Why Vietnamese Apprentices Are Leaving German Vocational Schools

More than 200 trainees stop attending in Berlin

More than 200 Vietnamese apprentices have stopped attending lessons and workplace training at the Brillat Savarin School in Berlin's Weissensee district in recent months. They represent about one third of the school's Vietnamese cohort, leaving teachers and employers trying to understand why so many young people have abandoned a route intended to lead to skilled work.

As of October 24, 2025, their whereabouts remain unclear. Similar departures have been reported at vocational institutions across Germany over the past two years. Customs and police checks at nail salons and restaurants in Berlin and other cities have raised suspicions that many former trainees are moving into irregular employment, including jobs paid in cash outside their training arrangements.

Sebastian Riesner, managing director of the Food, Beverages and Catering Union in the Berlin Brandenburg region, said schools and authorities still lack a complete picture of the departures and where the trainees have gone.

'We don't really know where they've gone,' said Riesner.

Germany has around 16,000 vocational trainees from Vietnam, with about 4,000 arriving in 2024 alone. Vietnam is one of the largest sources of apprentices from outside the European Union. Employers facing persistent staffing shortages in hospitality and care increasingly depend on this recruitment channel.

For the young people involved, the promise is substantial: paid training, a qualification recognized across Germany and a route toward steady employment. Recruitment debts, misleading salary promises, language difficulties and the expense of living abroad can turn that opportunity into a struggle to earn money quickly.

What apprentices sign up for

Germany's dual vocational education system combines classroom learning with paid work at a company. Apprentices typically spend four days a week at work and one day at vocational school. They earn wages from the beginning while learning the practical and theoretical parts of an occupation.

First year hospitality pay often averages around 1,000 euros a month before deductions, with wages rising in later years. Apprentices who complete their training receive a qualification widely recognized by employers throughout Germany. For Vietnamese applicants, the chance to gain experience while earning can be more attractive than a course based entirely on academic study.

German employers also gain from the arrangement. They can train motivated recruits to company standards while apprentices help with everyday operations. Kitchens, dining rooms and hotel services rely on that contribution, making the sudden loss of trainees a problem for both staffing and the development of future skilled workers.

The arrangement still requires sustained learning. Apprentices must attend classes, complete assignments and manage work shifts. German technical vocabulary can be difficult, while kitchen and hotel work demands stamina and often involves irregular hours. Support varies between employers, and the first months can be especially demanding for someone adjusting to a new language and country.

A growing route with signs of strain

Vietnam's importance to German vocational recruitment makes the Berlin departures a concern beyond one school. The roughly 4,000 arrivals in 2024 are equivalent to about a quarter of the approximately 16,000 Vietnamese vocational trainees in Germany, illustrating the scale of recent recruitment.

The main developments span several periods:

• Early 2024: Alma Recruiting was founded by migrants who had successfully trained and worked in Germany.
• During 2024: About 4,000 Vietnamese vocational trainees arrived in Germany.
• Over the two years leading up to October 24, 2025: Institutions across Germany reported Vietnamese trainees leaving their programs.
• In recent months before October 24, 2025: More than 200 Vietnamese apprentices stopped attending lessons and workplace training at the Brillat Savarin School.

Unions, educators and migrant support groups want stronger safeguards while preserving access to training. German employers need staff, and Vietnamese young people want skills, earnings and international experience. Keeping apprentices enrolled depends on making those expectations workable from recruitment through their first months in Germany.

Recruitment debt puts pressure on modest wages

Some Vietnamese trainees pay recruitment brokers fees of up to 20,000 euros. Families often borrow to meet those costs, expecting the apprentice to begin sending money home soon after arriving in Germany.

At a first year hospitality wage of about 1,000 euros a month before deductions, a 20,000 euro fee equals roughly 20 months of gross earnings. Rent, food, transport and payroll deductions still have to be paid from those earnings. The comparison helps explain why a family loan can become difficult to manage even when a trainee is receiving the advertised wage.

