Study Reveals Discrimination in Germany’s Training Market

A new study by the University of Siegen has uncovered stark evidence of discrimination against young people with migrant backgrounds applying for apprenticeships in Germany. The field experiment, based on over 50,000 fictitious email inquiries sent to 700 businesses with open training positions, revealed a troubling trend: the likelihood of receiving a positive response strongly correlates with the applicant’s name and, by implication, their perceived ethnicity.

While a fictional “Lukas Becker” received replies to 67 out of every 100 inquiries, names such as “Yusuf Kaya” or “Habiba Mahmoud” fared significantly worse. Applicants with Russian or Hebrew-sounding names also saw lower response rates. “Ivan Smirnov” got 56 responses, “Ariel Rubinstein” 54, while “Yusuf Kaya” received 52. At the bottom of the list was “Habiba Mahmoud” with only 36 responses.

The results, researchers say, suggest that origin trumps merit. “Even excellent school grades or participation in prestigious competitions like Jugend forscht do not compensate for a non-German sounding name,” explained Dr Dilara Wiemann, one of the study’s authors.

Businesses surveyed cited concerns over language skills, cultural differences, bureaucratic challenges and legal status as reasons for their hesitation to consider candidates with migrant backgrounds.

But this kind of exclusion carries a cost for the wider society. “We simply cannot afford to waste potential,” warns Professor Dr Ekkehard Köhler. “This is particularly problematic in the skilled trades, which are already suffering from a shortage of young talents.”

For many children of immigrants, this hidden barrier to vocational training adds to existing structural disadvantages, making it harder to secure a foothold in the German labour market. The findings raise urgent questions about equal opportunity in a country where diversity is growing, but where names still seem to open or close doors.

Vivian Asamoah