Child care workers

Child care workers teach, parent and take care of children and teenagers. They promote and support their development and that of their families in different social situations and circumstances in life. They plan and document assistance and education processes as well as suitable and appropriate pedagogical measures.

Erzieherin mit Kindern Foto: DCV

You want to become and child care worker and live in Germany?

If you are going to school, ask your teacher. You can also ask in the job centre or the employment agency.If you have a mentor he or she will certainly be able to help you with this. Or you can ask directly in one of the kindergartens or schools, that educate child care workers - here is a map.

How can you become a child care worker?

You can learn from us. You don’t have to study at a university for that. Instead you do a vocational training. This contains school lessons as well as normal work with someone who is good at this job already. The training takes three to four years and you get a small salary for the practical part of the training.

School report?

To become a child care worker you need 10 years of school education and a secondary school certificate. If you don’t have that yet, you can also become a social assistant as a first step, this takes two to three years. For this you need 9 years of school education and a certificate of secondary education. You can’t do quite as much and you get a salary that is a bit smaller. After that you can do the child care worker training, but only for two years - after three or four years you will also be a child care worker. Even if you haven’t graduated school there are possibilities, for example an internship or a voluntary social year. Just get in touch.

Status?

For vocational training you have to live in Germany and have a work permit.

What do child care workers do?

Child care workers look after children and teenages in kindergartens or nurseries, rarely also in children's hospitals or all-day schools. They play with the children, go on trips together, sing, do handicrafts, cook and eat together and help them when going to the toilet.

What do I have to be able to do?

Speak German as good as possible! You have to speak a lot - with child care workers, parents and especially with the children. Reference levels A2 or B1 aren’t enough. If you can’t speak German well enough yet, we provide language courses. These run during your vocational training and will help you learn German. The courses vary depending on the city and institution you are in.

Is child care work a good job?

Yes, child care workers are very wanted in Germany, there are many available jobs. You will always have work. If you like working with children, you have come to the right place.