining important opportunities in the face of digitization and decarbonization.
IG Metall expressly welcomes the strengthening and simplification of training and further education funding. It is important that in addition to further training in the profession and retraining in a new profession, the possibility of specialization is also promoted. This is an important expansion, especially for the high demand for skilled workers for the energy transition, but also for digitization.
The Further Education Act and the Skilled Immigration Act set the course. IG Metall welcomes the fact that the attempt to generally open up recruitment abroad for commercial temporary work agencies was repelled. We cannot master a socio-ecological transformation and increasing demand for skilled workers with cheap strategies, but with fair mobility and good work.”
Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member of IG Metall and member of the administrative board of the Federal Employment Agency:
“IG Metall welcomes the fact that the federal government wants to improve the opportunities for young people to get an apprenticeship. This can be seen, for example, in the mobility subsidy, which was even expanded in the parliamentary process. This is a step in the right direction to lower the hurdles when starting an apprenticeship. It is now important that the good projects do not come to nothing. Employers must now also deliver and train more again, otherwise the training guarantee must be supplemented with statutory pay-as-you-go financing.”