Useful tips for announcements for vacant training positions can be posted online – e.g. on internet job boards or company websites – or they can be posted off-line in print media, for instance. Online announcements can take advantage of the free German employment agency’s job board and other specialized online job banks, such as the job boards for Chambers of industry and trade. Off-line announcements can be placed in traditional print ads in regional or national daily and weekly newspapers, regional student newspapers, or training-related magazines for young people (publications of trade organizations, for instance).

Regardless of the medium, vacancy announcements are a simple and effective recruitment instrument. They are a vehicle that easily brings together companies offering training and people interested in training. The online and off-line versions each have their own pros and cons. Traditional print ads are expensive, but are taken a bit more seriously. Advertisements on online job boards are particularly attractive for smaller lesser-known companies because their corporate websites are less likely to come to the attention of potential applicants. These are also the preferred medium for young people because they find it easy and convenient to view and sort through current announcements.

Here are the useful tips:

• Ads should be designed to attract attention and pique curiosity; they have to have a teaser. The ads should communicate only the most important aspects of the position with meaningful, clear, and concise statements. Link to your company homepage where you can provide more detailed information.
• When advertising on job boards, use terms that are meaningful and preferably keywords that potential trainees will use to search for vacant positions. To ensure that you do not slip in the rankings in the search results, remove your announcement after a few weeks and re-post it in a slightly different form if necessary.
• Also consider innovative formats for the vacancy notice. For example, instead of the HR department placing the ad, the team seeking trainees could place it directly. The team could introduce itself, perhaps with an accompanying picture, and then describe how it envisions new trainees and future coworkers.
• Job postings may even be supplemented by a link to YouTube offering a virtual tour through the company. The video introduces applicants to the working environment, workstation, the team, or the supervisor. Other links could lead to the company website, for example, with a description of the trainees’ typical day or week.

Project “StartApp – Starting with Apprenticeship” supports small and medium sized businesses (SME) in intensifying their commitment to in-company training. To that end, this project provides solutions for the recruitment of young people interested in on the job training. Here the focus is on methods of acquisition, selection and integration of trainees during the first phase of their staff membership in the company.

The handbook “Finding and retaining trainees” is a guide for companies that want to make their trainee recruitment capable of addressing the current challenges in the training market. It guides the reader step by step through the individual phases of recruitment. Numerous tips and instructions ensure successful implemen tation of the recruitment measures in a practical business environment. It reveals new ways to inspire young people for a career and win them over as trainees.