Kim Leonie Kellermann analyzes the impact of sectoral minimum wages in Germany on the
willingness of youths to undergo apprenticeship training. Using data from the German
Socio-economic Panel the author shows that higher wage floors set small positive incentives
for vocational training in the respective sectors. In case employers have to pay higher wages
they preferably hire qualified workers so that the worse job prospects of the low-skilled
outweigh the potential pay increase. In order to preserve these training opportunities it can
make sense for policymakers to exempt apprentices from minimum wages since subminimum
apprenticeship rewards are more appealing to firms.
