Qualification Opportunities Act for Employers: How to obtain further training funding

Knowledge is expensive - and a lack of knowledge can cost you dearly. In a time of constant change and innovation, further training is therefore essential in order to remain competitive in the market. Employees need to be trained, but are then absent from the company, resulting in high costs. A challenge - which is now greatly alleviated by the updated Qualification Opportunities Act for employers. Up to 100 percent funding for further training and wage costs The state takes over for you: We explain the requirements and how you and your employees can benefit! 

Objectives of QCG funding: securing the future through further training 

The Qualification Opportunities Act (QCG) aims to ensure that employees can take advantage of further training more quickly and more frequently and that employers can respond to new developments with greater financial security. The QCG offers extensive subsidies of up to 100 percent for further training and wage costs. This allows companies to react more flexibly to structural change and digitalization, offer career changers and other employees prospects and make their workforce fit for the future. The funding also makes it easier for companies to continue paying wages during further training. 

The Qualification Opportunities Act forms the basis of the Qualification offensive of the Federal Employment Agencythe second part is the Education and Training Act. This adapts the SGB III: 

• Extension of the regulation on further training during short-time work 
• Introduction of the mobility allowance 
• Introduction of the qualification allowance (see further down in the text) 
• Promotion of extra-company vocational training (since August 1, 2024) 

The main purpose of the extensive programme is to respond to changing conditions such as digitalization and the economic challenges posed by climate change. It is also about making it easier for people without qualifications and in structurally weak regions to find prospects for training and further education. 

The changes focus on the amended Qualification Opportunities Act, which has enabled employers and employees to receive higher subsidies and simpler conditions since April 2024.  

How does the Qualification Opportunities Act benefit me as an employer? 

Further training without funding is an extreme burden for SMEs in particular: employers have to bear the costs of further training and wages, especially in the case of full-time further training, and ensure that the missing workforce is compensated by a replacement, e.g. temporary workers or freelancers. 

As an employer, you benefit in particular from the Qualification Opportunities Act: up to 100 percent of the costs of further training and up to 100 percent of your employee's wage costs can be subsidized as an allowance for the continued payment of wages during further training. This applies to both full-time and part-time further training courses of at least 120 hours. 

How you can help your employees open up attractive further training opportunities without having to bear an additional financial burden. This will not only ensure you have satisfied colleagues, but also future-proof colleagues who can give you a real advantage over your competitors. This is because the Qualification Opportunities Act only promotes further training that really helps companies and their employees to make progress, for example in the challenges and opportunities of digitalization or for catching up on training qualifications. 

For which employees can I apply for QCG funding as an employer? 

Funding under the Qualification Opportunities Act is aimed at employees in the private sector. Here, the vast majority of colleagues can benefit from the QCG. Excluded from QCG funding however, are the following employment relationships: 

• Managing Director 
• Apprentices 
• Part-time employees 

Self-employed persons and employees in the public sector cannot apply for further training funding under the Qualification Opportunities Act either. 

Much more important than the exceptions, however, are the criteria as to how much funding is actually provided. The actual share of funding depends primarily on the following conditions: 

• How big is your company? 
• Does the further training make up for a missing professional qualification? 
• Is the employee to be supported over 45 years old or severely disabled? 

This much in advance: further training for colleagues over the age of 45 and for people with a severe disability is 100 percent subsidized, even for companies with up to 499 employees. You can find out more about this below. 

Possible topics for further training with QCG funding 

The main criterion of the Qualification Opportunities Act is that the further education and training is future-oriented. This means that it must teach more than the content required for the current occupation. 

In particular, the focus is on topics that deal with the following megatrends: 

• Structural change 
• Transformation 
• Digitization 

The topics of StackFuel for example, fit perfectly with the requirements of the Qualification Opportunities Act. By focusing on data science, data analytics and artificial intelligence, employees and employers can secure real competitive advantages. 

One example: The course "Introduction to Data Science" is an ideal start to being able to handle large amounts of data and gain insights from it. In particular, companies that work with customer data, such as online stores, or with machine data in industry, can thus discover and exploit efficiency potential. Data professionals can also be a real asset in the areas of purchasing, human resources and, in particular, marketing, where they can leverage opportunities for greater effectiveness.  

