In the fourth quarter, many companies run their budget rounds for the following year. For 2027 that means the training figure is set in the coming weeks, often before it is clear which roles will actually change next year. The usual way out is a flat amount per employee, carried forward from the previous year. It is easy to calculate and hard to justify.
What the per-head flat rate measures and what it does not
For data year 2022, the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) found that German companies spent an average of EUR 1,347 per employee on training, at 20.3 hours per employee. 93 percent of companies offer training. Source: Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft, IW training survey (IW-Weiterbildungserhebung), data year 2022.
That is a sector average from 2022, not a benchmark for 2027 and not a yardstick for a single site. It says that training happens almost everywhere and what it costs on average. It says nothing about whether the money reaches the places where something is changing in the business. Anyone who orients their budget on this average plans against the mean instead of against their own need.
Tying the budget to the initiative
The alternative does not calculate per head but per initiative. The starting point is the question of which change is due in the planning year: a production changeover, a new drivetrain, new software in one area. From that follows a chain that can be translated step by step into budget lines: affected area, current role, target role, competence gap, learning path, programme, cohort.
| Question in the budget round | Flat rate per head | Tied to the initiative |
|---|---|---|
| Who is trained? | everyone equally | the employees in the affected roles |
| What is the money needed for? | courses as demand arises | programmes along the learning paths to the target role |
| How is the sum justified? | with last year | with the initiative and its timeline |
| What happens if the initiative slips? | nothing, the flat rate stays | the lines move with it |
The flat rate does not have to disappear. It remains sensible for ongoing training that has no specific trigger. The initiative budget is added as a separate block with its own owner.
What should be clarified before the budget is released
Three points can be settled in the fourth quarter, even if the initiative is not fully planned yet.
First, the vocational training need. Under section 96(1) of the German Works Constitution Act (BetrVG), the employer must, at the works council's request, determine the vocational training need and discuss vocational training matters with it. If you need this assessment anyway, you can make it the basis of the budget figure instead of supplying it afterwards.
Second, co-determination. Where employer measures change the activities of employees and their vocational knowledge no longer suffices, the works council has a co-determination right in the introduction of vocational training measures under section 97(2) BetrVG. A budget that presupposes a measure not yet co-determined is conditional. That belongs in the budget proposal.
Third, public funding. Funding can change how costs are shared, but should not be planned as a secured line. Section 82 of Book III of the Social Code (SGB III) ties funding to thresholds such as a measure of more than 120 hours and graduates the employer share by company size. The qualification allowance under section 82a SGB III, in force since 1 April 2024, presupposes structural-change-related training needs affecting at least 20 percent of employees, or at least 10 percent in companies with fewer than 250 employees. Whether an initiative meets these conditions is a case-by-case question; QualiShift does not check funding eligibility and does not file applications.
How to plan a training budget
A sequence that holds up in a budget round because each step justifies the figure:
- List the initiatives of the planning year and the affected areas, with time frame.
- Name the current roles and the target roles for each area.
- Describe the competence gap per role and translate it into learning paths.
- Bundle the learning paths into programmes and cohorts so that employees with the same need are trained together.
- Set costs and working time per programme, with the date of the figures.
- Show co-determination and funding as conditions, not as income.
- Keep ongoing training separate as a base budget.
Frequently asked questions
How do you plan a training budget?
Most reliably starting from the initiative: which areas and roles change in the planning year, which competence gaps arise, and which programmes close them. This yields budget lines with a timeline. You keep ongoing training without a specific trigger as a separate base block alongside.
How much do companies spend per employee?
According to the IW training survey, the average in data year 2022 was EUR 1,347 per employee and 20.3 hours. That is a mean from 2022, not a current figure and not a target for your business.
This article is not legal advice and not funding advice. It restates the provisions as far as they matter for budget planning; whether they apply in a specific case is for those who run the process in-house to judge.
Sources
- Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft, IW training survey, data year 2022.
- Section 96(1) and section 97(2) of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG).
- Sections 82 and 82a of Book III of the Social Code (SGB III).