Analyses and studies

Gaining insights, decoding information - through precise analyses and well-founded studies

The WFG commissions expert reports and surveys on specific specialist topics in order to identify indications for regional support services and action measures. For example, a youth monitor was carried out for the district of Mayen-Koblenz, as well as company surveys.

Mayen-Koblenz district youth monitor 2022

Results of the Mayen-Koblenz 2022 Youth Monitor Download now

What makes the young generation in the district tick

The good news: 70 percent of young people in the Mayen-Koblenz district believe that they will later find a training or study place in the region that meets their expectations. Another 70 percent believe that they will find a job here that meets their expectations. However: 80 percent are also prepared to leave the district for training or studies, and 70 percent would do so for a job. And: 88 percent can imagine returning. These are the findings of the Youth Monitor for the district of Mayen-Koblenz conducted by the agency MODULDREI Strategie und Kommunikation GmbH in the late summer of 2022, which - as completeness demands - does not really bring any bad news. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement.

What speaks for MYK?

1313 teenagers and young adults aged between 15 and 25 took part in the district's online survey, which aimed to find out how young people orient themselves professionally, how they assess their future opportunities, what they see as the advantages and disadvantages of Mayen-Koblenz as a location, whether they want to live here in the long term and, above all, what should be improved. After evaluating the standardized online survey, focus groups were formed in which anonymous interviews were conducted with pupils and trainees.

Key factor: jobs

"Many young people want to live somewhere else after school, training or university, some for professional reasons, others simply to get to know a different environment or simply because they see too few prospects for themselves here in the district. Based on the results of the study, we want to target the latter group in particular," says Henning Schröder, Managing Director of the WFG, describing the background to the Youth Monitor. And indeed, the availability of jobs and further training is the decisive factor for almost 70% of respondents to stay - a figure that, like the statements on training and jobs outside the region, largely corresponds to those of a comparative study from 2017. One change: the proportion of those who would leave the district for a job offer has fallen by 12% in 2022 compared to 2017. However, the study sees a certain amount of pandemic-related fatigue here. An initial conclusion: "Young people feel comfortable in the district."

Almost half have a clear goal

"Young people want good job offers. Larger companies and jobs outside of the technical field are particularly important to them," say the study authors. Even though half of those surveyed find technical professions interesting, they want a broader range across all sectors, from biology to research. As in 2017, the range of training and study places on offer is largely rated as good. There was an increase of 12% in terms of specific career plans: in 2017, 35% had clear ideas, this time it is around 47%.

A stressful topic for young people: public transport

Then as now, this was a major issue: almost 33% mentioned local public transport and mobility when asked where they thought the district needed to improve. Only half or fewer mention leisure, housing and events. This concerns both the expansion of the network between urban and rural areas and cheaper fares, although the introduction of the so-called Deutschlandticket was not yet an issue at the time of the survey.

More information from the field

It is now important to further improve prospects and create attractive career opportunities in order to keep the skilled workers of tomorrow in the region. This can be achieved through dialog offers. In the focus groups, the participants therefore analyzed what information is needed with regard to studying and training, how companies should present themselves and what role the district can play. According to the Youth Monitor, the most important sources of information on future careers are internet searches (84.54%), friends and acquaintances (70.17%), parents and family (66.97%) and school (44.19%). Direct contact with interesting companies follows directly behind (33.86%). And this could be expanded according to the ideas of young people, as they would like more information about jobs and their requirements, direct insights into professions and companies, but also about courses of study. Also on the "wish list": Detailed information on the overall course of an apprenticeship, further training opportunities, training for job interviews and aptitude tests, application tips.

Expand dialog channels

It should come as no surprise that social media is the most popular information channel. According to Moduldrei, Instagram is the top dog, followed by YouTube and TikTok. The keyword is moving images: "Videos are used to convey essential information in a compact and target group-specific way," says the Youth Monitor. A dedicated campaign page is also suggested - the economic development agency is already active in this area. A regional online job exchange or a relevant app are also conceivable. Young people also appreciate personal discussions and workshops with companies, "well-made print products", alumni days at school and additional internships. More exchange between companies and schools is the recommendation of the study makers.