Partial qualifications
Becoming a skilled worker and upskilling employees through partial qualifications
Partial qualifications (TQs) are aimed at people over the age of 25 who have work experience but do not hold a vocational qualification, or whose vocational qualification is of limited value on the labour market. Flexibly tailored to their individual circumstances, partial qualification enable them to progress a vocational qualification in several stages – with the possibility of ultimately obtaining a vocational qualification.
What are partial qualifications?
Germany’s dual training system is a successful model that benefits everyone involved. Trainees acquire the skills and knowledge required for an occupation not only through theoretical instruction, but also through practical experience in a real working environment. Their qualifications are recognised throughout Germany by the state, employers and society.
Partial qualifications are coherent and meaningful components of a recognised dual training occupation. The TQ (partial qualifications, German: Teilqualifikationen/TQ) format refers to non-formal continuing vocational education and training geared towards obtaining a full vocational qualification. It is delivered in the form of discrete, standardised units within an overarching curricular structure aligned with workplace operations and business processes.
In terms of content, partial qualifications constitute components of an underlying recognised training occupation governed by the Vocational Training Act (BBiG) or the Crafts and Trades Regulation Code (Handwerksordnung). Taken together, they cover the occupation in full. Each partial qualification also has standalone value in the labour market. Typically, five to seven partial qualifications collectively cover all the training content of the relevant training occupation and form a TQ occupational set. The term “TQ occupational set” refers to the complete set of partial qualifications relating to a particular training occupation.
Each partial qualification concludes with an assessment of competences and the award of a certificate. Once all the required partial qualifications have been successfully completed, individuals may apply to take the final examination for the relevant occupation. Depending on the individual’s experience in the reference occupation, this may require either the complete TQ occupational set or only selected partial qualifications. This may be the case, for example, where parts of an occupation have already been acquired abroad.
Partial qualifications may be supplemented by accompanying support measures, such as language training or support in developing digital competences.
Financial support for partial qualifications
In Germany, partial qualifications may be funded by the Federal Employment Agency as training programmes geared towards obtaining a full vocational qualification. Following a consultation, participants may receive a training voucher (Bildungsgutschein), which they can redeem with an approved training provider of their choice in Germany.
Where training is provided to employees, the Federal Employment Agency may cover up to 100 per cent of the employee’s wage costs for the duration of the training programme, depending on the size of the company.
Standardisation of partial qualifications
Partial qualifications are not regulated by law and may be developed independently by training providers. Where financial support is sought, they need only meet the requirements of the relevant funding body. As a result, several different TQ occupational sets may exist for the same reference occupation. However, this reduces transparency regarding the content offered and can make it more difficult for participants to change training providers, for example if they move to another area. For this reason, in December 2025 the Board of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) adopted a recommendation on the standardised design and implementation of partial qualifications.
The recommendation establishes common terminology and procedures, including provisions for digital delivery. It also sets out a process under which one TQ occupational set for each reference occupation may be included in a BIBB database as a point of reference. The four stakeholder groups represented on the Board – the Federal Government, the federal states (Bundesländer), employers’ representatives and employees’ representatives – participate in the submission process, while BIBB’s occupational experts carry out the conformity assessment. Both the submission and the use of these TQ occupational sets are voluntary.
The four stakeholder groups (TQ Coordination Group) met for the first time on 2 June 2026.