Apply for funding for professional development at the employment agency

General further education support with the education voucher:

With an education voucher, the Employment Agency can cover all or part of the costs of your continuing vocational education. Before you receive an education voucher, the responsible employment agency 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 Employment Agency 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 bonuses:

In the context of a further training course sponsored by the Employment Agency and commenced before December 31, 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 regulations, you will receive a further training premium of EUR 1,000 after passing an intermediate examination governed by these regulations and EUR 1,500 after 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 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
• Periods of marginal employment

If you are entitled to unemployment benefits prior to the start of your continuing education, unemployment benefits will also be paid to you for the period of continuing education.

Acquisition of basic skills:

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

Funding for employed workers:

The Employment Agency can also support continuing education for employed workers, especially if they work in occupations that may be replaced by technology or are otherwise affected by structural change or are seeking continuing education 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. How large the share is depends on the size of the company:

• Subsidies for wages:
  • 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 employees or more,
• Grants towards 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 companies with 250 employees or more,
  • up to 15 % in large companies with 2,500 or more employees,
  • up to 100 % in small and medium-sized companies (up to 249 employees) for older employees (from the age of 45) or employees with a severe disability.
• In addition, up to 15% higher subsidies for training costs and pay if there is a collective agreement or a company agreement on vocational training (plus 5%) and for special training needs (plus 10%).
• Assumption of full course costs and wage subsidy of up to 100% for participation of low-skilled workers in employment in further training courses with the aim of obtaining a vocational qualification.