The role of entrepreneurial enterprises in the field of vocational training and youth (un)employment: new findings and policy implications

At the third AGSE International Entrepreneurship Research Exchange 2006 in Auckland, New Zealand, our research group was invited to present a paper on apprenticeship training positions (ATPs) in young and newly founded enterprises. As far as we know, it was the very first empirical study in this field of interest. The study showed results most surprisingly to many experts. This caused the attention of the German government which enabled us to do further research as suggested by our 2006 AGSE paper's conclusion. By this, we got the ability to conduct a second empirical survey. In Germany, again in this year the supply of apprenticeship training positions cannot catch up with the demand created by young high-school graduates. This results in the problem of unemployment of the young. Germanys 'dual system' of occupational training combines on-the-job training in enterprises with classroom education at vocational colleges. Graduates from vocational colleges are highly respected as well trained workers or craftsmen, and have good job opportunities. But since in most cases an employment contract is a 'condition sine qua no' for applying vocational college, young people without a labour contract for a apprenticeship training position have only very poor job prospects, and they may have to bear this handicap for the rest of their working life. Thus, our research topic gets much attention by media, society, and politics, and is present in TV on the main evening news. Our question therefore is: What contribute entrepreneurial companies in the creation of ATPs? This year's empirical study is not a remake of last year's presentation. We took our research tasks some steps further as suggested in our last paper's conclusion. The aim is to build a proper model to explain the broad variance in and the influences on entrepreneur's behaviours and attitudes in connection with offering ATPs. By this, not only a better understanding of ATP-job creation by entrepreneurial enterprises will be achieved. Moreover, a better model gives the opportunity to re-design or even re-think governmental action carried out in order to generate more ATPs by state intervention in the economy.