Law establishing a training support fund in the state of Berlin

The Berlin House of Representatives voted on a bill from the CDU and SPD to establish a training support fund. The aim is to create more company training places, strengthen dual training and provide companies with financial support for training. The background is a persistent imbalance in the training market, as there are significantly more applicants than available training places. The core of the bill is the introduction of a so-called vocational training security levy. In the future, companies in Berlin will pay into a fund depending on their wage bill. The amount of this tax is determined by regulation and is limited to a maximum of 0.5 percent of gross wages. In return, companies that provide training receive financial compensation for their training costs from the fund. These are staggered according to years of training and supplemented by a bonus upon successful completion. The aim of the model is to ensure that the financing of training is shared more closely by the economy and to create an incentive for additional training places. The main committee had a recommendation for a resolution on the draft law, which recommended its adoption in an amended version. 128 MPs voted yes and 16 voted no. There were five abstentions, four from the CDU parliamentary group and one from Alexander King. The CDU and SPD's proposal or draft law was therefore accepted with changes in accordance with the recommendation of the main committee.