Applying for a new occupation requiring formal training for persons with disability

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Wherever possible, people with disabilities should be trained in “regular” recognised occupations requiring formal training.

If, in your own personal case or in the case of a person with disability under your care, training in a recognised occupation requiring formal training is not possible due to the nature and severity of the disability, the competent authority (for example, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry or the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts (, HWK) will make training arrangements subject to submission of an application.

If such arrangements are already in place for the desired profession in your region, you are not required to submit an application.

For some professions, the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (, BIBB) has already made recommendations for so-called special practitioner occupations in acc. with Art. 66 of the German Vocational Training Act and Art. 42m of the German Crafts Code, but these must also be accepted in your region. Please therefore find out in advance from the authority responsible for the desired profession in your region whether such an arrangement already exists. Depending on the profession, the relevant competent authorities are for example Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts or Chambers of Agriculture (, LWK).

The procedure for establishing new arrangements requires the involvement of various bodies and institutions – also separate from the chamber – and takes longer as a result, usually between 6 and 12 months. Legal stipulations require numerous procedural steps to be completed, from the application, completion of required information and documents, clarification of details, determination of suitability of the training provider, discussion and decision-making by the chamber's vocational training committee, approval by the competent German Federal State Ministry and subsequent publication of the new arrangements.

You must provide evidence that the training arrangements are in place for you to take the training programme you wish to take.
Further pre-requirements are listed on the website of the competent authority or available from its training advisory service.

Forms: As specified by the competent authority
Online procedures possible: No
Written form requirement as per German Civil Code Art.126: As specified by the competent authority
Appearance in person required: As specified by the competent authority

As specified by the competent authority
Further information is available from the competent authority via its website or from its training advisory service

Fees may apply, depending on the competent authority. Contact the competent authority directly for more specific information on fees.

Before submitting an application, you should seek advice from a training advisor within your chamber regarding whether regular vocational training is an option in your case or whether a suitable training arrangement already exists in your region.

If such an arrangement does not yet exist and regular training is not an option for you, you must find a suitable training employer and a vocational school which can provide the classroom-based part of the training. Your chamber may be able to help you with this.
You may need to clarify further details with the chamber.
The chamber then decides whether the vocational training committee must consider your application or whether it can be processed directly.
If a decision by the chamber's vocational training committee is required, your application will be submitted to the committee at the next available meeting. The voluntary vocational training committee normally meets three to four times each year.
As a rule, the vocational training committee first discusses the application and may gather further information relating to it. The decision on a new training arrangement is either taken at the next meeting or directly at the first meeting.
The new training arrangement will then be forwarded to the competent State Ministry, which must still approve the arrangement. This can take several weeks or even months.
Once the competent State Ministry has issued its approval, the arrangement can be adopted. If no specific, later date is set, the arrangement is deemed effective from the date of publication.