Recruitment debt changes the choices facing an apprentice. Time spent in school is necessary for a qualification, but a job promising more immediate cash can appear more useful when relatives are waiting for repayments. Union officials and advocates link that pressure to some decisions to leave training.

Migrant support groups in Berlin also point to aggressive and sometimes misleading promotion on social media in Vietnam. Recruiters using platforms such as TikTok can highlight German gross salaries while giving too little attention to taxes, social insurance and living expenses.

Gross pay is the amount before payroll deductions. Net pay is what reaches a worker's bank account afterward. A recruitment pitch built around the larger figure can leave newcomers expecting more spending money than they actually receive, especially if they have already promised regular payments to their families.

Language problems can undermine training

Union officials and school staff in Berlin say some arriving trainees present language certificates that later appear to have been forged or obtained fraudulently. An apprentice whose certificate suggests stronger German than they possess may struggle as soon as work and lessons begin.

Language skills affect far more than examination results. Trainees need to understand safety briefings, communicate with colleagues, serve customers and learn the specialist words used in their occupation. Weak communication can slow training and make ordinary workplace tasks harder.

Hospitality apprentices face those demands alongside the physical pace of kitchens and hotels. Even a motivated learner may find it difficult to keep up with classroom theory after demanding shifts. Language and integration pressures can make an already steep learning curve harder during the early months.

Advocates want verified language testing and better preparation before departure. Their argument is that many young people intended to learn, work and support their families. Inaccurate recruitment information, heavy debt and preparation that falls short can leave them looking for a quick way out when training becomes difficult.

Where former trainees may be working

German customs, often working with local police, has conducted inspections and raids in sectors associated with irregular employment. Nail salons and small restaurants feature in recent accounts of those operations in Berlin and other cities.

Investigators suspect that many apprentices who leave training find work in those businesses. Personal networks can connect people to jobs quickly, and cash payments can appeal to someone who needs immediate income. Some businesses place speed and staffing ahead of contracts and compliance with employment rules.

Authorities say inspections also seek to identify people exposed to exploitation. A trainee who leaves school and an established training company loses regular contact with teachers and workplace mentors. Limited German and a large debt can then make it harder to challenge unpaid overtime or wages below the legal minimum.

Riesner's union is receiving more inquiries from students caught between financial pressure at home and demands at work. The longer someone stays outside formal training, the harder returning becomes: missed lessons create gaps in theory, while missed workplace instruction interrupts practical learning.

For a young person trying to repay a loan, immediate earnings can gradually replace the original goal of a recognized qualification. Survival and debt repayment then take priority over building a career through training.

Living costs narrow the room for error

A wage of around 1,000 euros before deductions has to cover life in Germany as well as any support sent home. Payroll taxes and mandatory social insurance reduce the amount available, while rents in Berlin and other large cities have risen.

Moving into accommodation can require a deposit and basic furnishings. Food, transport passes, everyday expenses and health costs not covered by insurance add further demands. An apprentice who has budgeted using a recruiter's headline salary may discover that little remains for family repayments.

Working hours can add another layer of strain. A typical week involving four days in a kitchen or hotel may include early starts, late finishes and weekend shifts, alongside a school day covering vocational theory and language. Some trainees share rooms far from work and face long commutes.

The attraction of a job offering immediate cash grows when financial stress and exhaustion arrive together. Leaving training may appear to solve the next rent payment or loan installment, while exposing the worker to problems involving employment rights and permission to remain in Germany.

Leaving a placement can put residence status at risk

Apprentices in Germany usually hold a residence permit linked to their training contract. Someone who leaves without securing another recognized placement can put that permission at risk. Remaining without a valid basis can lead to enforcement action and increase dependence on employers willing to offer unauthorized work.

Trainees facing abuse or unable to continue with a particular employer often have lawful options to change training companies. Getting advice promptly matters because the time available to resolve their position can be short. Unions, legal aid services and official advisory centers can help them explore ways to stay within the training framework.

