Highest-Paying Ausbildung in Germany

Key Takeaways

• Two of the three highest-paying Ausbildung professions are in the dairy industry.
• Milchtechnologe/-technologin (dairy technologist) has the highest average Ausbildung allowance in Germany at €1,463 a month. Milchwirtschaftliche/-r Laborant/-in (dairy lab technician) ranks third at €1,403 a month.
• Six public-sector apprenticeships rank among the 15 highest-paid Ausbildung professions in Germany. All six pay within €9 of each other a month.
• Carpentry apprentices see one of the sharpest pay jumps during training. Pay rises from €1,070 a month in year one to €1,527 by year three.
• Ausbildung pay depends more on how a profession negotiates wages than on job prestige. Public-sector professions share one pay scale, while private-sector standouts pay more because employers compete for scarce apprentices.

Highest Ausbildung Allowances by Profession

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What is an Ausbildung?

Germany trains new workers through a dual system called Ausbildung. Trainees split their week between a company, where they learn the job, and a vocational school, where they study the theory. Training typically lasts 2 to 3.5 years, depending on the profession. Every apprentice receives a monthly allowance called Ausbildungsvergütung throughout the training period, not only after graduation.

German law has guaranteed every apprentice a minimum monthly training allowance since 2020. A collective bargaining agreement is a contract between a trade union and an employer group. It sets one standard pay rate for every company in that industry and region. Companies bound by such an agreement must pay at least the negotiated rate. Companies outside a collective agreement can pay up to 20% less than that rate, never below the legal minimum. These figures reflect collectively-bargained rates. Individual pay can differ.

Dairy Ausbildung Apprenticeships Pay More Than Banking or Insurance

Two of the three highest-paid Ausbildung allowances in the country belong to the dairy industry. A dairy technologist apprenticeship (Milchtechnologe/-technologin) ranks first among all Ausbildung professions in Germany. It pays €1,463 a month. A dairy lab technician apprenticeship (Milchwirtschaftliche/-r Laborant/-in) ranks third at €1,403 monthly.

An insurance and financial sales apprenticeship (Kaufmann/-frau für Versicherungen und Finanzanlagen) ranks second at €1,404 a month. The standard bank clerk apprenticeship (Bankkaufmann/-frau) ranks fourth at €1,388.

Companies in professions facing applicant shortages have raised apprentice pay faster than others, to attract more candidates. That helps explain why physically demanding trades like pipeline construction outearn some office-based apprenticeships.

Public-Sector Ausbildung Apprenticeships Pay Nearly the Same Amount

Six public-sector apprenticeships rank among the 15 highest-paid Ausbildung professions in Germany. An employment agency clerk apprenticeship (Fachangestellte/-r für Arbeitsmarktdienstleistungen) and a wastewater technician apprenticeship (Umwelttechnologe/-in für Abwasserbewirtschaftung) both rank ninth, at €1,339 a month. The two jobs have almost nothing in common day to day.

TVAöD sets the same wage scale across the entire public sector, regardless of the specific job. It is a collective bargaining agreement. Private-sector pay varies far more by profession.

Carpentry and Pipeline Apprentices See the Biggest Pay Jumps During Training

The four-year average hides how pay actually arrives. The carpentry apprenticeship (Zimmerer/Zimmerin) starts at €1,070 a month in year one and rises to €1,527 by year three. The pipeline construction apprenticeship (Rohrleitungsbauer/-in) follows a similar pattern. It starts at €1,162 and reaches €1,501 by year three.

Bank Clerk apprenticeships (Bankkaufmann/-frau) pay far more evenly across the same period. First-year trainees earn €1,333 a month. That is close to the €1,455 paid to third-year trainees.

A first-year carpentry apprentice takes home hundreds of euros less per month than the average suggests. A first-year bank trainee already earns close to the full rate.

Ausbildung pay depends more on how a profession negotiates wages than on job prestige. Someone choosing an apprenticeship for pay should look at the year-by-year progression. They should also confirm whether their employer is bound by the collective agreement behind these figures.