In the German system of dual vocational training, in which companies recruit apprentices, graduates from low-level secondary schools (Hauptschule), and particularly those from immigrant families, are at a significant disadvantage regarding access to such apprenticeships. Previous qualitative studies have already pointed to the role of companies’ recruiting criteria for mechanisms of indirect discrimination, e.g., their desire for smooth social interaction within the firm. This article builds on a standardized survey among companies to which low-skilled adolescents successfully or unsuccessfully applied for dual vocational training. The company data are matched with secondary longitudinal survey data on the same girls and boys. Which recruiting criteria put ethnic minorities at a disadvantage and hence indirectly facilitate ethnic discrimination? The theoretical approach considers (knowledge of) the immigration country’s official language as both a functional requirement and a tool of hierarchical ethnic boundary making. In addition, concepts of social interaction within firms and respective norms as well as of homophily are subjected to an empirical test. Statistical results show that the below-average recruitment chances of applicants with a migration background are somewhat lower if companies stress a social fit criterion in their selection procedures. Furthermore, contrary to the initial hypothesis, ethnic minority youths are only substantially disadvantaged when applying to firms which consider the ability of verbal expression less crucial. Firms which consider this criterion very important may give applicants from immigrant families the chance to present themselves in a job interview and thus dispel ethnic stereotypes like the one that second-generation immigrant youths display serious language deficiencies.

在德国的双重职业培训体系中，公司招收学徒，是初中毕业的学生（Hauptschule），尤其是来自移民家庭的移民，在获得这种学徒方面处于严重不利地位。先前的定性研究已经指出了公司招募标准对间接歧视机制的作用，例如，他们希望在公司内部实现平稳的社会互动。本文建立在对低技能青少年成功或未成功申请双重职业培训的公司进行的标准化调查的基础上。公司数据与相同男孩和女孩的二次纵向调查数据相匹配。哪种招聘标准使少数民族处于不利地位，从而间接地促进了种族歧视？该理论方法将移民国的官方语言（知识）视为功能要求和等级划分种族边界的工具。此外，对企业内部的社会互动，各自的规范以及同质性的概念也进行了实证检验。统计结果表明，如果公司在选择程序中强调社会适应标准，则具有移民背景的申请人的低于平均水平的招聘机会会更低。此外，与最初的假设相反，少数族裔青年在向那些认为言语表达能力不那么关键的公司申请时仅处于劣势。