Employers also face scrutiny. Customs investigates businesses suspected of underpaying workers, hiring without contracts or misusing trainee permits. Companies found in violation can face fines and back payments for wages and social contributions.

Workers can face consequences for employment without authorization. A trainee weighing departure therefore has several connected problems to resolve: income, a new placement, residence permission and protection from exploitation. Leaving a difficult employer and abandoning the training system are different choices, and advisers urge students to seek help before their options become narrower.

Support begins before the flight to Germany

Unions, schools and migrant advocates are calling for practical changes throughout recruitment and training. Before departure, applicants need accurate explanations of net pay, living expenses, working hours and the demands of hospitality and care. Verified language certificates would help employers and schools understand what support a new arrival actually needs.

Employers can provide clearer introductions to pay and workplace expectations. Schools can offer language help focused on the technical terms apprentices encounter in class and at work. Recruiters and partner schools in Vietnam can prepare applicants for the routine they will face, including the balance between shifts, lessons and assignments.

Alma Recruiting, founded in early 2024 by migrants who successfully trained and worked in Germany, is one example of an effort within the Vietnamese diaspora to make the route more transparent. The agency says it checks companies and candidates, provides early career counseling and language preparation for specific subjects, and arranges placements through structured corporate partnerships.

The agency's stated aim is to reduce departures by bringing expectations closer to actual workplace conditions before a contract is signed. That approach addresses a recurring problem: applicants may commit to substantial costs before fully understanding the training they are buying access to.

What Berlin and Hanoi could coordinate

The Berlin based Vietnam International Safe Labour Alliance is among the nonprofit groups seeking recruitment standards that penalize deceptive marketing and excessive fees in Vietnam. Advocates want governments and reputable agencies to publish a clear schedule of legitimate costs so families can better judge what they are being asked to pay.

They also support social media campaigns to counter misinformation and hotlines for trainees pressured to leave school for illegal work. Reaching applicants on the same platforms used by recruiters could help them compare promises with practical information about wages and expenses.

German and Vietnamese authorities could work with schools and reputable agencies to verify language credentials, monitor attendance within privacy rules and arrange quick support when a trainee shows signs of distress. Consular outreach, information sessions in Vietnamese and clear instructions on changing employers could help students remain in training.

Those measures serve interests shared by both countries. German companies need trained employees, while Vietnam has young people seeking skills and international experience. Transparent recruitment and support during the first months can help keep those goals aligned when financial or workplace problems arise.

Migration changes elsewhere add to the information problem

Australia has recently more than doubled student visa fees and shortened the period graduates can remain, saying the changes are intended to reduce migration and protect the integrity of its programs. Its student arrangements differ from Germany's vocational training permits, but both involve governments balancing recruitment opportunities with tighter controls.

For Vietnamese applicants comparing destinations, changing rules add to the difficulty of judging promises about overseas study and work. Advertisements about high salaries or easy routes to residence may leave out conditions that determine whether a plan is affordable or lawful.

Responsible agencies need to update their information when policies change. Without accurate explanations, young people and their families may rely on rumors when making decisions involving loans, employment and migration. In Germany, the immediate task is to make a paid training place sustainable long enough for an apprentice to gain the qualification they came for.

Key Points

• More than 200 Vietnamese apprentices stopped attending lessons and workplace training at Berlin's Brillat Savarin School, about one third of its Vietnamese cohort.
• Germany has around 16,000 Vietnamese vocational trainees, with about 4,000 arriving in 2024.
• Recruitment fees can reach 20,000 euros, compared with first year hospitality pay averaging around 1,000 euros a month before deductions.
• Investigators suspect many former trainees enter irregular work in nail salons and restaurants, where debt and limited German can increase exposure to exploitation.
• Union officials and school staff cite questionable language certificates, while migrant groups warn about misleading salary promotion on social media.
• Leaving training can put residence permission at risk, although trainees may have lawful options to change training companies.
• Proposed safeguards include verified language testing, transparent fees, realistic financial advice and faster support for apprentices in difficulty.