State involved in continuing education

The Germans are an inquisitive nation - at least as far as professional continuing education is concerned. The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research has kept count for 2012: in the past year in Germany, a record number of people was registered to have completed a continuing education course.

In 2012, almost every second person (49 per cent) of the working age population has taken part in a continuing education event. The percentage in West Germany was 48, in East Germany it was as high as 53 per cent.

The declared goal of Education Minister Johanna Wanka and her colleagues on the federal state level is to achieve a continuing education rate of 50 per cent in 2015. This, too, is the reason why the government supports its knowledge-hungry citizens also financially. By way of their tax declaration, many people are able to reclaim a large part of the expenses they have invested in their professional continuing education.

However, the tax office clearly differentiates between a continuing education course in the current profession, that is, so-called further or advanced education, and vocational education and training, that is, the preparation for a future occupation. With regards to vocational education and training, further distinction is made between first and second vocational training course.