What do companies want from school leavers?

What skills do school leavers need to have a smooth and successful start to their professional lives?

This is a question that students, parents, and teachers ask themselves every year. First and foremost, the question should be asked early so that students can begin their apprenticeships well-prepared. And they need help with this preparation – from parents and teachers.

Vocational school cannot impart basic academic knowledge or cultivate personal qualities. Companies expect that by the end of their schooling, students will have laid the foundations for a stable personality, social skills, and a willingness to learn and perform, and that they will have already acquired basic knowledge in all subjects.

The wishes and expectations of training companies can be divided into three main categories:

  • Professional skills
  • Social skills
  • Personal skills

This guide is intended to provide assistance in preparing for professional life. It is designed to enable students, together with their parents and teachers, to review the requirements for each module point by point and assess which prerequisites are already met, which skills need improvement, which knowledge still needs to be acquired, and which personal weaknesses still need to be addressed.

  1. Subject-Specific Competencies
    • Mastery of basic arithmetic techniques
    • Four basic arithmetic operations
    • Calculating with decimals and fractions
    • Working with units of measurement
    • Rule of three, percentage calculations
    • Area, volume, and mass calculations
    • Fundamental principles of geometry
    • Understanding and solving word problems
    • Application of the most important formulas
    • Using calculators
    • Basic command of the German language

  • Students should be able to understand simple and moderately complex topics orally and in writing, formulate them clearly, and write simple texts without errors. Grammar and spelling are essential.

  • Young people should be able to distinguish between different registers of language, i.e., know what youth slang, everyday language, technical language, and formal language are.

  • Basic scientific knowledge

  • Basic knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science helps in understanding modern technology.

  • Basic knowledge of economic principles
    Through internships (OiB, BORS, holiday internships), students should gain initial insights into the world of business and work.

How the market economy works and the role of companies, the government, unions, and households within it should be taught in school.

  • Basic English skills
    English is indispensable. Therefore, young people should be able to communicate in English about simple situations and circumstances in professional life.

  • Basic IT skills

  • Modern information and communication technologies are also indispensable in everyday life and work. Therefore, young people should generally have a positive attitude towards modern technologies, be comfortable using them, and perhaps already have basic computer skills.

  • Knowledge of and understanding of cultures
    Only those who know their own and other cultures and their origins can truly understand them. This is one of the prerequisites for tolerant interaction with people of different backgrounds.

Therefore, students should acquire knowledge in school about German and European world history, social and political conditions in various countries, ethical principles, and religious forms and content.

  1. Social Skills
  • Willingness to Cooperate – Teamwork
    The collaboration between employees and supervisors within a team is a crucial prerequisite for the success of a company. It facilitates the exchange of information, experiences, and suggestions for improvement, promotes motivation and creativity, simplifies workflows, and contributes to productivity and effectiveness. Therefore, young people should definitely possess a willingness to cooperate and the ability to work in a team when starting their professional lives.

This skill can be practiced in school projects and group work, but also outside of school in clubs or youth work programs.

  • Politeness – Friendliness
    Polite and friendly behavior is important for a positive work environment. Aggressive, rude, or boorish behavior disrupts this environment and can damage the company's reputation with the public, suppliers, and especially customers.

  • Conflict Resolution Skills
    Different opinions, attitudes, and perspectives, for example, on how a problem can be solved, will always exist in professional life. These differences should be addressed peacefully, constructively, and without aggression. This requires:

  • The willingness to discuss differences objectively,

the ability to present one's own arguments and to accept and evaluate other arguments.

  • Tolerance
    Young people must be able to tolerate opinions, attitudes, or behaviors of others that differ from their own views. However, tolerance has its limits. There are things that are unacceptable, such as violations of the democratic order, human rights infringements, aggression and violence, deliberate disruption of the workplace, or destructive refusal to perform. Young people should be able to clearly and unequivocally distance themselves from such behavior.
  1. Personal Skills
  • Reliability
    As an important prerequisite for successful collaboration, companies expect reliability from their trainees.

Supervisors must be able to rely on young people to perform the tasks assigned to them (that correspond to their abilities) even under adverse circumstances, without requiring constant monitoring and control.

  • Willingness to learn and perform
    Work, training, and one's own profession are important parts of one's life and offer the opportunity to develop oneself and one's skills. Only those with a positive attitude towards them will be successful. Those who see their training merely as a necessary evil will have a difficult time. Those who are curious at the start of their training, have a desire for new things, and are willing to contribute and learn have a good chance.

  • Perseverance – Staying power – Resilience
    Of course, there will be setbacks in professional life, and success won't always be immediately apparent. One must be able to endure this without giving up. This requires:

  • perseverance and patience to process disappointments.

  • Diligence – Conscientiousness
    Company tasks require accuracy and taking things seriously. "Letting things slide" or "taking it easy" isn't always possible. Instead, the following are required:

  • Self-discipline

  • Sense of order

  • Punctuality

Ability to concentrate
To master their tasks well, young people must be able to concentrate effectively for longer than ten minutes and avoid distractions.

  • Sense of responsibility – Independence
    Sense of responsibility and independence develop over the course of one's professional life. However, the foundation should already be there. Trainees, too, should be able to take responsibility for failures and mistakes and not shift unpleasant, bothersome tasks or responsibilities onto others.

  • Ability to give and receive criticism
    The ability to give and receive criticism does not mean endless discussions about everything, but rather the ability to distinguish between what is important and what is not. Young people should be able to assess a situation or issue positively or negatively based on objective criteria. Equally important, however, is the ability to be self-critical, meaning to acknowledge mistakes and be willing to make corrections.

  • Creativity and flexibility
    Both qualities play an important role in working life, even if not all problems can be solved immediately and creatively. Nevertheless, trainees should have their own ideas, for example, on how to better manage company tasks or organize their own workspace. And trainees should be willing to familiarize themselves with other areas of responsibility.