further education

continuing education

A professional life is long and very few would like to do the same thing over and over again. Fortunately, there is a large number of advanced training courses for chemists as well as for chemists, laboratory technicians and CTAs. Without claiming to be exhaustive, you will find an overview of the offers and financing options here.

Since the expenditure of time and money for further training is often considerable, every person interested in further training should consider beforehand what exactly he wants to achieve with the further training and whether he can and wants to spend the time for it in addition to his job.

vocational training for chemists

Master of Business Administration

The MBA is a postgraduate degree designed to impart business knowledge and prepare you for Management tasks. A prerequisite for an MBA degree is usually a completed degree. An MBA degree can be completed both part-time and full-time. Interested parties should inform themselves very well in advance about the many different programs and consider whether the MBA really helps the planned Career .

patent system

Scientific and legal knowledge are required in equal measure in the patent system. The multi-year training to become a patent attorney is regulated by law and includes, among other things, working in a patent law firm, studying at the Fernuniversität Hagen and training at the Patent Office and the Federal Patent Court. It ends with an exam.

www.vpp-patent.de
www.vpp-patent.de/bildung/downloads-service/
www.gdch.de/berufsbilder, p. 56

quality control / Quality Management

Ensuring the quality of products and processes is a core task of a chemical company. The German Society for Quality (DGQ), the Saarland University of Applied Sciences and Economics and other providers offer a large number of modular training courses, courses or certificate and extra-occupational courses in the areas of quality management and assurance. The GDCh also offers additional training in the field of quality control with the specialist program "Certified Quality Expert GxP".

www.gdch.de/fachprogramme
www.dgq.de/weiterbildung-themen
www.htwsaar.de

Clinical Chemistry

Clinical chemistry deals with the analysis of physiological processes in the body. For chemists, vocational training as a clinical chemist is possible through the German United Society for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine eV (DGKI). The training lasts five years. At least four years of this must be completed in a clinical-chemical laboratory serving patient care.

www.dgkl.de

toxicology

Natural scientists who have completed their training can acquire qualifications in the field of toxicology in various ways. The Society for toxicology (GT), the University of Leipzig and SafeSciMET offer various certificates or courses for vocational training as a toxicologist. For bachelor graduates, a master’s degree in toxicology , which is offered at various German universities, is also an option.

www.toxicologie.de/weiterbildung.html
www.safescimet.eu

ecotoxicology

Ecotoxicology deals with the effects of substances on the environment. The GDCh Division of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology and the SETAC-GLB jointly offer the postgraduate course in specialist ecotoxicology with the degree of "specialist ecotoxicologist (GDCh/SETAC-GLB)".

www.fachoekotoxikologie.de

business chemistry

Understanding business relationships is particularly beneficial for chemists in industry. In addition to various advanced training courses, some universities offer a university courses in business chemistry. The GDCh also offers vocational training to become a business chemist.

www.gdch.de/fachprogramme

You can find further information on the listed further training courses in the GDCh brochure on career entry in chemistry

Further training for chemical laboratory technicians, CTAs and chemical technicians

Chemical technician: in (state-certified: r technician: in; specialization in chemical engineering)

This advanced training is offered at technical schools and lasts two years or four years in the case of part-time training. In addition to chemical engineering, there are also other specializations, such as production engineering. The prerequisite for this training is usually a completed training as a laboratory technician: in, chemical technician: in or CTA. The training concludes with a state examination.

www.vdc-cta.de/chemietechniker.html
www.techniker-forum.de/technikerschulen

Laboratory Technician (IHK)

The further training to: r laboratory technician: in is offered in some regions of Germany and is usually carried out by the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with a local company. This advanced training is primarily of interest to employees of the cooperating companies, because the advanced training qualifies them for tasks specifically in these companies.

Industrial master: in chemistry

Industrial masters: inside chemistry are active in all manufacturing sectors in addition to the chemical industry. There you work in production and are involved in training young colleagues. The training is carried out by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce as well as educational institutions, and in some cases also by the companies themselves. The exam is always taken at the IHK. The further training is possible full-time or part-time.

www.berufenet.arbeitsagentur.de (job title "Industrial Master Chemistry")

Search engine for educational institutions: www.meisterschulen.de

Information on the job description: http://www.industriemeister.info/chemie


University entrance qualification or general university entrance qualification

At some chemistry schools, students also acquire the advanced technical college or general university entrance qualification at the same time as the CTA training. Sometimes it is also offered as a one-year additional training course afterwards.
For those who did not take advantage of this opportunity, there is also the opportunity to acquire the advanced technical college entrance qualification after completing their training.
With the advanced technical college entrance qualification or the general higher education entrance qualification one can study at a technical college or university. Information on studying at universities of applied sciences (HAW) can be found on the "Studying Chemistry" website.

