More and more students attending Denmark’s vocational schools are finding it impossible to augment their education with an apprenticeship at a company.

The figures from the Education Ministry show that the number of pupils with an apprenticeship agreement fell to 43,378 in May – a decrease of 3 percent since May 2015 and the lowest level for six years.

No room
Søren Heisel from the 3F union described the situation as “catastrophic”.

“We are short thousands of skilled workers, and yet the number of apprenticeships continues to fall,” Heisel told TV2 News.

“There are now nearly 13,000 students currently lacking an apprenticeship.”

Lone Folmer Berthelsen from industry group Dansk Industri said that students wanting an apprenticeship should research which fields of study to offer them.

“It’s a good idea to examine which subjects offer internships,” she said.