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Paid training in a company: how Ausbildung works

Ausbildung combines paid work in a company with lessons at a vocational school and ends with a recognized qualification. Companies without a collective agreement must pay at least a legal minimum, most trainees earn clearly more, and applicants from abroad usually need German at B1 level for the residence permit.
Written by
Janine El-Saghir
Reviewed by
Erkan Boga

Ausbildung in Germany: at a glance
  • Paid training in a company plus vocational school, for two, three or three and a half years, in one of 327 recognized occupations.
  • Pay from day one. Without a collective agreement, training that starts in 2027 pays at least €764 a month in the first year, and most trainees earn clearly more.
  • Coming from abroad: a residence permit for training, usually with German at B1 level, and a separate permit to search for a training place.

Ausbildung is Germany’s dual vocational training: you sign a training contract with a company, work there most of the week and learn the theory at a vocational school (Berufsschule). About half of each age group starts one. At the end comes a final exam at the chamber, and with it the right to work as a skilled worker in the occupation. The training allowance is gross pay: work out what reaches your account with the salary calculator.

How Ausbildung works

  • Two places of learning. Trainees spend three or four days a week in the company and up to two days at the vocational school, which teaches at least twelve hours a week. Some schools teach in blocks of up to six weeks instead.
  • A contract under private law. The company pays for the training on the job and pays you a training allowance. What you learn is laid down in a national training regulation for each occupation.
  • Probation of one to four months. During it, either side can end the training at any time without notice. Afterwards the company needs an important reason, and you can leave with four weeks’ notice if you give up the training or switch to another occupation. Notice must be in writing on paper.
  • Exams at the chamber. An intermediate exam comes around halfway, the final exam at the end. Some occupations split the final exam into two parts instead.

German school-leavers usually enter with the first certificate after grade 9 or the intermediate certificate after grade 10. Training at full-time vocational schools (Berufsfachschule) exists as well, for one to three years depending on the career.

Training pay

Minimum monthly training pay in Germany, by the year the training starts
Year of training Training started in 2026 Training started in 2027
First year €724 €764
Second year €854 €902
Third year €977 €1,031
Fourth year €1,014 €1,070
Gross per month. The rate of the starting year applies for the whole training. Sources: Federal Law Gazette notice on the minimum training pay 2026, Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), minimum pay 2027, retrieved 8 November 2026.

The minimum binds companies without a collective agreement, and a collective agreement may set less. Few contracts sit on the minimum anyway: only three to four percent of new contracts in the first year pay exactly the minimum. In companies bound by a collective agreement, trainees earned €1,209 a month on average across all years of training in 2025. A company without a collective agreement may pay at most 20% below the agreement for its sector and region. The minimum for the first year is adjusted every year in line with the rise in average training pay, and the second to fourth years carry fixed surcharges of 18%, 35% and 40%.

Ausbildung for applicants from abroad

Two residence permits matter, depending on whether you already have a place.

Residence permits for vocational training in Germany
Permit for vocational training Permit to look for a training place
For A signed training contract with a company, or a place at a vocational school leading to a state-recognized qualification Looking for a place in Germany
Main conditions In-company training: as a rule, approval of the Federal Employment Agency. German at B1 level, unless the school tests your German or you take a preparatory German course. Under 35, secured living costs, a school certificate that would admit you to university in Germany or in the country where you obtained it (or a German school abroad), German at B1 level. Granted for up to nine months.
Side job Up to 20 hours a week outside the training Up to 20 hours a week, plus trial work of up to two weeks in total
Source: Residence Act, sections on vocational training and on searching for a training place, retrieved 8 November 2026.

If you lose the training place through no fault of your own, the immigration office must give you up to six months to find another one before it ends the permit. The application at the German mission, the proof of funds and the health insurance: vocational training visa. Looking for a company: finding a job in Germany.

First steps

  1. Pick the occupation, then look for companies that train in it, well before the start you have in mind.
  2. Get your school certificates translated and, if you are abroad, start German lessons towards B1.
  3. Apply with a German CV and cover letter: the German CV, the cover letter.
  4. Once you have the contract, apply for the permit, and sort out health insurance and a bank account for your pay.

Bottom line

Ausbildung suits anyone who wants to earn from the first month and leave with a recognized qualification instead of a degree. From abroad, German at B1 is the step to plan first, then the contract, then the permit.

Part of education in Germany. Related: working in Germany · the school system.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The training contract is a private contract, so the company decides whom it trains. For the permit to search for a place from abroad, your certificate must be one that would admit you to university in Germany or in the country where you obtained it, or come from a German school abroad.

Almost always. For the residence permit you need German at B1 level, unless the school tests your German itself or you attend a preparatory German course. Plan the language course before you apply.

During the probation, at any time and without notice. Afterwards with four weeks’ notice if you give up the training or switch to another occupation, always in writing on paper and with the reason. The company itself can only end the training for an important reason after the probation.

Training pay is gross pay like a salary. Check the net amount with the salary calculator.

Sources (as of 8 November 2026)

Sources (as of 8 November 2026)

  1. Eurydice, European Commission, Germany: organisation of vocational upper secondary education (dual system, 327 occupations, vocational school) and assessment in vocational upper secondary education (exams).
  2. Vocational Training Act (BBiG), section 17: training pay, section 20: probation, section 22: notice (in German).
  3. Federal Ministry, notice on the minimum training pay 2026 (in German); Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), minimum training pay rises to €764 in 2027 (7 October 2026, in German).
  4. Residence Act (AufenthG), section 16a: vocational training, section 17: searching for a training place, section 2: German level B1 (in German).
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About the authors
Janine El-Saghir Janine El Saghir is an editor at How-to-Germany.com, where she specializes in the practical aspects of daily life and integration for expatriates. With years of...
Erkan Boga Erkan Boga is the founder and CEO of qmedia GmbH, the publishing house behind How-to-Germany.com. He established the platform with the clear vision of creating... Read more