Skilled trades trained and employed inside industry rather than in the Handwerk. Same kind of work, sometimes the same job title — and a different chamber, tariff, pay level and set of self-employment rules.
Handwerk vs. Industrie
The repo’s skilled-trades files are Handwerk. These are not. The difference is not cosmetic:
| Handwerk | Industrie | |
|---|---|---|
| Chamber | Handwerkskammer (HWK) | Industrie- und Handelskammer (IHK) |
| Legal basis | Handwerksordnung (HwO) | Berufsbildungsgesetz (BBiG) |
| Self-employment | Anlage A trades need the Meisterbrief | No Meisterpflicht — but see below |
| Typical tariff | Regional Handwerk agreements | IG Metall / IG BCE, 35-hour week, 13th month |
| Employer | Small and medium Betriebe | Manufacturers, plants, large industrial sites |
| Pay | Lower | Materially higher at the same skill level |
The trap this creates. An industrial electrical qualification does not give you the right to open an electrical contracting business. That requires entry in the Handwerksrolle for the Anlage A trade, which normally means the Handwerk route and a Meisterbrief. The two systems train similar people and grant different rights.
Pay is better here, and not verifiable
Industrial trades sit under IG Metall or IG BCE agreements, which pay above Handwerk for comparable work and add a 13th-month payment, holiday pay and a 35-hour week in the metal and electrical industries.
But as reference/pay.md records, these agreements are regionally fragmented — multiple Tarifgebiete negotiating separately, with ERA grading that varies by employer. There is no single scale to check against, so every figure in these files is a market estimate, not a verified one. Always ask which agreement applies and whether the employer is in the employers’ association.
Profiles
- Elektroniker/in für Betriebstechnik
- Mechatroniker/in
- Industriemechaniker/in
- Zerspanungsmechaniker/in
- Werkzeugmechaniker/in
- Konstruktionsmechaniker/in
- Elektroniker — the remaining Fachrichtungen, and the tier below
Professions in this category
- Elektroniker/in für Betriebstechnik (Industrial Electrician) Keeps a factory’s electrical systems running.
- Elektroniker — the remaining Fachrichtungen, and the tier below The repo already has the two electrical anchors: Elektroniker für Betriebstechnik on the industrial side and Elektroniker Energie- und Gebäudetechnik on the Handwerk side.
- Industriemechaniker/in (Industrial Mechanic) Builds, assembles and maintains machines and production plant.
- Konstruktionsmechaniker/in (Structural Metalworker / Fabricator) Builds structures out of steel: plate, profile and tube, cut, formed, welded and erected.
- Mechatroniker/in (Mechatronics Technician) Builds and maintains systems that are mechanical, electrical and software at once.
- Werkzeugmechaniker/in (Tool and Die Maker) Makes the tools that make the parts.
- Zerspanungsmechaniker/in (Precision Machinist / CNC Machinist) Cuts metal to tolerance on CNC machines.