With IG Metall’s part-time education program, you can pursue further training or a degree. The collective bargaining agreement gives you up to seven years—either part-time alongside your job or full-time (blocked part-time)—with the full right to return to an equivalent position at your company. And not just if your employer wants you to, but also at your own request.
This is stipulated in the collective bargaining agreements on education and training for the metal and electrical industries. We have secured similar provisions in other sectors, such as the textile industry, textile services, and the thin-sheet metal packaging industry, as well as in many individual companies.
Discussing Education: The Qualification Meeting
According to the collective bargaining agreement, employees have the right to a skills development meeting with their employer once a year, during which they can express their continuing education wishes. However, you should always speak with your works council first—and involve them in the skills development meeting.
The works council is familiar with the company’s training plans and knows whether your continuing education is actually “necessary” or at least “expedient” for the company. If the training is necessary for the company, the employer covers the costs and must grant you time off for the duration of the training. If the training is expedient, the employer must grant you at least half the time off for the training. However, if the training is solely your personal choice, you must cover the costs and time yourself.
Financing Education: Here Are Your Options
Your works council is familiar with the options for pursuing and financing your continuing education. You can earn 70 to 80 percent of your normal salary while on part-time educational leave. An education account is set up for your part-time education, into which you can save up to 152 hours of overtime per year, as well as Christmas and vacation bonuses. In addition, many companies offer other options, such as long-term accounts or sabbaticals. In many collective bargaining areas, you can even take out a loan of up to 10 percent of your education account balance.
In some companies, your employer may provide additional support for your part-time education if the works council has established this in a company agreement. Furthermore, the government supports continuing education and degree programs through BAföG, Aufstiegs-BAföG, the continuing education bonus, WeGeBau funding, education loans, and other programs.
This is governed by an education agreement
Following your qualification meeting, you’ll enter into an education agreement with your employer in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. This agreement sets out the key terms of your part-time education: start date, duration, type, and scope (such as part-time or full-time), contributions to and withdrawals from the education account, and finally, your return to a position within the company that is at least equivalent to your previous one. Finally, you should submit your training agreement to the works council. They will advise you on part-time training, as will the local IG Metall chapter.
