Foreign language skills, experience in project management, leadership skills, social skills: if you want to prevail over your competitors in the application process, you often have to bring a colorful bouquet of skills and abilities with you. It is no longer enough just to be good at the job. Rather, the overall package is in demand. Continuing education is a great way to improve your career opportunities. But what to do if courses are expensive and your own budget is rather narrow? In such a case, further training grants can be a solution. And there are quite a number of these. They address different target groups. The so-called education vouchers are used particularly frequently. They are primarily intended to support unemployed women and men. The education bonus offers good support for employees and self-employed people with a low income.
Further training thanks to the education voucher
If you want to be an education voucher, you must first overcome a few hurdles. Because not everyone has a chance that their application for this funding will be approved. Rather, you have to meet certain requirements to receive an education voucher.
This is the case, for example, if:
- You are unemployed,
- You are at risk of unemployment,
- You currently have a job, but no professional qualification.
If you meet one of these criteria, first contact your employment agency and there to your clerk. Very important: If you are not yet registering for further training, talk to your responsible clerk first. Here, however, you should note that there is no legal entitlement to an education voucher. Because it is a so-called can-do service.
If you want to convince in an interview, it makes sense to find out about possible further training opportunities before your appointment. In this way, you can already provide your clerk with specific information about the course you want. Also, deal with the question to what extent your placement chances on the job market can be improved by the course. Please note, however, that the further training offer you have selected must be recognized as a corresponding measure by the Federal Employment Agency. To do this, you can take a look at the database of the Employment Agency in advance. In this, you will find numerously certified and therefore recognized measures.
Very important: If you receive this funding, you should observe the deadline. Because an education voucher usually has to be redeemed within three months. If this period of validity is exceeded, it will expire. If you cannot find a suitable training course within this period, you will have to apply for a new voucher.
Professionally fit with the education bonus
The education bonus is a further training grant for low-wage earners. It is a state financing offer. The aim of this financing offer is to improve the professional opportunities of people who earn too little to be able to afford an expensive course. The funds for the award voucher come from the Ministry of Education and Research and the European Social Fund. From this, you will receive financial grants for courses so that you only have to pay half of the training costs yourself. But here too you have to meet some requirements:
- You must be at least 25 years old.
- Your maximum taxable income may not exceed 20,000 dollars per year. For jointly invested persons, the limit is 40,000 dollars per year.
- You have to work at least 15 hours a week. (Parental or care periods are also taken into account)
- You must not have used a premium voucher in the current or the previous calendar year.
- The further training you require must not cost more than 1,000 dollars.
If you can tick each point, you can arrange a free appointment in a corresponding counseling center. There you can also submit your application to receive the education bonus.
For your application to be successful, you should deal intensively with various questions and considerations beforehand:
- What would you like to achieve with the training?
- Which training providers are suitable?
- What does the advanced training cost?
- Do you meet the funding requirements?
You can find an overview of the various advice centers here.
Funding for different target groups
But there are other support services for further training measures in the professional area:
- People under 25 who have completed their vocational training particularly well can apply for a further training grant.
- Unskilled employees and employees over 45 years of age who work in small and medium-sized companies can receive financial support for further training via the WeGebAU program.
- Craftsmen and skilled workers can apply for the Master BAfoG.
- The advancement scholarship is a sensible choice for particularly motivated professionals who would like to complete a degree.
Those who would like to continue their education but do not have the necessary financial resources do not have to do without these measures. And with the right program, it can be possible to complete the training that really takes you further.
