Division 4.3

Inter-company vocational training centres are an important pillar of the dual system of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Germany. As the third possible learning venue (alongside the workplace in companies and vocational schools) they support dual training, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in teaching job-related skills. Inter-company training centres offer suitable courses and classes in inter-company supplementary training, in which they primarily deepen practical content, particularly training content which cannot be offered by the company. This way, they contribute decisively to further developing the training capabilitiesy of SMEs.

One of the main tasks of division 4.3 at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) are the promotion of and service for inter-company training centres in accordance with the Vocational Training Act (BBiG). Funding from the Federal Ministry of Education, Family, Seniors, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ) supports inter-company vocational training centres in planning, establishing and further developing their facilities. In addition, impulses for the design of inter-company supplementary training are provided according to current vocational training topics.

Further tasks of division 4.3 at BIBB include the following:

• Investive promotion (e.g. procurement of equipment, modernization of building infrastructure) with the aim of enabling the design of modern training courses and classes in contemporary workshops, theory and instruction rooms, as well as maintaining or constructing the associated infrastructure facilities.
• Funding for further development into competence centres with the aim of encouraging inter-company vocational training centres to develop innovative vocational education concepts, redesign educational programs according to socio-economic and technological developments, and transfer research and development results into (inter-company) training practice.
• Focused funding to respond to current developments and support inter-company vocational training centres in shaping transformation processes. Specifically:
  • Special program for digitalization in inter-company vocational training centres and competence centres from 2016 to 2023
  • The program supported inter-company vocational training centres in managing digital transformation processes as well as adapting and modernizing inter-company supplementary training accordingly. Specifically, subsidies were provided for the purchase of digital technologies and their use in inter-company training. In addition, development and testing projects were funded to enrich inter-company training programs with digital technologies and further developing them in terms of teaching methods and methodology.
  • Since 2024, the BMBFSFJ has been providing funding for the development and testing of concepts for high-quality and innovative inter-company training through the ‘Initiative for Excellent Inter-Company Training (INex-ÜBA)’. A total of 28 projects were launched nationwide over the course of the year 2025. The currently funded inter-company vocational training centres are developing and testing – either alone or in collaboration with other VET institutions or universities – innovative concepts and offerings that could be sustainably anchored in the inter-company vocational training system and the educational offerings of inter-company vocational training centres. While doing so, they also work together with (supra)regional and/or industry-specific actors and include scientific expertise.

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