Furthermore, further training measures that help to cover the know-how required for the market with the company's own staff are eligible for funding. This means, for example, that low-skilled colleagues can be supported so that they can gain new opportunities through further training. 

Tip: Further training for career changers or those who have not previously worked in the profession can also be funded under the Qualification Opportunities Act, which represents a real opportunity in recruiting! This makes it easier to offer extensive qualifications and makes it easier to finance them. In this YouTube video of the employment agency, a company from Thuringia has its say. 

These further training courses are funded by the Qualification Opportunities Act for Employers 

The first prerequisite for a measure to be eligible for funding is whether it is certified in accordance with AZAV. This means that the training meets the requirements of the "Accreditation and Approval Ordinance for Employment Promotion". The provider itself must also have AZAV certification. 

Furthermore, the following requirements must be met for funding: 

• The further training must comprise at least 120 hours - but not necessarily in one go. 
• The employee's last comparable further training must have taken place at least two years ago.  
• The content of the qualification must be future-oriented, see previous section. 

The actual further training can then take place in Part-time or full-time take place. A further training program consisting of several training measures may also be eligible for funding if this can be conclusively justified. 

As the employer, you are responsible for preparing the application. The applications are relatively straightforward and can also be submitted as Collective application be submitted to the Employer Service of the Employment Agency. A prerequisite is advice from the Employer Service, which will also show you the possibilities and limits of the funding. 

Advice on the Qualification Opportunities Act for employers: How the Employment Agency can support you 

The employment agency is the authority that ultimately decides on the application for funding under the QCG. The employer service of the employment agency will advise you in advance and will also accept your application. 

Tip: Private training providers such as StackFuel advise and prepare you competently and independently for the interview with the employment agency and the application process. 

How is the assumption of costs staggered in relation to company size at the QCG? 

The proportionate assumption of costs is staggered depending on the size of the company. The amendment to the Qualification Opportunities Act 2024 by the traffic light coalition has enabled small and medium-sized companies to receive higher funding: previously, companies with 250 employees or more only received 25% of the costs; now companies with up to 499 employees even receive 50% funding. 

The following table gives you an overview of the various funding levels in relation to the type of further training and the size of the company: 

	Degree-oriented further training, e.g. vocational training	Other professional training
Company size	All company sizes	< 50 employees	50-499 employees	From 500 employees
Assumption of course costs	100 %	100 %	50 % (100 % at the end of the 45 years of age or in the case of severe disability)	25 %
Wage subsidy	Up to 100 %	75 %	50 %	25 %

If you, as an employer, would like to enable your employee without a previous vocational qualification to undertake further training to enable him or her to catch up on a qualification, you will therefore receive 100% funding regardless of the size of the company. Other vocational training courses receive funding of 25 to 100 percent. 

Another innovation since 2024 is the qualification allowance. It enables employers to release their employees from work for further training. The employer must bear the costs of the training themselves, but during this time the employee receives a state compensation payment of 60% (without children in the household) or 67% (with children) of their previous net salary.  

Special opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises with QCG funding 

The graduated nature of the funding provided by the Qualification Opportunities Act clearly shows that Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the center of the promotion stand. Larger companies with over 500 employees are also eligible for funding, but receive a lower funding share of only 25 percent of the training and salary costs. 

Small and medium-sized companies are often less flexible: every colleague is needed, the workload is high and there is often a lack of time and financial capacity to provide comprehensive and therefore truly adaptable further training - which, however, is needed in an increasingly fast-changing, digital and data-driven world. The Qualification Opportunities Act therefore gives SMEs the chance to assert themselves on the market by covering training costs and ancillary costs. 

Requirements for further grants via the Qualification Opportunities Act 

The amount of funding depends first and foremost on the size of the company, as you can see from our table above: Employers with up to 499 employees can only receive 50 percent of the training costs and payroll costs, while companies with fewer than 50 employees receive 100 percent of the training costs and 75 percent of the payroll costs. 

