Hi,
My name is Jheannie and I am from Australia. Does anyone know how to become an erzieherin in Germany? Where to apply for an Ausbildung and what are the requirements? I am currently doing Diploma in Early Childhood Education and I’m hoping this will also help me in getting into this course in Germany.
I never really had a proper qualification but I did finished High School (10 years from where I’m originally from) High School Diploma. And I have some certificates from a vocational course in Australia.
Please help. I am planning to move in Berlin early 2023 after I finished studying here in Melbourne.
Thank you 😊
Kind regards,
Jheannie
Are you looking to come to Germany under a visa for an apprenticeship or will you be on some other kind of visa?
Every state has a slightly different path to qualify as an Erzieher and it's generally set at the higher end of requirements and level of instruction. Often, the Ausbildung takes four years rather than the typical three. This is the case since Erzieherausbildung does not only apply to early childhood education but encompasses after school care for primary school children, positions in boarding schools up to the age of young adulthood, positions in residential hospitals, etc.
Ausbildung can mean a dual system apprenticeship based on a contract with a nursery school or a school-based programme interspersed with internships in different organisations or a programme that qualifies those who might have had a different qualification and now work in child care. The 'Fachschulen' may be state or private. Up until December 2020, Erzieherausbildung was one of the few apprenticeships where tuition was payable by the trainee.
I hear that recognition of non-EU qualification is often unsuccessful since a good portion of the programme is about the German laws surrounding child care. Not sure whether there would be any partial recognition.
Berlin has several Fachschulen, my daughter attends one of the state schools that offer a programme for Erzieher (she is in a different stream, though, so I can't tell you much about it).
The town where I live - just outside Berlin, yet still on its public transport system - also has a state school for this and I know several nursery schools/day cares that desperately need more Erzieher, even specifically bilingual ones. I think it will come down to your visa or lack thereof and whether you will need sponsorship or not, how hard it will be to find a place.