Print version Recommend this page Press release
01/ 2013
Bonn, 09.01.2013
Training allowances under collective agreements in 2012: Significantly higher in both western and eastern Germany
€737 gross per month were the average earnings of trainees in western Germany in 2012. Training allowances set under collective agreements increased by 4.1% on the previous year's level, much higher than the rise of 2.9% for 2011. Collectively agreed training allowances in eastern Germany rose by 5.0% in 2012 to an average of €674 per month, having previously been raised by 4.9% in 2011. The gap between eastern and western German wage agreement levels remained unchanged in 2012: remuneration levels in the east are 91% of those in the west. The average training allowance paid under collective wage agreements in 2012 for the Federal Republic of Germany as a whole was €730 per month, a rise of 4.3% on the previous year's figure. These are the findings of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) from its evaluation of collectively agreed training allowances for the year 2012.
Average remuneration levels were calculated for 184 occupations in western Germany and 149 occupations in eastern Germany. These training occupations account for 88% of all trainees.
Considerable differences in remuneration levels exist between training occupations, however. Collective bargaining resulted in very high average training allowances for the occupations of, for example, mechatronics fitter (west: €909, east: €885), print media technologist (west and east: €905 ) and insurance and financial services broker (west and east: €896). Very high training allowances were also agreed for the occupations of the main construction industry (e.g. bricklayer) in western Germany, where they averaged €968 per month, still significantly higher than in eastern Germany where the corresponding figure was €772.
Remuneration under collective agreements tended to be low in the occupations of painter and varnisher (west and east: €528), baker (west and east: €500), florist (west: €460 , east: €312) and hairdresser (west: €454, east: €269).
In 2012 there were also clear differences in remuneration levels between training sectors in western and eastern Germany. Above-average training allowances were achieved in trade and industry (west: €813, east: €730) and in the public sector (west and east: €792). Training allowances paid in the craft trades were, however, below the general average (west: €606, east: €504).
A more extensive presentation of the findings along with four downloadable figures can be found the article www.bibb.de/ausbildungsverguetungen-2012 (in German)
A complete overview of the average training allowances recorded for 2012 in the surveyed occupations can be accessed on the BIBB website at www.bibb.de/ausbildungsverguetung
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