47 million euros

Secretary of State Baake approves funding for inter-company vocational education and training.

Rainer Baake, Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy provided notification to Holger Schwannecke - General Secretary of the German Central Association of Skilled Trades - of this year's award of around 47 million euros for funding inter-company apprentice training in the skilled crafts.

Secretary of State Baake commented, "Inter-company apprentice training is an expression of the flexibility of dual education and training and its guarantee to provide qualified skilled workers for the German economy in the best way possible. Inter-company apprentice training enables the latest technological developments to be integrated at the training stage and in doing so strengthens the competitiveness of the skilled crafts. The support for inter-company apprentice training over many decades has contributed to the fact that the skilled crafts consistently perform above average in terms of training."

Dual vocational education and training in the skilled crafts generally takes place in small, skilled craft businesses. They finance the company-based section of the vocational education and training and are responsible for delivering the practical training content specified in the training regulations. Many of these skilled craft businesses specialise in a limited range of goods and services. This means they are unable to deliver all required training content to their trainees.

Inter-company apprentice training enables parts of the practical vocational education and training to be carried out in appropriate institutions outside the training centres and is generally an established part of vocational education and training in the skilled crafts. The grant is used to contribute to the costs of the course and accommodation which are borne by the training companies in the skilled crafts.

The funding of inter-company apprentice training is used by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to support those training companies in the skilled crafts which, in particular, have delivered a disproportionately high level of training and which, therefore, represent a key factor for ensuring the supply of skilled workers.