Apply for funding for professional development at the Jobcenter

General further education support with the education voucher:

With an education voucher, the Jobcenter can cover all or part of the costs of your continuing vocational education. Before you receive an education voucher, the responsible job center will check with you whether further education 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 further education measure itself must also be approved and fit the education voucher. The education voucher specifies, among other things:

• the educational goal,
• the duration until the educational goal is reached,
• the contents of the qualification,
• the regional area of application and
• the period of validity in which you must have redeemed the education voucher and begun your participation.

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

The continuing education costs that the Jobcenter pays for you usually include:

• Course costs and costs for determining suitability,
• travel expenses,
• Costs for lodging and meals away from home,
• Costs for child care.

Continuing Education Awards:

If you start a continuing education program to obtain a vocational qualification in a recognized training occupation, you will receive EUR 1,000 for passing an intermediate examination regulated by law or ordinance and EUR 1,500 for passing the final examination.

Continuing education allowance:

If you participate in a degree-oriented continuing education program, you will receive a continuing education allowance of EUR 150 per month as of July 1, 2023.

Citizen's allowance bonus:

If you participate in a further vocational training (of at least 8 weeks) for which you are not entitled to a further training allowance, you will receive a citizen's allowance bonus of 75 EUR per month from 01.07.2023.

Subsequent acquisition of the secondary school leaving certificate:

Under certain conditions, the subsequent acquisition of the secondary school leaving certificate or an equivalent qualification is also subsidized.

Support for employees without a vocational qualification or with a vocational qualification that cannot be used (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 profession you learned earlier due to occupational alienation, you will be subsidized by assumption of the costs of further training if you participate in further training measures for the subsequent acquisition of a vocational qualification.

The following are included in these 4 years

• Periods of employment in unskilled and semi-skilled work
• Unemployment
• Periods spent caring for relatives
• Periods spent raising children

If you are still in need of assistance according to SGB II during the period of further education, you will continue to receive your citizen's allowance during further education.

Acquisition of basic skills:

Basic skills in reading, writing, mathematics or information and communication technologies can be supported by your job center under certain conditions, provided that these basic skills improve your employability on the labor market or you want to complete a vocational qualification afterwards.

Support for employed workers:

The Agentur für Arbeit is responsible for this type of support.

However, the relevant job center can advise you on further training for employees, particularly if they work in occupations that may be replaced by technology or are otherwise affected by structural change, or are seeking further training in a bottleneck occupation, i.e. an occupation in which there is a shortage of skilled workers.

Your employer must generally contribute to the cost of the training. He or she can also receive wage subsidies while you are undergoing further training. The size of the contribution depends on the size of the company:

• Wage subsidies:
  • Up to 25 percent for companies with 250 or more employees,
  • up to 50 percent for small and medium-sized enterprises (10 to 249 employees), and
  • up to 75 percent for microenterprises (fewer than 10 employees).
• Grants for training costs:
  • 100 percent in microenterprises with up to 9 employees,
  • up to 50 percent in companies with up to 249 employees,
  • up to 25 percent in companies with 250 employees or more,
  • up to 15 percent in large companies with 2,500 or more employees,
  • up to 100 percent in small and medium-sized enterprises (up to 249 employees) for older employees (from age 45) or employees with a severe disability.
• In addition, up to 15 percent higher subsidies for training costs and wages if there is a collective agreement or a company agreement on vocational qualification or if there is a special need for further training.
• Assumption of the full cost of training courses and a wage subsidy of up to 100 percent for low-skilled persons participating in training courses with the aim of obtaining a vocational qualification.

With an education voucher, the job centre can cover all or part of the costs of your further vocational training. Before you receive an education voucher, the responsible job centre 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 match the education voucher. The education voucher specifies, among other things:

• the educational objective,
• the time it takes to achieve the educational goal,
• the contents of the qualification,
• the regional scope, and
• the period of validity 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 in places that you can reach daily from home.

The training costs that the job centre pays for you usually include:

• course costs and costs for the aptitude test,
• travel expenses,
• costs for external accommodation and meals,
• Cost of caring for children.

Training bonuses:

If you start further training before 31.12.2023 with which you acquire a vocational qualification in a recognised training occupation, you will receive EUR 1,000 for passing an intermediate examination regulated by law or an ordinance and EUR 1,500 for passing the final examination.

Subsequent acquisition of the secondary school leaving certificate:

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

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

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 profession you learned earlier due to alienation from your profession, you will be supported by taking over the costs of further training if you participate in further training measures for the subsequent acquisition of a vocational qualification.

These 4 years include:

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

If you are still in need of help during the training period according to SGB II, you will continue to receive your citizen's allowance during the further training.

Acquisition of basic skills:

If you still lack basic skills in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics or information and communication technologies for further training with which you want to acquire a vocational qualification, the job centre can also promote further training in these areas under certain conditions.

Support for employed workers:

The Employment Agency is responsible for this type of funding.

However, the responsible job centre can advise you on 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 course costs. He can also receive wage subsidies while you are undergoing further training. How large the share is depends on the size of the company:

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