Germany’s Aufstiegs-BAföG Support Remains Steady in 2024, Reaching Younger Recipients
According to the German Federal Statistical Office, the number of individuals receiving support under the Aufstiegsfortbildungsförderungsgesetz (Aufstiegs-BAföG) in 2024 remained nearly constant, with a slight decrease of 400 cases or 0.2 percent compared to the previous year. The total funding available for the Aufstiegs-BAföG in 2024 was 1.083 million euros, a 1.8 percent increase from the previous year.
The Aufstiegs-BAföG provides financial support to participants in vocational upskilling measures by covering a portion of the education costs and living expenses. The support is offered in the form of both grants and loans, with 84 percent of the total funding allocated as grants (911 million euros) and 16 percent as loans (171 million euros). The majority of the loans, 167 million euros, were used to finance tuition and examination fees.
In 2024, the proportion of female recipients remained at 43 percent, similar to the previous year’s 44 percent. The lower proportion of women in the overall recipient group can be attributed to the fact that many of the supported vocational training programs have a lower female participation rate, such as the technical fields of industrial and electrical engineering.
For instance, the proportion of male recipients in the electrical engineering program was 98 percent, while women continued to pursue social upskilling programs in greater numbers, with an 82 percent proportion of female recipients in early childhood education training.
The Aufstiegs-BAföG primarily benefits younger age groups, with 74 percent of the recipients in 2024 being under the age of 30 and 18 percent being between 30 and 39 years old.
The top three most supported professions in 2024, in terms of the number of recipients, were state-recognized early childhood educators, with 55,200 recipients, followed by industrial engineers and business administration specialists, with 10,200 and 9,000 recipients, respectively.