According to the Erfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), companies from industry and trade are having increasing problems filling their training positions. According to a survey of 150 companies by the Chambers of Industry and Commerce, around every second company (55 percent) offered training positions for the start of training in the fall. The IHK Erfurt spoke of an "increasing challenge" for companies to secure their skilled workers through the training of young people. The results for the Erfurt region, which stretches from Apolda to Bad Salzungen and via Nordhausen, among other things, are available to the German Press Agency. Every second company stated that they had not received any applications at all in the past year. According to their own statements, 59 percent of the companies that were unable to fill their training positions did not receive any suitable applications. According to the IHK Erfurt, there are still plenty of vacancies for the start of training in autumn. This trend can be seen across Germany. According to the DIHK, more than four out of ten of the approximately 15,000 IHK training companies nationwide were not able to fill all of the training positions offered last year.

According to the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, companies urgently need to recruit new blood so that Thuringia's economy "doesn't run out of breath" due to increasing retirements. According to the survey, more than every second company relies on flat hierarchies to get trainees. Every second company relies on financial incentives and an improvement in the IT equipment of the trainees. Every third company is working on the hiring processes. Student internships should attract more trainees.