Job centre or employment agency: who is responsible for you?

If you are planning funded training, one simple question comes up early: do I go to the employment agency (Agentur für Arbeit) or to the job centre (Jobcenter)? The answer depends on which benefit you receive and which voucher you need. Since 2025 something important has shifted. Today the employment agency decides on the education voucher (Bildungsgutschein) even for job centre clients. In this guide we explain who is responsible for what, where to ask and how to prepare for the appointment.

First: this guide is not legal advice. Whether you receive funding is decided solely by the responsible office in your individual case.

The basic rule: your benefit determines the office

Germany has two systems that apply when you are out of work. They are set out in two different social codes.

• Unemployment benefit (SGB III): if you worked long enough in insured employment before becoming unemployed, you receive Arbeitslosengeld. The employment agency is responsible.
• Basic income support (SGB II): if you have no claim to unemployment benefit or it is not enough to live on, you receive Grundsicherungsgeld. It replaced Bürgergeld on 01.07.2026. The job centre is responsible.
• Employees without benefits: if you have a job and want to train, you go to the employment agency.

By the way, the job centre is not a separate authority alongside the agency. In most regions it is a joint institution of the employment agency and the local authority; in some regions the local authority runs it alone. What matters for you: the job centre looks after you as long as you receive basic income support.

Since 2025: the education voucher always goes through the agency

Until the end of 2024 the job centre issued education vouchers to its own clients. That has changed. The law explicitly refers to the transfer of funding for vocational training from the job centres to the employment agencies on 01.01.2025 (section 66a SGB II). The Federal Employment Agency states that since then decision and funding for job centre clients are also handled by the employment agency.

The legal basis for the education voucher is therefore section 81 SGB III in both cases. Many older guides still name section 16 SGB II as the route to an education voucher for Bürgergeld recipients. The current version of section 16 SGB II, however, no longer lists vocational training.

That does not mean the job centre has no role. It remains responsible for your living costs, job placement and advice. The Federal Employment Agency's pages say you can contact your employment agency or your job centre for an advice meeting. So feel free to ask your adviser at the job centre first how the route to the agency works in your region.

Read more about the voucher itself on our page about the education voucher.

AVGS: here it still depends on who looks after you

The activation and placement voucher (AVGS) works differently. It pays for coaching, application training, start-up advice or private job placement (section 45 SGB III). If you receive unemployment benefit, you get it from the employment agency. For people on basic income support, section 16 SGB II still refers to these activation benefits. In that case you usually receive the AVGS through your job centre.

What AVGS coaching can do is described on our page about AVGS coaching.

Who is responsible for what? The overview

The table shows the usual case. In your region, cooperation between the agency and the job centre may be organised differently. If in doubt, ask both offices.

Top-up recipients: two offices, clear tasks

“Aufstocker” (top-up recipient) is not a legal term. It describes two different situations.

Unemployment benefit is not enough. You receive unemployment benefit, and the job centre pays basic income support on top. As long as you have a claim to unemployment benefit, the employment agency usually remains your contact for placement, coaching and training. The job centre takes care of the additional living costs.

Wages are not enough. You work but earn too little and receive basic income support on top. Then the job centre looks after you. For training with an education voucher, the employment agency is still responsible. If the training takes place alongside your current job, your employer also plays a part.

Employees: the route via the agency and the employer

Even if you have a job, your training can be funded (section 82 SGB III, known as the Qualifizierungschancengesetz). The training must go beyond short-term adjustment at the workplace and last more than 120 hours, and course and provider must be approved. The employment agency is responsible. The Federal Employment Agency points out that this funding is only possible in agreement with your employer. Details are in the guide Funded training for employees.

Discretion or entitlement?

Many people assume they are entitled to an education voucher as soon as they are unemployed. It is not that simple.

• Education voucher: under section 81 (1) SGB III unemployed people can be funded. That is a discretionary decision. Conditions include that the training is necessary for your integration into work, that the agency advised you before the start and that course and provider are approved. Obtaining a vocational qualification later in life is different: here section 81 (2) SGB III provides for funding under certain conditions. The Federal Employment Agency calls this a legal entitlement.
• AVGS: here too the office usually decides at its discretion. Section 45 (7) SGB III names an entitlement for one case only: a voucher for private job placement if you receive unemployment benefit and have not been placed after six weeks of unemployment.
• Basic income support: SGB II also gives priority to job placement (section 3a SGB II). An exception is possible if funding is more promising for lasting integration into work, especially for people under 30.

For your meeting this means: a good justification counts for more than simply wanting a course.

If responsibility changes during the course

Your situation may change in the middle of training, for example because your unemployment benefit ends. Since 2025 this is less critical for the training costs than it used to be: the employment agency funds the education voucher in both cases. The office responsible for your living costs may change, though, from unemployment benefit to basic income support at the job centre.

How to avoid gaps:

• Ask in your first meeting how long your unemployment benefit is likely to run during the course.
• Apply for basic income support in good time if you will need it.
• Report every change to both offices straight away and inform your training provider.

If the law changes, measures that have already started usually continue under the old rules until they end (section 66 SGB II). That also applied to the 2025 change: anyone who still had a voucher from the job centre did not have to start again.

Where to ask and how to prepare for the appointment

You take the first step through your employment agency or your job centre. On arbeitsagentur.de there is a function called „Förderung anfragen“ for this. If you receive basic income support, also speak to your adviser at the job centre.

Bring to the appointment:

• your current benefit notice, if you have one
• CV and certificates
• two or three job ads that show which qualification is required
• a specific course or a clear training goal
• a short explanation of why this particular training improves your chances

At the end of the meeting, ask which office will decide on your application and by when you should get back in touch. Note down the name and date.

If you have not yet found a suitable course, take a look at our course overview. We are happy to help you find an approved course and prepare for the meeting. The decision on funding, however, is always made by the employment agency or the job centre. Book an appointment here.