Ausbildung — the dual system

Almost every profession file in this repo says something like “3 years dual, paid roughly €1,100–1,400/month”. This explains what that actually is, what it legally guarantees, and what it does not.

Terminology first. The legal term since the 1969 BBiG is Auszubildende/r, colloquially Azubi. “Lehrling” is historical in Germany — still heard in the Handwerk, still standard in Austria, but not the legal word. Both appear in conversation; contracts use Auszubildende/r.

What it is

A dual training: you are employed by a company under an Ausbildungsvertrag and schooled at a Berufsschule at the same time, typically three or four days at work to one or two at school, or in block weeks. It runs two to three and a half years depending on the occupation.

Two legal bases: the Berufsbildungsgesetz (BBiG) for IHK occupations, and the Handwerksordnung (HwO) for Handwerk trades. The relevant Kammer — IHK or HWK — registers the contract, supervises the training and sets the examination.

Your trainer must hold the AEVO qualification (Ausbildereignung), which for Handwerk trades is Teil IV of the Meisterprüfung.

Since 1 January 2020, §17 BBiG sets a Mindestausbildungsvergütung — a statutory minimum training wage. It is indexed and rises every year, so no figure is quoted here; look up the current first-year rate.

The structure is worth knowing: the first-year rate is set, and later years are uplifts on it — +18% in year 2, +35% in year 3, +40% in year 4.

Most employers pay above the floor. Tariff-bound industry (IG Metall, IG BCE) and the public sector (TVAöD) pay near the top of the ranges quoted in the profession files; small Handwerk firms sit nearer the bottom.

Collectively agreed rates override the statutory minimum, including where they are lower — a tariff binds if your employer is covered by it.

What the contract gives you

  • Probezeit of one to four months (§20 BBiG). During it, either side can terminate without notice.
  • After the Probezeit, the employer effectively cannot terminate you except for serious cause (§22 BBiG). This is much stronger protection than an ordinary employment contract. You, by contrast, may leave with four weeks’ notice if you are giving up the training or changing occupation.
  • Paid release for Berufsschule (§15 BBiG). School time is working time.
  • Training, not cheap labour — the employer must follow the Ausbildungsrahmenplan. Persistent failure to train is something the Kammer will act on; this is what the supervision is for.
  • Under-18s are additionally covered by the Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz: restricted hours, no night work, longer holiday.
  • Teilzeitausbildung (§7a BBiG) — training part-time is a legal option, relevant for anyone with caring responsibilities.

Shortening it

Verkürzung (§8 BBiG): with Abitur, a prior qualification or relevant experience, training can typically be shortened by six to twelve months. Strong performance can also bring the final exam forward. Agree it with the employer and the Kammer — it is not automatic.

Examinations

Older occupations use a Zwischenprüfung partway through plus a final exam. Most modern ones use the gestreckte Abschlussprüfung: Teil 1 partway through and Teil 2 at the end, with Teil 1 counting toward the final grade. That matters — there is no longer a practice run.

Handwerk trades end in the Gesellenprüfung, several with a Gesellenstück you design and build yourself.

Afterwards — no automatic right to stay

Being kept on (Übernahme) is not a legal entitlement. In practice:

  • Large and tariff-bound employers often have collective agreements requiring it, at least temporarily.
  • Members of the Jugend- und Auszubildendenvertretung (the trainee representation body) have a statutory right to be taken on under §78a BetrVG.
  • Everyone else negotiates.

Ask, early and directly, what proportion of the last few cohorts were kept on. It is the single most useful question about a training place.

For foreign candidates

An Ausbildung is a legitimate immigration route in its own right: §16a AufenthG, for vocational training. You need a training place, and B1–B2 German, because Berufsschule is taught and examined in German without exception.

It is slower than arriving as a qualified worker, and much cheaper than a degree — you are paid throughout, there are no tuition fees in the dual system, and you finish with a qualification German employers recognise immediately. For someone without a recognised qualification, it is frequently the most realistic route in.

See visa routes for how §16a compares with the alternatives, and meister.md for the ladder above.

Sources

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