Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning to all of you. I will be asking my questions in French.
I would like to begin with your dual system. I understand that part of the training is provided in the company workplace and the other part in a vocational school. Here, in Canada, we do the same thing, but we do have some issues with the school portion.
In Canada, apprentices start a little bit later than they do in Germany. On the financial side, people are entitled to employment insurance benefits and often have to wait quite a while before receiving their initial benefits. This explains why some individuals decide not to enroll as apprentices or simply drop out.
How have you resolved this problem? Does having apprentices start younger have an impact? Moreover, if your system includes apprentices who are slightly older—individuals who are already in the labour force—how do you deal with the financial issues when they go back to school?