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Berlin CDU and SPD Unveil Apprenticeship Levy for Low-Training Employers

Lawmakers will now seek parliamentary approval before a planned 2028 start.

Overview

  • The draft law would charge companies with ten or more employees whose training rate falls below 4.6 percent, while smaller firms and those above the quota would be exempt.
  • Coalition leaders target at least €75 million per year for the fund, with CDU’s Dirk Stettner estimating a roughly 0.1 percent levy on liable firms’ gross wage bills.
  • Payouts would reimburse tariff or sectoral pay only for new, additional apprenticeships at employers whose training share exceeds Berlin’s 3.1 percent average.
  • A sunset clause would end the scheme once Berlin adds more than 2,000 training places annually for three consecutive years, with rules scheduled to take effect from early 2028 if passed.
  • Berlin business associations jointly reject the plan, while the DGB and Labour Senator Cansel Kiziltepe back it as the coalition advances the measure after the 2,000-place goal was likely missed, with the IHK citing about 1,300 extra contracts.