The Paid-Training Pack

A route where the company pays you to learn the job, and your training wage is your proof of livelihood.

The route, in plain words

A German company signs you to a dual vocational training contract (Ausbildung) of 2 to 3 years: workplace training plus vocational school. The company pays a monthly trainee wage for the whole period. On passing the final exam you can move to the skilled-worker residence route and work full-time in that trade. Source: make-it-in-germany.com, visa for training.

The visa needs: the signed training contract; approval from the Federal Employment Agency (handled inside the process); proof of German at B1 for qualified training (A2 is accepted for assistant-level training under the agency's instructions); and proof your livelihood is secured, which the training pay normally satisfies. Part-time work up to 20 hours a week is allowed alongside training.

The second door: the training-place search visa

If you hold the language certificate but no contract yet, a visa exists to enter Germany for up to 9 months to find a training place: for applicants under 35, with a school-leaving certificate that would allow university entry at home, B1 German, and money for the search months in a blocked account. Budget more for this one than for the student route: the monthly figure it asks for is the higher of the two, and it is printed on the official page. You may work up to 20 hours a week while searching.

The gate: B1 German, recognised providers only

Goethe-Institut, telc, ÖSD, TestDaF. In Nigeria, start at Goethe-Institut Lagos: course dates, levels and fees are on that page, and the placement test is free, so sit it first.

The 12-month ladder (Segun's plan, a picture, not a client): September to December A1. January to April A2. May to August B1 exam. September onwards: applications and contract. Then the visa appointment with the contract in hand. Assistant-level trades: apply from A2.

Trades that commonly train foreign applicants

Nursing and nursing assistant (Pflegefachkraft), electrical trades, mechatronics, logistics, hotel and restaurant trades, retail, IT systems, construction trades, bakery and food.

Two things to know before you pick one. Full nursing is the exception on this list: employers commonly ask for B2 rather than B1, so budget an extra language level for it. And the trade you choose decides your search radius more than your grades do, because a company only takes a trainee it can teach, so a smaller town with one factory is often an easier door than Berlin.

The official job and training search is the Federal Employment Agency's portal; start from the training page linked above and its linked search.

The first email to a company (German, with English)

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, ich heiße Segun Adeyemi, bin 24 Jahre alt und komme aus Nigeria. Ich habe ein OND in Elektrotechnik und lerne seit einem Jahr Deutsch (Niveau B1, Goethe-Institut Lagos). Ich interessiere mich sehr für eine Ausbildung als Elektroniker in Ihrem Unternehmen ab September 2027. Meinen Lebenslauf und meine Zeugnisse finden Sie im Anhang. Über eine Einladung zu einem Online-Gespräch würde ich mich sehr freuen. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Segun Adeyemi.

In English: Dear Sir or Madam, my name is Segun Adeyemi, I am 24 and from Nigeria. I hold an OND in electrical engineering and have studied German for a year (B1, Goethe-Institut Lagos). I am very interested in a training place as an electronics technician with your company from September 2027. My CV and certificates are attached. I would be glad to be invited to an online interview. Kind regards.

Mistakes

1. Applying with no certificate: B1 from a recognised body is the gate, and "I speak small German" is not a document.
2. Paying an "agent" for a contract; contracts come from companies, free.
3. Confusing school-based unpaid training (which needs a blocked account) with company-based paid training.
4. Ignoring that nursing usually needs B2 at the employer.
5. Letting the search visa's 9 months run without daily applications.