Abstract

Hartz IV: The Transition of Young People (under 25) to the Adult Department (over 25) – Seamless Interface or (Predetermined) Breaking Point?

German politics and economy are looking for skilled migrant workers to cope with the increasing lack of skilled personnel. Instead, unused resources of young unemployed welfare recipients ought to be employed because more than half of those are unskilled. Especially the unemployed job centre customers aged from 23 – 27 experience a system-induced period of inactivity as to their professional qualification. Professional qualification in Germany is regarded as the „driving licence for working life" (= ticket into the skilled worker markets). The transition from the youth department (under 25) into the adult department (over 25) proves problematic due to the lack of a transition system. A possible solution may consist in creating common chains of learning in terms of a modular qualification that will eventually lead to a professional qualification. As a result, under 25 and over 25, i. e. youth-adequate training and adult-oriented qualification, will be systematically interlinked.