Jobstarter

Jobstarter is the name of the Federal umbrella programme for numerous local and regional projects around current issues and challenges when it comes to vocational education. The programme is ran by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and training (BiBB) in Germany. Jobstarter targets prospective employees, jobseekers and employers, who have the possibility to log in to a database with registered candidates and search for suitable profiles to fill vacant positions. Jobstarter brings together stakeholders from the vocational education and training (VET) system, businesses and SMEs, employers and recruiters, chambers of industry and commerce, industry, universities, and public employment services. 

For students and jobseekers, the programme provides a wide range of learning and study resources, including tips on conducting a successful interview and securing employment. Digitalisation is one of the programme's main areas of focus. Other themes include: small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), persons who have been left outside of formal education systems, inter-regional mobility, industries and clusters, migrant entrepreneurs, as well as the provision of qualifications and vocational training for SMEs.

Since its start in 2006, Jobstarter has supported over 500 projects and has created more than 50,000 VET apprenticeships. With its broad regional spread and availability of different projects and activities, the initiative has enabled and supported VET modernisation and integration with further education. Jobstarter's website puts forward a variety of practical examples and use cases from different contexts and offers detailed documentation on projects that have the potential to be replicated and scaled up.