Federal programme to secure apprenticeships starts on 1 August

Joint press release

31 Jul 2020 | Press release no.37

A good education lays the foundation for young people’s professional future and ensures the supply of skilled workers in Germany. That’s why the federal government will launch a new nationwide programme on 1 August to secure apprenticeships by funding small and medium-sized enterprises at the start of the new training year. The federal programme has been allocated 500 million euros in funding, of which 410 million euros can be used for the measures envisaged within the initial scheme.

The initial scheme will contain:

  • Bonuses of 2,000 or 3,000 euros for companies that maintain or increase their level of training despite being heavily affected by the corona crisis;
  • Subsidies for training allowance if the training company does not make short-time working arrangements for its apprentices and instructors; and
  • Bonuses for companies that take on apprentices from insolvent firms.

Hubertus Heil, Federal Minister of Labour: “Apprentices are the skilled professionals of tomorrow – and Germany needs highly qualified professionals. A good education is also the best way to prevent unemployment. I think it’s important that young people can undertake an apprenticeship despite the corona crisis. The federal government has created a 500-million-euro safety net for education to help companies give young people a positive outlook. For example, companies that maintain their level of training will receive 2,000 euros per apprenticeship. If companies increase their level of training, they’ll receive 3,000 euros for each additional apprentice. Our aim is to prevent the corona crisis from becoming a training crisis”.

Anja Karliczek, Federal Minister of Education: “Even during the ongoing pandemic, young people need good training opportunities and reliable prospects for their professional future. The federal programme to secure apprenticeships will make an important contribution, as young people will still be able to start, continue or complete vocational training in the 2020/2021 training year. The federal government will provide 410 million euros within its initial funding scheme. One important tool is the bonus offered to any companies that take on apprentices from firms that have filed for bankruptcy as a result of the corona crisis, thereby giving young people a chance to continue their apprenticeship at another company. The bonus is also an incentive for small and medium-sized companies to continue their training. After all, highly qualified professionals will be crucial for Germany to emerge stronger from the crisis”.

Daniel Terzenbach, Member of the Board at the Federal Employment Agency: “The training bonus will help to prevent a whole generation of apprentices from being lost to corona. We’re supporting this by organising payments to companies and taking various other measures. We want to do everything we can to ensure that applicants are paired with companies in these uncertain times”.

The relevant application forms will be uploaded to www.arbeitsagentur.de next week. The funding will be available for apprenticeships starting on 1 August 2020 at the earliest. This also applies if the training agreement was concluded earlier.

The promotion of collaborative and contracted training, which is also part of the federal programme to secure apprenticeships, will be implemented within the second funding scheme.