Berlin's economy defends itself against controversial training place levy!

Berlin's economy defends itself against controversial training place levy!

The Berlin economy is urgently calling on the Senate to forego the introduction of a planned training place levy. Sebastian Stietzel, President of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK), sharply criticizes the current draft law, which he describes as an unjustified special tax. Loud Borken newspaper This levy could create additional bureaucratic hurdles and endanger Berlin as a business location.

Stietzel also questions whether the Alliance for Training, which has set itself the goal of integrating more young people into vocational training, actually offers the right solutions. The criticism particularly concerns the claim that it is not the number of training places that is lacking, but rather the successful matching between young people and the companies providing training.

Draft law and political reactions

Labor and Social Senator Cansel Kiziltepe (SPD) counters the business allegations and accuses them of not creating enough apprenticeships. It plans to introduce the levy if an additional 2,000 apprenticeship positions are not created by the end of 2025. A draft bill for the law has already been completed. A broad participation process should follow in order to discuss the project thoroughly, reports rbb24.

The levy would affect all employers in Berlin, with the amount being between 0.1 and 0.4 percent of gross wages. In return, companies that offer and fill training positions could receive financial aid from the newly founded “training fund”. According to reports, the number of unfilled training places has increased fivefold since 2009, while in 2024 over 3,700 young people remained without a training place.

Goals of the Alliance for Training

The Alliance for Training, founded in August 2023, has set itself the goal of creating a total of 34,835 apprenticeships by the end of 2025. The coalition agreement between the CDU and SPD includes 2,000 new, permanent training positions. If this goal is not achieved, there is a risk of the introduction of the training place levy. Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) has spoken out against this tax and instead calls for a stronger focus on actually creating new training places.

Currently, only around 11 percent of Berlin companies provide training, while the national average is almost 22 percent. This suggests that there are significant training deficits in the capital, which the planned levy is intended to address.

The position of the economy and political ambitions must now be reconciled. A clear framework for action and the urgent need to increase demand for training are the focus of current debates in Berlin.