The Qualification Opportunities Act pays small businesses up to 100% of course costs. Requirements, rates by company size and the 120 hour hurdle.
The Qualification Opportunities Act enables the Federal Employment Agency to fund the further training of employees: companies with fewer than 50 employees receive up to 100 percent of the course costs reimbursed, plus up to 75 percent of the wages that continue to be paid during the training. The legal basis is Section 82 SGB III. For AI training there is a hurdle that hardly any provider states openly: the program must comprise more than 120 hours and come from an AZAV-certified provider.
The rates are staggered by Section 82 SGB III according to the number of employees:
Since January 2026, a new technical directive from the Federal Employment Agency clarifies: the wage subsidy is only paid if the training actually causes a loss of working time and the company continues to pay the wages.
Four conditions must be met together. The training must impart skills that go beyond a purely job-related adaptation course. The last vocational qualification of the person being funded generally dates back at least four years. The program comprises more than 120 hours. And both the provider and the program itself need AZAV accreditation. The application is submitted to the Employer Service of the Employment Agency before the program begins.
The 120 hour threshold separates two worlds. A multi-week, certified AI qualification, for example in data analysis or AI-assisted case processing, can be fully funded if an AZAV-accredited provider offers it. The typical one to three day company Copilot or prompting training, on the other hand, falls through the cracks, no matter how good it is. Anyone who reads online that every AI training course is eligible for funding under the Qualification Opportunities Act is reading advertising, not the law. For short team training sessions, the further training vouchers offered by the German states are instead the right funding pot, for example the education voucher in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with a 50 percent subsidy.
Since April 2024, there is also the qualification allowance under Section 82a SGB III, intended for companies undergoing structural change: it replaces 60 percent of the net wage difference (67 percent with a child), while the course costs remain entirely with the employer. One requirement, among others, is that the need for qualification affects a significant part of the workforce, at least 10 percent in companies with fewer than 250 employees, and here too the 120 hour threshold applies. For most SME digitalization cases, the qualification allowance is therefore the wrong tool.
Whether your project belongs in the 120 hour world or in one of the leaner funding pots, we clarify honestly in the free funding check of our AI consulting. An overview of what subsidies are available for small businesses overall is provided by our article AI funding for small businesses.
The employer applies for the funding at the Employer Service of the Federal Employment Agency before the training begins. Employees subject to social security contributions are funded regardless of age, qualification and company size, provided the training meets the requirements of Section 82 SGB III.
No. The program must comprise more than 120 hours; short workshops and one day training courses are generally excluded. For compact AI and Copilot training, the further training bonuses and education vouchers of the federal states are more likely to apply, as they fund courses starting from just a few teaching hours.
Yes, twice over: the provider needs AZAV provider accreditation, and the specific program needs its own AZAV program accreditation. Independent providers without this accreditation cannot be billed through the Qualification Opportunities Act, no matter how good the course program is.
A company with fewer than 50 employees can have up to 100 percent of the course costs reimbursed, plus up to 75 percent wage subsidy for the time employees are absent due to the training. This is the highest funding rate in the entire employee funding system.
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Subsidy rates under the Qualifizierungschancengesetz are attractive, but not every AI course meets the employment agency's criteria, and without a clear link to practice even subsidised training falls flat. NordFlux develops an AI qualification concept with you that fits your actual automation projects and stays eligible for funding. In an initial conversation, we clarify which subsidy rates apply to your company size and how the training translates into your processes.
