What is the proportion of persons in employment who attended events of continuing vocational and job-related training in the last four weeks? That proportion refers to the total of persons in employment aged 25 to 64 years. The only relevant criterion is attendance, irrespective of the number and duration of events attended.
Continuing training covers formal training courses to obtain an advanced qualification or for retraining. Courses of non-formal continuing training are included, too. Usually they are less comprehensive and do not provide a generally recognised qualification. They may provide various skills such as leadership skills, languages or software skills.
One in twenty-four participated in continuing job-related training in the last four weeks
Among the 25 to 64 year old persons in employment, 4.1% attended courses or seminars of continuing vocational training in 2023. The continuing training rate slightly differed between men and women. 4.6% of the women and 3.7% of the men indicated to have attended at least one continuing training event in the four weeks preceding the survey.
Persons in employment aged 25 to 34 years and 35 to 44 attended continuing training courses more often (4.5%) than those in other age groups. Participation was lowest for the 55 to 64 year olds (2.9%), who are those who will withdraw from economic activity soon.
Full-time employees participate more often in courses or seminars of continuing vocational training than part-time employees. In 2023, the continuing training rate of full-time employed (4.4%) was almost higher by half compared to the part-time employed (4.1%).
While the continuing training rates of full-time and part-time employees do not differ in 2023, both self-employed with employees (6.8%) and self-employed withour staff (5.3%) participate more frequently in continuing vocational education and training courses.
In addition to vocational training there is also the possibility to participate in training on one’s own initiative. However, professional job-related trainings constitute markedly larger part (80.6%).
Participation in continuing training highest among professionals
In 2023, 7.9% of the professionals participated in continuing training. The rate of job-related training of this occupational group was almost twice as high as that of the employed persons in total (4.1%). Managers (4.7%) and technicians (4.9%) and also participated in continuing training with above-age frequency. Plant and machine operators (1.2%) and persons in elementary occupations (0.6%) had a low participation in continuing training.
Participation in continuing training over time
The longer-term development of people's participation in continuing education is monitored by order of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in surveys of individuals. The surveys show that the proportion of persons in employment who participated in continuing job-related training in the previous twelve months rose from 37% to 48% between the early 1990s and 1997.
Afterwards, the participation in continuing job-related training decreased until 2003, although it was still by roughly a quarter above the level at the beginning of the 1990s. Between 2000 and 2010, participation in continuing education was just over 40%. In the years 2012 to 2016, the proportion of people who participated in continuing training in the last 12 months rose to around 50%. In the following years, the rate of continuing training increased further and reached its peak in 2020 at 60%. The largest share of continuing vocational education and training is provided by in-company job-related training (75%); at around 8%, individual continuing vocational education and training hardly ever takes place.
Information on the Indicator
Description or definition
Percentage of persons in employment (25-64 years) who attended events of continuing vocational or job-related training in the last 4 weeks in all persons in employment (25-64 years).
Source
Labour Force Survey, AES Trend Report 2020, Results of the Adult Education Survey 2020
Information for interpretation
The microcensus with the integrated European labour force survey has been redesigned in 2020. The list of questions and the concept of the sample survey were modified, and with the introduction of an online questionnaire, the form of data collection were also changed. The results from survey year 2020 onward are therefore comparable with those of previous years only to a limited extent.
Further methodological changes affecting the results were performed in 2005, 2011 and 2021. Consequently, the results for those years can be compared with the results for previous years to a limited extent only.
The extrapolation of microcensus data uses the population figures from the 2011 Census, which was conducted as at 9 May 2011. The results have been revised from 2010 onwards. With effect from the year 2016, the sample is based on the 2011 census data. This transition affects the comparability of the results with previous years.
For more information please refer to Methods: Quality Reports and Explanations (only in German).
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (2022): Weiterbildungsverhalten in Deutschland. Ergebnisse des Adult Education Survey - AES Trendbericht (only in German), 2nd revised edition.
Further information
Redesigned microcensus as of 2020