Technical business economist

Anyone who has already successfully completed further training to become an industrial foreman: in and has gained professional experience can train to become a technical business economist and thus take on management tasks. The focus of further training is of a business management nature. The training and examinations are not uniformly regulated nationwide and are offered by technical schools, IHKs and educational institutions. The technical business economist is often referred to as a "Master Professional (CCI)" (not to be confused with the master's degree from universities).

www.berufenet.arbeitsagentur.de (job title "technical business economist")
www.betriebswirt.info/Weiterbildung

Further information on further education in chemistry: www.berufskompass-chemie.de

dual study

Training-integrated dual university courses: In addition to the IHK training occupation, a university degree is also acquired.
Practice-integrated dual university courses: The course includes longer practical phases in the company without having to acquire a training occupation. The prerequisite is the technical or general university entrance qualification.

A dual course of study can also be started after completing an in-company or school-based training. A distinction is made between a job-integrated and a part-time dual study program.

www.gdch.de/Studium
www.studieren-ohne-abitur.de
www.elementare-vielfalt.de/duales-studium.html
www.hochschulkompass.de/studium/suche/dual-studieren.html
www.hochschulkompass.de/studium/suche/berufsbegleitend-studieren.html
www.ausbildungplus.de
www.duales-studium.de
www.wegweiser-duales-studium.de

Further information on the advanced training courses presented here can also be found in the GDCh brochure Career Perspectives in Chemistry

finance vocational training

Even if vocational training is worthwhile, it is expensive. However, grants can be obtained for many further training courses. Therefore, it makes sense to find out about funding opportunities in advance:

Government support

Advancement scholarship for experienced professionals

The advancement scholarship is a study grant from the federal government and is aimed at specialists with vocational training and at least two years of professional experience. You can apply before the start of your studies and up to the end of the second semester.

Advancement student loan

Chemical laboratory technicians, CTAs and chemical technicians who would like to continue their education can also use the ascent loan to help with financing. You receive the ascent Bafög for professional advancement training, for example to become a chemical technician.

education voucher

With the education voucher, the Federal Employment Agency promotes the professional vocational training of the unemployed, employees and those returning to work. The voucher is issued if the responsible employment agency deems vocational training necessary.

Continuing Education Grant

The scholarship program is aimed at young employees, the self-employed and first-year students who have completed vocational training and who have worked at least 19 hours a week for at least two years since completing their vocational training. The scholarship is available for subject-related professional development. Interdisciplinary qualifications such as language or software courses are also funded. Part-time studies are also eligible.

Country support

In many federal states there are special funding programs for further training. If you want to be financially supported by the state, you have to live or work there.

Brandenburg: professional vocational training
Hamburg: continuing education bonus
North Rhine-Westphalia: education check
Rhineland-Palatinate: QualiCheck
Saxony:

Company training check
Training check individually

Saxony-Anhalt vocational training directly
Schleswig-Holstein: continuing education bonus
Thuringia: Continuing Education Check
Bremen: Continuing Education Check

support from the boss

Because not only employees, but often also employers, benefit from professional vocational training , many employers support such projects individually or by approving educational leave. Here it is worth asking the employer, for example, to take over the (partial) costs or to ask for financing. The employee who is willing to undergo further training can also be supported in other ways, for example through flexible working hours or time off from work during examination phases.

But be careful: the employer is not always enthusiastic about the planned vocational training , because it costs the employee time and energy that is missing in everyday work. Explain to your boss what motivates you to do this training and how his company can benefit from it.

In the majority of the federal states ( www.iwwb.de/links/bildungsurlaub ), employees are free to take up to 5 days of educational leave, for which the employer must give them paid leave. The cost of the course itself must be borne by the employee. The prerequisite for educational leave is that it is a matter of professional or political vocational training .

money from the tax office

If you are afraid of the high costs because you are booking the vocational training at your own expense, you should definitely submit a tax return. If professional interests are in the foreground, taxes can be saved on many courses, including training courses or study and language trips. Travel expenses are also recognized here. Employees secure the tax advantage by entering the education costs in Appendix N of their tax return. For the self-employed, vocational training represents operating expenses, and different rules apply to this.

Further information on the financing options presented here is available in a special by Stiftung Warentest.

GDCh training courses

You can find the extensive range of advanced training courses offered by the GDCh here.

This page has been machine translated. If you have any feedback or comments please feel free to contact us.

last modified: 26.04.2023 07:05 H from A.Miller