Since April 2024, the new regulations of the Act to Strengthen the Promotion of Training and Further Education have been in force. One benefit within the framework of employee qualification is the qualification allowance.

The target group of the qualification allowance are employees who are particularly at risk of losing their jobs due to the transformation of the world of work, but who can secure their future employment in their current company through further vocational training.

The qualification allowance supplements the existing instruments for employee qualification. It is paid irrespective of the size of the company, the age or the qualifications of the employees and is paid as a wage replacement benefit. The amount of the training allowance is 60 percent - or 67 percent for employees with at least one child - of the net salary lost as a result of the training. Employers can top up the amount. The employer bears the costs of further training.

Prerequisites for the training allowance Prerequisites for the training allowance include a structural change-related need for training for a significant proportion of the workforce, a company agreement or a company-related collective agreement (except for micro-enterprises) and sustainable employment prospects in the current company. The employees must agree to the training.

Employers can apply for the training allowance online.