Applying for funding for continuing vocational training at the Employment Agency

General support for further education with the education voucher:

With an education voucher, the Employment Agency can cover all or part of the costs of your continuing vocational training. Before you receive an education voucher, the responsible employment agency will check with you whether further training is necessary for you.

You can redeem the education voucher at an educational institution of your choice if it is approved for further education funding.

The training measure itself must also be approved and fit the education voucher. The education voucher specifies, among other things:

• the educational objective,
• the duration until the educational goal is achieved,
• the contents of the qualification,
• the regional scope, and
• the validity period during which you must have redeemed the education voucher and started your participation.

The education voucher is generally valid at your place of residence and at places that you can reach daily from home.

The training costs that the Employment Agency pays for you usually include:

• course costs and aptitude assessment costs,
• travel expenses,
• costs for accommodation and meals abroad,
• Costs for the care of children.

Continuing education bonuses:

As part of a further education funded by the Employment Agency and started before 31 December 2023, which leads to a qualification in a training occupation for which a training period of at least 2 years is stipulated under federal or state law, you will receive a further education bonus of EUR 1,000 after passing an intermediate examination regulated in these regulations and EUR 1,500 after passing the final examination.

Subsequent acquisition of the lower secondary school leaving certificate:

Under certain conditions, support is also provided for the subsequent acquisition of the lower secondary school leaving certificate or an equivalent qualification.

Support for employees without a vocational qualification or with a non-usable vocational qualification (low-skilled workers):

If you do not yet have a vocational qualification or have not worked in your learned profession for more than 4 years and can no longer practice the previously learned profession due to occupational alienation, you will be supported by taking over the further training costs if you participate in further training measures for the subsequent acquisition of a vocational qualification.

These 4 years include:

• Periods of unskilled and semi-skilled employment
• Unemployment
• Hours for caring for relatives
• Child-rearing times
• Periods of marginal employment

If you are entitled to unemployment benefit before the start of your training, you will also be paid unemployment benefit for the period of further training.

Acquisition of basic skills:

If you still lack basic skills in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics or information and communication technologies, the Employment Agency can, under certain conditions, also promote further training in these areas.

Support for employed employees:

The Employment Agency can also promote the further training of employees, especially if they work in occupations that can be replaced by technologies or are otherwise affected by structural change or are seeking further training in a bottleneck occupation, i.e. in an occupation in which there is a shortage of skilled workers.

In principle, your employer must contribute to the costs of the course. He can also get wage subsidies while you are doing further education. How large the share is depends on the size of the company:

• Wage subsidies:
  • up to 75 % for micro-enterprises (up to 9 employees).
  • up to 50 % for small and medium-sized enterprises (10 to 249 employees) and
  • up to 25 % for companies with 250 or more employees,
• Subsidies for course costs:
  • 100 % in micro-enterprises with up to 9 employees,
  • up to 50 % in companies with up to 249 employees,
  • up to 25 % in establishments with 250 or more employees,
  • up to 15% for large companies with 2,500 or more employees,
  • up to 100% in small and medium-sized enterprises (up to 249 employees) for older employees (aged 45 and over) or employees with a severe disability.
• In addition, up to 15% higher subsidies for course costs and remuneration in the event of a collective agreement or a company agreement on vocational qualification (plus 5%) and special training needs (plus 10%).
• Assumption of the full course costs and wage subsidy of up to 100% if low-skilled workers participate in employment in further training with the aim of obtaining a vocational qualification.