At the expense of the trainees accommodated outside the school

Trainees in splintered professions have a tough time. Not only is the vocational school far away, but they often have to cover most of the costs for accommodation, meals, and travel to and from the school. It's absurd!

Many apprentices in fragmented trades face significant hurdles. Often, a dedicated vocational school class cannot be set up nearby. Therefore, instruction is provided in blocks at district, state, or national specialized classes. This requires young tradespeople to travel, find accommodation, and provide for themselves. This puts a strain on their finances—usually their own, their parents', or the training company's.
    
Prospective roller shutter and sun protection mechatronics technicians are taught at vocational schools in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Rhineland-Palatinate. The catchment area of ​​some of the four locations is vast. "At the Hans-Schwier Vocational College in Gelsenkirchen, it stretches from Aachen to Frankfurt/Oder and from Bonn to Flensburg," explains Ingo Plück from the Federal Association of Roller Shutters and Sun Protection. Those attending school in the Ruhr region can rent a guesthouse right next to the vocational school. Room and board costs at least €166 per week. "Our trainees attend vocational schools up to seven times per school year, each for several weeks." That amounts to several thousand euros per school year. By the end of the apprenticeship, expenses can easily reach €10.000.

Subsidies for block release courses: We have compiled an overview of which federal states pay a subsidy for accommodation, meals and travel expenses, how much it is and where it can be applied for in the online article "Subsidies for block release courses at vocational schools – what the federal states pay" on handwerksblatt.de.

Companies can no longer find trainees

That's quite a lot for a young person earning an average of €570 a month. "For many trainees, the costs are a problem because they have to finance the academic portion of their dual training program themselves." Some states do contribute. They provide subsidies, "but not uniformly and not to cover costs." This also makes recruiting young talent more difficult. "Many East German companies can no longer find any trainees at all because of the great distance to the vocational school and the associated costs. This cannot be allowed!" warns Ingo Plück.

Court rules in favor of a plaintiff trainee

This cannot be right – a vocational school student from Baden-Württemberg thought so too, and filed a lawsuit against the state's payment of only a subsidy of six euros per day. Last summer, the 9th Senate of the Administrative Court of Mannheim ruled in his favor. The judges' verdict : The state's practice of granting vocational school students living away from home only a subsidy towards the costs of their accommodation, based on an administrative regulation, is incompatible with the principle of equality enshrined in the Basic Law. Baden-Württemberg is obligated to adequately compensate for the additional costs of necessary accommodation and supervision.

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This has now been done. In November, approximately €18,5 million was made available retroactively to the start of the 2016/2017 school year. The state will fully contribute to the average cost of boarding school accommodation, which amounts to €36 per day. This makes Baden-Württemberg the second federal state after Bavaria to cover the costs following a court ruling.

The question remains whether the rest of Germany will only follow suit once those affected file lawsuits there. "We would like to see other federal states reimburse our trainees for the costs of attending vocational schools abroad," says Ingo Plück of the Federal Association of Roller Shutters and Sun Protection. After all, the Basic Law applies not only in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.