Spain bets on German-style apprentices to fix youth unemployment

Kelvin Heredia poses for a picture at the academy where he's taking a computer course in Mostoles, outside Madrid, Spain, October 2, 2015. REUTERS/Susana Vera

MADRID (Reuters) - Kelvin Heredia dropped out of school aged 16 during the heady days of Spain's real estate boom to take up well-paid work as a window fitter.

Now, a decade later, Heredia is unemployed and without qualifications, a plight that highlights two intractable problems holding back Spain's economy - the highest youth unemployment rate in the European Union, a ranking it reclaimed from Greece in June, and the highest school drop-out rate.