Like lkrubner already points out, the cause and effect is probably the opposite of what a lot of people think. We may think apprenticeship means business is treating its worker well, "investing" in them. But what did the workers really get? Here's a graph: http://www.businessinsider.com/core-unit-labor-costs-in-germ... Seems being a German worker is not that great?

I'll let Michael Pettis explain it: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/05/07/no_the_span...