However, there are also exceptions. For example, the 100 percent of the costs of further training aimed at obtaining a vocational qualification are coveredif the employee did not previously have a vocational qualification - this includes the actual training costs as well as the wage costs. Further training measures for employees who are over 45 years old and those with severe disabilities are also eligible for 100% funding as long as the employer employs fewer than 500 colleagues. 

Companies with at least 50 employees can secure an additional five percent subsidy if they have a company agreement or a collective agreement that includes company-related further training. 

Rights and obligations of employees under the Qualification Opportunities Act 

The advantages of the Qualification Opportunities Act for employers are clear: up to 100 percent of the costs for further training are covered, and the costs for the absent employee are also subsidized. But does this also give rise to rights and obligations for employees? 

First of all: The Qualification Opportunities Act recognizes No "basic right" to further training. Employees and employers are still free to decide together whether and when further training makes sense. Ultimately, it is not the employee who receives the financial support, but their employer. The added value for the employee lies in the further training itself. 

In 14 of the 16 federal states (except Saxony and Bavaria), employees have the opportunity to take up to 10 days paid leave from work for further training. It is often of secondary importance whether this "educational leave" has anything to do with the employee's job: The employer must grant it either way.

Instead, the Qualification Opportunities Act promotes extensive further training of 120 hours or more and compensates the employer for the lost workforce in that the wage subsidy covers part of the salary. There is therefore no entitlement to time off under the Qualification Opportunities Act, but both full-time and part-time further training can be funded. 

The Qualification Opportunities Act is not the only law that creates an "obligation to provide further training". Employers can only oblige their employees to undertake further training if it is absolutely relevant to their job, i.e. if the employer has an "objective interest" in it. In this case, the further training can also be funded under the QCG - just like further training that the employee has chosen voluntarily and independently.

QCG training support for employees on short-time work 

Further training support under the QCG is also possible for employees on short-time working. The possible subsidies do not differ from employees who do not receive short-time working allowance. The extent to which an application for short-time working allowance or funding under the Qualification Opportunities Act makes more sense for the employer is individual and can be clarified, for example, during a consultation with the employer service of the employment agency. 

Further improvements with the Qualification Opportunities Act 

With its introduction in 2019, the Qualification Opportunities Act has made it easier for companies to respond to changing market conditions, transformations and digitalization. The 2024 amendment has brought further improvements: 

• higher subsidies, 
• fixed funding rates and 
• simplified funding conditions. 

This has made it easier for SMEs to create attractive further training conditions for their inquisitive employees. This also makes it easier to offer job prospects to career changers, as the financial risk of long-term further training no longer rests solely on the shoulders of the employer. However, the Qualification Opportunities Act offers particular added value to employees who previously had no qualifications: Employers can have measures and pay subsidized by up to 100 percent, so that opportunities are created here in the truest sense of the word. 

But the QCG is also a real benefit for employers: the financial support for further training is extensive and fair for SMEs, the topics are hardly restricted and the application process at the employment agency is not too extensive. The QCG is therefore a market-oriented funding instrument for all employers who want to face up to the changes of our time without having to bear the financial risk alone. 

Implementing technological advances with competent employees - thanks to the Qualification Opportunities Act 

The advantages of the Qualification Opportunities Act are manifold for employers and employees: 

• Up to 100 percent funding for further training and wage costs 
• Broad range of topics 
• Straightforward application process 

Especially since the amendment in 2024, the QCG has managed to be a funding instrument with real added value for SMEs. It is particularly suitable for employees with great curiosity, career changers and people who do not yet have a vocational qualification. This enables companies to face the major issues of our time, such as structural change and digitalization, with greater confidence. 

Educational institutions such as StackFuel can help with this: Thanks to the innovative and purely digital teaching approach, further training is particularly flexible. Employees can gain important qualifications, particularly in the areas of data science, data analysis and programming, on a full-time or part-time basis. Our courses can be combined and are of course all AZAV-certified: Employers therefore receive up to 100 percent funding for the costs of further training, as well as funding towards remuneration for the times when employees are absent due to attending events. In our opinion: A real win-win situation!