Know what you still need.

Typical situations

• You don’t have the right vocational training (Ausbildung).

  And you wonder whether that rules you out. In some occupations it doesn’t, in others it does. The difference is crucial.

• You can’t spend three years learning something new.

  Rent, family, running costs. A fresh start has to work alongside life, not instead of life.

• You don’t know what is required and what is only a wish.

  Job ads mix legal requirements with wishes of the HR department. If you separate the two, you know where you can still apply.

Three ways into a new occupation

Direct entry with on-the-job training

The fastest way. You start as an assistant, semi-skilled worker or in an entry-level position and learn at the company. Makes sense if the occupation is not regulated and your experience is close to it. Risk: Without proof of qualification, your progress is sometimes limited.

Further training alongside your job

Courses, certificates or partial qualifications, in the evening, on weekends or online. You keep your income and build up exactly what is missing. Needs discipline and a clear schedule.

Retraining (Umschulung)

A shortened vocational training (Ausbildung) with a recognized qualification, usually two years, funding possible in some cases. The right path if the target occupation requires a qualification or if you are changing fields permanently. The biggest step, and at the end you have a recognized vocational qualification.

Duration and funding differ from case to case. No guarantee of accuracy.

Required or just wished for: reading requirements correctly

Not every requirement in a job ad is a hurdle. Three categories help you sort them:

• Regulated by law: For occupations such as registered nurse (Pflegefachkraft), early childhood educator (Erzieher), physiotherapist or running your own business in a licensed craft trade, a specific qualification is required. There is no way around the qualification here, but there are shortened versions and versions alongside work.
• Customary in the industry: Licenses, certificates and proofs that employers expect, for example a forklift license, a criminal record certificate (Führungszeugnis) or a hygiene certificate. Usually quick to catch up on.
• The employer’s wish: “Completed vocational training” in an ad for sales or office work is usually not a legal requirement but the company’s wish. Ask instead of not applying.

General information, no legal advice. No guarantee of accuracy.

Time, money and funding

Further training costs time and often money. There is support for both, but it has to be applied for and approved in each individual case. Whether funding is possible is decided by the responsible office. The checklist “My plan: Preparation” helps you prepare your application.

• Education voucher (Bildungsgutschein): For job seekers and in certain cases also for employees, through the Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) or the Jobcenter. Covers course costs at recognized providers.
• Funding for employees: Employers can have the further training of their employees funded. A conversation with your current employer is sometimes the shortest way.
• Funding for advancement (Aufstiegsförderung): For upgrading courses with a recognized qualification, such as master craftsperson (Meister), certified senior specialist (Fachwirt) or technician, there are grants and low-interest loans.
• Your own money and part-time: Some paths also work without funding if you put in time instead of money: part-time courses, online certificates, learning alongside your job.

General information, no promise. No guarantee of accuracy.

What you can already have credited

Your work experience is not a blank spot. In vocational training (Ausbildung) and retraining, experience can be credited and the duration shortened in some cases. Partial qualifications build on each other, so you can reach a qualification step by step. If you trained abroad, you can apply for recognition of your foreign qualification (Anerkennung).

So keep a record of what you can prove: employment references, job descriptions, internal training, certificates. These documents will later be your basis for negotiation.

No guarantee of accuracy.

Your next steps

1. For the job you want, separate what is required, what is customary in the industry and what is the employer’s wish.
2. Collect references, proofs and licenses you already have.
3. Take the checklist “My plan: Preparation” with you and prepare your conversation with the course provider.

Download the matching checklist (PDF in German)