The 160-hour training program must begin no later than six months after the start of employment and be completed no later than 24 months after the start of employment. In individual cases, the State Youth Welfare Office may extend this deadline once by six months.

Specifically, this applies to:

• Section 4(2) of the PersVO: Individuals who have passed the first state examination or hold a master’s degree in teaching at German elementary schools and who are employed as social education specialists. Please note: If a person is to assume the role of group leader, the 160-hour training program must be completed.
• § 9 PersVO: Individuals with pedagogical training who are employed under an exemption as additional staff (§ 9(1) PersVO) or as supplementary staff (§ 9(2) PersVO).
• § 11, Paragraph 1: Individuals who, as part of their training to become early childhood educators, have successfully completed the theoretical component of the program but did not subsequently complete a professional internship with a practical examination, and who are assigned to work during specialist staff hours. Note: This does not apply to individuals who have definitively failed the professional internship.
• Section 11, Paragraph 2: Individuals who have completed training or a degree program in the fields of speech-language pathology, movement therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, theater education, cultural education, music education, religious education, physical education, art education, media education, psychology, or educational science, who are assigned to specialized staff hours.

In addition, staff members relevant to the program profile must also complete the 160-hour qualification in accordance with § 14 PersVO. However, 80 of these hours—including the components that address child protection and risk prevention requirements—must have been completed prior to the start of employment. These 80 hours should be certified by the continuing education provider in the form of an interim certificate.

If certification for a 160-hour qualification was already issued prior to the most recent revision of the Personnel Ordinance, this certification automatically applies to all potential new assignments for which a 160-hour qualification is required.

The State Youth Authority offers continuing education providers the opportunity to have their training programs recognized in accordance with the current Guidance Framework for the 160-Hour Qualification. Upon successful review, the provider and its program will be added to the official list of recognized continuing education providers.

Requirements for Inclusion

To be listed as a continuing education provider, you must submit a detailed proposal that meets the requirements of the Personnel Ordinance and the Guidance Framework. The procedure is regulated as follows:

1. Concept Development
Develop a qualification concept that reflects all content-related and organizational requirements of the Orientation Framework. Particular attention should be paid to:

• Basis of the training: What does the program certify (description of objectives and target group)
• Content and learning objectives of all modules (e.g., child protection, development, communication, law)
• Teaching approaches and methodology of the program (e.g., delivery formats, theory-to-practice transfer)
• Clear structure (160 hours total), consideration of the time requirements for each module
• qualifications of the instructors (submission of an evaluation plan, including, among other things, opportunities for continuing education for teaching staff)
• Evaluation and quality assurance of the program
• Framework conditions such as group size and certification

2. Self-assessment based on the checklist.

3. Digital submission
Please send your complete proposal exclusively in PDF format to FP-223[at]mkjfgfi.nrw.de.

4. Review by the State Youth Authority
Your proposal will be reviewed individually by the relevant department. If necessary, you will receive feedback with suggestions for revisions.

5. Inclusion in the official list of providers
As soon as your proposal meets all requirements, you will be officially listed as a provider.
A cooperation agreement or a separate application is not required.

6. Updating Your Information
Keep the information in the list up to date; if there are changes—such as to your address—please send an email to FP-223[at]mkjfgfi.nrw.de.

Note on the Certification Process
The certification process is described in detail on this page, so you can generally complete it without further assistance. Please read all the information carefully.

If you still have questions that cannot be answered by the available information, please feel free to contact us (FP-223[at]mkjfgfi.nrw.de).

AZAV Certification

In addition to certification by the MKJFGFI, AZAV certification is also strongly recommended. AZAV certification is not mandatory; however, it enables operators of child care facilities to receive funding from the Employment Agency to cover costs associated with continuing education and resulting absences.

AZAV certification can also be obtained retroactively; the MKJFGFI is not involved in this process. Please inform us once the program has received AZAV certification so that this can be noted in the list of providers of the 160-hour qualification in accordance with Section 3(2) of the PersVO.

Information on AZAV certification