JOBSTARTER: Funding Innovation in Vocational Training

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has been supporting the development of Germany's training structure through its JOBSTARTER programme for over four years now. Over 280 innovative projects are being funded. All these projects are helping to create additional traineeships and are offering various measures to support companies which either have no previous experience with training or which have grown weary of providing training. The JOBSTARTER projects have secured around 56,700 training positions to date, 39,000 of which have already been suitably filled.

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Programme structure and funding volume

JOBSTARTER is making an important contribution to supporting the activities of the National Pact for Career Training and Skilled Manpower Development in Germany. By 2013, the BMBF will have provided the programme with funding worth approximately 125 million euros, including funds from the European Social Fund. JOBSTARTER is being implemented by the programme office at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB). In addition, four regional offices in Hamburg, Nürnberg, Berlin, and Düsseldorf are providing information on the conditions for funding at the local level and are stimulating cooperation between regional projects and stakeholders.

Funding at the regional level

JOBSTARTER provides funding for projects which help to create additional in-company traineeships as well as to recruit suitable trainees. Improved cooperation between local stakeholders will strengthen regional responsibility for vocational education and training while contributing to structural development. Cross-border cooperation in education and training also plays an important role - after all, development in border regions is no longer purely a national concern. With its nine bordering states, Germany has more neighbours than any other European country.

Key areas in the latest round of funding

In its fifth and final round of funding, JOBSTARTER is aiming particularly at sustaining skilled labour through in-company training, European openness, and increasing the attractiveness of the dual system of vocational training. Key areas include:

•  Training initiatives in selected fields
• Development of in-company training opportunities for selected target groups
• Development  and stabilization of regional training structures
• Applicability and flexibility through additional qualification opportunities within the dual training system
• Cooperation in training at a European level

A major focus is the securing of traineeships in new careers and opening fields such as renewable energy. Several projects are dedicated to entrepreneurs with migration backgrounds - an area in which participation in training remains below average. Affiliated groups and funding from foundations in vocational training also play an important role.

An additional focus is on projects which test new opportunities afforded by the Vocational Training Act (BBiG), such as part-time vocational training - an opportunity anchored in the BBiG in 2005. These projects offer young people with familial responsibility a realistic opportunity for qualified vocational training. Within the JOBSTARTER programme, projects are successfully promoting part-time vocational training by providing businesses and trainees with the necessary information and practical evidence.

The projects are implemented inter alia by chambers of trade and industry, local and regional institutions, education providers and companies.

For more information, please see the JOBSTARTER website (in German language only).