Internship Compensation; Applying for a Grant from the Job Center

The Entry-Level Qualification program allows you to prepare young people who have already decided on a specific career path for an apprenticeship at your company. As part of a paid internship, they are introduced to the content of their future apprenticeship and have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills.

For the internship stipend, you can apply for a monthly subsidy of up to EUR 262.00 plus a flat-rate portion of the average total social security contribution.

The content of the internship should be geared toward the future apprenticeship occupation. In addition, you should aim to hire the intern at your company.

Eligible for funding are:

• training applicants registered with the Employment Agency who, for individual reasons, have limited placement prospects and have not secured a training position even after nationwide follow-up placement initiatives,
• trainees seeking an apprenticeship who do not yet fully meet the required readiness for training, and
• trainees with learning disabilities and socially disadvantaged trainees

This also applies to young, employable benefit recipients who receive basic income support for job seekers from the Job Center.

Support generally begins no earlier than October 1 of each year. An earlier start to the program, beginning August 1, is possible in principle.

• The internship must:
  • last between 6 and 12 months.
  • be paid and covered by social insurance.
• The intern must be eligible for the program. This must be verified by the Job Center.
• The intern must not have been previously employed by your company.
• The entry-level training may not take place at the business of the intern’s spouse, partner, or parents. 
• If the intern is subject to compulsory vocational school attendance, they must attend vocational school classes and be enrolled in the appropriate program.

You must apply for the entry-level training grant in writing:

• Specify the internship’s content, duration, compensation, and eligibility criteria for participants, and register the open position with your chamber of commerce and your local employment agency. 
• You will then receive notification of a preliminary approval for funding.
• If your prospective interns are not receiving benefits from the Job Center, ask them to register with the Employment Agency. This is the only way to verify that they belong to the eligible group. 
• If the applicant is eligible for funding, sign an EQ contract with them. You can download the sample contract or request it from your chamber.
• Submit the application for a subsidy toward the internship stipend to the Employer Services office or the Job Center before the internship begins. Include a copy of the EQ contract. If you have registered for eServices with the Employment Agency, you can also submit all applications and supporting documents to the Job Center online.
• Next, register the intern with the health insurance provider and the workers’ compensation association.
• You will receive a written notice from the Job Center informing you whether the subsidy has been granted. If you have consented to electronic delivery of the notice in your online account, the notice will be made available to you in your online notice folder.
• If your applicant is required to attend vocational school, you must enroll them in the vocational school—and preferably in the appropriate specialized class—before the internship begins.
• If your intern needs assistance with entry-level training, they should coordinate this with the Job Center and, if necessary, apply for these support services.

There is no deadline. You must apply for the grant before the entry-level training begins. The applicant must be enrolled in vocational school before starting the internship, provided that attendance at vocational school is mandatory.

• Required document(s)
  
  • Agreement on an entry-level training program between the company and the young person

None