At one time, vocational training as a bank clerk was regarded as the king of apprenticeship occupations. Successful graduates could go wherever they liked all the way to the board rooms of large banks and corporations. So highly coveted were the apprenticeships that only very good upper secondary school leavers could get a place. In 1994, over 20,000 young people decided to follow this path in Germany. Today, it is only half that amount. When in the past, a free position attracted up to 500 applications, today it is sometimes only 50. Banks, and especially small savings banks and cooperative banks, have problems filling their free positions with suitable candidates at all – there are many reasons for this trend.
