Digital parents’ evenings of the Federal Employment Agency meet with great interest

The week of digital parents’ evenings, which the Federal Employment Agency (BA) carried out for the first time on 6th February, has met with a strong response. In total, parents and children in around 8,000 households used the one-hour digital information evenings to find out about the well over 50 different companies and their training opportunities.

24 Feb 2023 | Press release no.10

Daniel Terzenbach, Chair of the Regions of the BA: “With the digital parents’ evenings we wanted to bring together young people, their parents and companies, virtually and therefore independently of location. The format was intended to allow an initial insight into the company’s corporate cultures and thus facilitate the search for a suitable place to train or study. We are therefore all the more pleased that this pilot project has proven so popular among young people and their parents. We are using this as an opportunity to see how we can further expand the format and also provide it regionally, for example.”

The digital parents’ evenings were well received among parents and young people as well as among the participating businesses. “I am an absolute fan of this format, because you can get comprehensive information within a short space of time without much effort or time-consuming driving around”, said one participant. “Overall, we are very enthusiastic about the format and reach. It greatly exceeded our expectations”, said one employee of a participating company.

The BA uses many channels to give the best possible support to young people but also to companies. For this purpose, it will be starting the Week of Training, which this year will be taking place under the motto “Training is future” from 13th to 19th March 2023. In the framework of the action week, the BA will be informing companies and young people about the many benefits of vocational training and will be presenting the funding options with which businesses and young people can be supported: 

  • With an entry-level vocational qualification, businesses can get to know potential trainees and secure their future skilled personnel. The employment agencies or Jobcenter support the companies in this with financial benefits. 
  • With the “Assisted Apprenticeship” (AsA) trainees are provided with intensive support before and during training. In the course of this, companies and their trainers are given personal assistance from professional mentors. The costs of the measure are borne entirely by the Employment Agency and/or Jobcenter. 
  • The vocational training grant can offer trainees additional support in the form of a financial allowance to help them with their living costs (for example during accommodation in a hostel for vocational students). Under certain circumstances, grants for travelling costs are also possible (such as for commuting to the training institution). 

Another way in which the BA is continuing to maintain a focus on young adults between 25 and 35 without a vocational qualification is the continuation of the initiative “Zukunftsstarter” (Future Starter) from January 2022. In addition to placement in initial training, this can also cover vocational post-qualification in the framework of an employment relationship. As part of this, businesses can be supported with wage subsidies.

You can find more information on the week of training here (available in German): https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/k/ausbildungklarmachen 

You can find further information on the digital parents’ evenings here (available in German): https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/k/digitale-elternabende