Upgrading Training Assistance Act

• Employed persons (without age limit) with a completed vocational training. The legal basis is the Law for the Promotion of Vocational Further Training AFBG.
• University and university of applied sciences graduates with a bachelor's or equivalent degree.
• Dropouts or high school graduates without a first training degree, but with the professional experience required by the training regulations for their further training.
• Foreigners, if they have their permanent residence in Germany and have certain residence titles or a permanent residence permit or have legally stayed in Germany for 15 months and have been employed. This also includes the time of their vocational training.

Public and private providers offer full-time and part-time training courses specifically designed to prepare for public examinations under the Vocational Training Act, the Crafts Ordinance or equivalent qualifications under federal or state law.

Funding is available for:

• Full-time courses
• Part-time courses
• Distance learning and media-based courses The desired professional qualification must be above the level of a craftsperson, journeyman or apprentice examination or a vocational school diploma. Therefore, a completed initial training is often a prerequisite for admission to the training examination. For example, master courses or comparable courses are eligible for funding (in total, more than 700 training qualifications are offered).

Subsidy combined with loan. Partial funding up to a maximum of €15,000 for course and examination fees.

• 50% subsidy
• Remaining amount as a low-interest loan
• 50% cancellation of the loan upon successful completion of the exam
• 100% cancellation of the loan upon business start-up Depending on the family status of the participants, subsidies and loans are paid for living expenses. Single parents receive an additional childcare allowance.