Move to Germany Without a College Degree
A skilled apprenticeship might be your ticket to a new career and a new life
My daughter graduated from a private international school this past spring, and my son is entering the home stretch of secondary education in the Berlin school system. So it’s probably not surprising that I have been hyper-focused lately on the different career and educational paths open to young adults in Germany.1
And, because there aren’t enough young adults here to fill all of the open positions in Germany, these opportunities are also open to people willing to immigrate from other countries.
I think when most people outside of the country hear the phrase “skilled workers” they envision workers with in-demand professional training, like software engineers, academic researchers, or nurses and doctors. And while these professions are in demand, there are possibly even more opportunities for people willing to learn a trade.
There are currently 250 different occupations that are filled through vocational apprentice programs. For example, you can study to be an electrician, a house painter, a bakery assistant, bank teller, or dispensing optician.
In Germany, apprenticeship programs are nationally regulated, with a minimum established salary and guaranteed vacation time, as well as standards for training and professional certification.
They typically last for three years of combined classroom and on-the-job training, as well as certification exams, at the end of which the apprentices are certified in their profession and can look for a permanent position.
I’ve followed Max Yoko’s vlogs about life as a university student in Germany, and he gives good advice. Here he talks about the option and process of doing an Ausbildung instead of full-time university studies.
Open to foreigners
To encourage more people to move to Germany and fill needed training positions, the German government offers a special visa for vocational training that allows you to move to Germany once you have a apprentice spot lined up.
You can find out more about the visa requirements here.
This guide from the website Ausbildung.de provides a great overview and checklist covering the process of getting an apprenticeship and applying for the visa.
Note: People from outside the EU can also now apply for a visa to come to Germany without a position and search for one after they arrive. The visa allows you to stay in the country and search for a training spot for nine months — you can also work up to 20 hours a week at another job while you search.
School-based versus company-based
Apprenticeships (called Ausbildung in German) can be either with a specific company — and usually will lead to direct employment with that company — or a “dual study” (Duales Studium) program at a college.2
Company-based apprenticeships usually come with a salary, while a dual-study program may require you to pay tuition. The advantage of the school-based ones are that they may be more general and are not tied to a specific employer.
The advantage of the company-sponsored one is that it comes with a salary, and sometimes other perks, like included language courses. The salary will provide documentation to immigration officials that you will have sufficient income to support yourself and you won’t have to have money in a blocked account (Sperrkonto) in order to get a work visa.
Diploma + German
The two basic requirements for starting almost every Ausbildung in Germany are:
1) a school-leaving certificate or diploma that is equivalent to the German Realabschluss or Hauptabschluss; and
2) documented basic German language skills—usually this requires a certificate verifying at least a CEFR level B1 or B2 (for health care apprenticeships).
The Certificate Recognition Office (Zeugnisanerkennungsstelle) of the federal state where you apprenticeship takes place will examine your diploma and transcripts and decide whether they are equivalent to the required German qualifications. You can start this process at the German embassy in your home country or by contacting the office in your federal state if you are already here.
Here, Naija Girl in Germany who is doing an apprenticeship talking with Ms. Alari of Diary of a Nigerian German who is an “Azubi alum.”
Things to watch out for
As with everything, there are always some downsides and things to watch out for.
Some Germans have criticized the programs for outdated work practices and pay scales. Apprenticeships used to be primarily taken up by students who left school at 16 with a basic educational qualification and finished their education with a company while living at home.
The federal minimum annual salary of 682EUR per month in the first year is not enough for an adult to live on independently. Although many programs offer high starting pay than the mandated minimum, workers can often make more in unskilled jobs in food service or warehouses than they can during an apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships are designed to provide a stepping stone to better salaries later, while the take-home pay in minimum-wage jobs won’t improve much. Still, many workers are finding it impossible to manage without outside help — which not everyone has.
Still as competition for workers increases, many programs are improving the salaries and other benefits offered to attract and retain Azubis.
For example, you can see the requirements and benefits for a tram, subway or bus driver trainee for Berlin’s transit authority, BVG, here.
Finding an Ausbildung
If you are interested in seeing what’s out there, you can check the listings on the websites Azubiyo or Ausbildung.de for current openings.
FYI, most apprenticeships will start in early September. So, there will be more openings as the year goes on as programs recruit for the following year.
Or, for apprenticeships in specific areas, search company websites.
More Info
These articles offer more in-depth information about finding and applying for an Ausbildung in Germany.
Have a question, more information, or an idea for a story for an upcoming issue? Drop a comment below, or send me a message.
And even not-so young adults. This soon-to-be empty-nester may go back to school or do an Ausbildung herself!
And apprentices are called Azubis, here - short for Ausbildender/Ausbildende or ‘person doing an’ Ausbildung.
Is Alte Frau thinking about going back to school?