Germany: Qualifizierungsgeld attracted only 350 employees in twenty months

Herz — Business Desk · 16 July 2026 at 08:55 · 30s summary · 2 min read

What we know

The Qualifizierungsgeld is a vocational retraining scheme introduced in early 2024 by Germany's federal Labour Ministry. Its goal: to enable employees threatened by Strukturwandel — the structural transformation of the economy — to retrain in new occupations while remaining in their company.

If a company demonstrates it has been affected by this structural transformation, the Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Germany's main federal employment agency and unemployment benefits provider, headquartered in Nuremberg — pays 60% of the employee's net salary during the training period. No layoffs are permitted during this time.

Despite this mechanism, the scheme has barely taken off. Between April 2024 and December 2025, only 350 employees — fewer than 400 in total — used the Qualifizierungsgeld nationally, according to Handelsblatt, which published on July 16, 2026 the Labour Ministry's response to a written parliamentary question from the Greens group.

The scheme is described as overly complex and underutilized. Early voices are already calling for its elimination.

Context: a scheme from the previous government

It was Hubertus Heil (SPD), then head of the federal Labour Ministry, who designed and launched the Qualifizierungsgeld. Bärbel Bas (SPD) has since succeeded him and now leads this ministry.

What remains uncertain

The precise reasons for the very low uptake of the Qualifizierungsgeld are not detailed in available sources. The scheme is described as overly complex, but the specific reasons for this assessment are not elaborated in the information obtained.

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