Why I do need to know Umschulung?
Whether you're established in your career or just starting out, die Umschulung is a useful word that can help you navigate unexpected changes and prepare for the future.
It's a word you may hear at a jobcentre or training institute - or even at your place of work - and it can come into focus at times of economic uncertainty.
For parents, the word can also apply to your child's education.
What does it mean?
Die Umschulung (pronounced like this) is a period of retraining or re-education for a change in career or job. Taken from the noun Schulung, meaning training, and the preposition um, which means around, an Umschulung is essentially a pivot in your education that takes you in a new direction.
In most cases, people who embark on an Umschulung do so because they can no longer practice their previous profession or because their career prospects look gloomy. For example, a professional athlete might consider an Umschulung once they are past their prime, or a graphic designer feeling threatened by AI may decide to retrain in a different field.
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In Germany, the Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) can provide funding and vouchers for Umschulung in sought-after fields like IT, carpentry and healthcare. Universities and other types of training academy may also offer specially tailored or fast-track courses for Quereinsteiger, or people looking for change of career.
As well as Quereinsteiger, words you might hear in connection with Umschulung include Berufswechsel (career change), Weiterbildung and Fortbildung (further and additional training).
While you're most likely to hear about Umschulung in this context, there are two other meanings of the word to be aware of. If a child moves to a different school, this can also be described as an Umschulung.
Much less commonly, an Umschulung might be used to talk about an intensive period of "re-education" given to an individual or group in order to change their political opinion.
Of course, umschulen can also be used as a verb to describe any of these processes.
Use it like this:
Nach seiner Kündigung entschied er sich für eine Umschulung zum IT-Fachmann.
After being laid off, he decided to retrain as an IT specialist.
Die Agentur für Arbeit übernimmt die Kosten der Umschulung, wenn sie die Chancen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt verbessert.
The employment agency covers the cost of retraining if it improves job market prospects.
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