Professional Registration in Germany is required for a lot of professions. For many you you cannot work until you’ve received your professional registration from the local authority responsible for your field of work.
In my last post about qualification recognition in Germany, I outlined the difference between regulated and unregulated professions and shared my journey (so far!).
In this post, I‘m pleased to share my updates about my own journey on this process and the next steps I need to take.
If you’re battling the bureaucracy of professional registration, I hope this post will motivate you to just get it done.
It is an overwhelming task when you’re just beginning the process, but you’ve got this. Or at least let you enjoy some schadenfreude at my expense.
RECAP of my professional recognition journey so far
In case you haven’t read the first post in this series, here’s a quick recap of my experience with the process of qualification recognition so far.
If you’re serious about going through this process yourself, go back and read the first post. I share valuable resources and support services that you can use free of charge!
UPDATE on my professional recognition journey so far
On 30th August, I received an unexpected letter in the mail.
It was a heavy packet from the Landesdirektion Sachsen, the authority responsible for overseeing applications for qualification recognition in Saxony.
At first, I thought it was simply the return of my certified documents (my submission had weighed 1kg, after all!).
I knew it hadn’t yet been three months. It’s been a long time since I learned to assume German bureaucracy will never be completed sooner than the reported timeframe.
Immediately, my inner mean-girl said that the return of documents faster than expected was a clear sign that my application was being rejected.
All that time and money for nothing.
Memories of being advised that my combination of degrees may not be accepted came flooding back.
Social Workers here typically hold a Bachelor’s and Masters’s Degree in Social Work. I hold a Bachelor of Arts with major areas of study in Sociology and Politics and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Same same but different, right? Maybe? Please?
After slowly opening the packet and scanning the front page of the documents, the word Zwischenbescheid immediately stood out.
“Yes!” I said to no one (I was home alone). “I got my Zwischenbescheid!”
WHAT’S “ZWISCHENBESCHEID”?
Zwischenbescheid translates to an interim decision.
Simply put, a Zwischenbescheid confirms that my qualifications have been formally recognised as equal to those of local students.
However, it’s interim because further training or learning is required before full registration is possible.
Only after these additional steps have been completed can someone be fully registered.
The term for this in Social Work is Staatlich Annerkant. Being Staatlich Annerkant means that I’m fully recognised and registered by the State and I can, officially, call myself a Social Worker.
Confused? Yeah. That’s German bureaucracy.
So, even though I’ve received the Zwischenbescheid, I still need to fill a knowledge gap, as identified by the professional assessor.
What’s my knowledge gap?
German law.
That’s right.
My Australian qualifications do not include any modules about German law.
Big surprise, right?
Most regulated professions in Germany require students to learn the relevant laws in their profession. Social Work is no different.
However, I consider myself lucky that the professional assessor has deemed my Bachelor of Arts and my Masters of Social Work together to be equal to Social Work training in Germany.
It’s common for Social Workers (and professionals from many fields) to need to undertake significant portions of their training before they can be recognised here. My assessed gap in knowledge is small by comparison!
Identified gaps in your knowledge do not reflect your capacity to competently undertake your work. It’s simply highlighting that there are required aspects to practice in Germany that were not provided in your home country’s education.
Why? Probably because they’re not required in your home country.
For example, I never needed to understand, interact with or apply principles of German law in my practice in Australia.
However, I have a good grounding in how Australian laws interact with Social Work practice, so I’m confident that I’ll be able to get through this next stage.
And you can too!
So what are the next steps for my registration?
Before my qualifications can be fully recognised and I can be registered as a Social Worker in Saxony, I need to prove to the registering body that I do know the relevant laws.
To do this, I’ve been given the choice of two options:
- Undertake a period of supervised practice, which may include completing specified study concurrently.
OR
- Complete a law exam at one of the Social Work schools in Saxony.
After I’ve completed one of the two options, I will finally be fully recognised in Saxony as a Social Worker and be eligible for registration.
Naturally, I have a lot of questions about these two options.
- Where can I find supervised practice?
- How long is the supervised practice for?
- Can I just use my job as a supervised practice?
- How long is the module of study?
- When is the module of study available?
- Is the exam written or oral?
- Is it likely that I can just study up and pass the exam?
Underlying my questions are two key concerns:
- Time
- Money
As an already working Mum, I have significant constraints on my time, money and energy.
How much have I already spent on the process?
The process of having my qualifications recognised and becoming a registered social worker in Saxony has already set me back 3,028.18€.
For comparison, according to Gehalt.de, the median monthly income for a registered social worker in Saxony is 3,922€.
The key motivator to get through the process of qualification recognition has been the knowledge that once received, the title of being staatlich anerkannt increases the breadth of job opportunities that I can apply for.
It also makes me a more competitive applicant from the beginning.
But, even if that’s all true, it’ll take me a minimum of one month in my new full-time role to recoup the expenses already incurred.
How long does it take?
The official timeline provided by the relevant authorities is six-twelve months.
However.
This estimate is based on the rules of bureaucracy and how fast they must process complete applications.
If you need to provide any additional documents, including translations, certified copies or additional supplementary documentation, the processing time has not yet started.
It also doesn’t include your time.
I’ve spent innumerable hours collecting paperwork.
Chasing up documents and supplementary evidence from back home. It can take up to two weeks to have documents translated, sometimes longer depending on the length and complexity of the text.
The process of obtaining certified copies is one more challenge.
While the actual assessment of my qualifications took only two months (one month shy of the estimated three months), the overall process has taken well over a year.
From my initial consultation with IQ Netzwerk back in 2021, receiving this Zwischenbescheid has been a hard-fought battle.
Do I need to have my qualifications recognised and be a registered Social Worker?
In short, it’s complicated.
Because German bureaucracy.
Initially, I had been advised that Social Workers can be employed in the non-regulated arena. For example, as support workers or in advisory roles.
While this is true, the reality is less clear-cut.
After sending out countless job applications over six months, I received three interviews. I was thrilled!
None of these roles explicitly required a registered Social Worker.
I assumed wrongly that if the job ad didn’t require a staatlich anerkannt Social Worker and the interview went well, I’d be given the role.
Wrong.
Following every interview, I was advised that despite having the needed skills and experience, due to not being registered here, I was unable to be given the role.
I was initially convinced that this was just their way of letting me down gently.
And it might have been. But there’s another reason, too.
Bureaucracy.
When community services and non-governmental agencies receive money from the State, the State influences who they hire to fulfil these funded roles.
And you know what?
The State prefers to have its money pay only registered Social Workers.
And that’s the reason I’m chasing this goal of having my qualifications recognised and eventually being registered in Saxony.
There are more job opportunities for registered social workers.
Unfortunately, that’s the bottom line. And that’s why I keep chipping away at this goal.
Next Update:
My next update on this process will come once I’ve decided between the supervised placement and the exam.
This week I’ll be consulting yet again with the IQ Netzwerk in the hope of gaining clarity about how to move forward with the process.
Are you or have you been through the process of qualification recognition and registration in Germany? Let me know in the comments below.
