Career Counselling in the EN District (Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis)

Not sure yet what to do after school? The career counselling service of the Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) is a free service for young people in the Ennepe-Ruhr district – whether you’re looking for an apprenticeship, need support finding the right degree programme, or simply want to get clarity about your professional future.

In a personal counselling session, you can talk about your wishes, goals, and expectations. You decide for yourself what is discussed, and in the end you make your own decisions – the counsellors are there purely to support you. If needed, aptitude tests are also available to help you decide. To make sure there’s enough time for you, all sessions take place by prior appointment.

How to reach the counselling service:

• Career counselling hotline: 02302 929 450
• Video counselling: register on 0800 4 5555-00 (free of charge)
• Appointment: request online or by email (including your phone number, when you can be reached, your place of residence, and the school you last attended)

At many secondary schools across the district (Breckerfeld, Ennepetal, Gevelsberg, Hattingen, Herdecke, Schwelm, Sprockhövel, Wetter, and Witten), there are also dedicated contact persons – from lower secondary (Hauptschule) and intermediate secondary (Realschule) schools through comprehensive schools (Gesamtschule) and grammar schools (Gymnasium) to vocational colleges (Berufskolleg).

Young people in Witten can also turn to the Youth Employment Agency Witten (Jugendberufsagentur Witten) – a joint service run by the city, the Federal Employment Agency, and the Jobcenter (jba-witten.de).

In addition, various support and funding options are presented in case finding an apprenticeship doesn’t work out straight away, or you need help during your training – for example Assisted Vocational Training (AsA flex) with tutoring, pre-vocational training measures (BvB), the Entry-Level Qualification (EQ) as a paid long-term internship, and out-of-company vocational training (BaE).

One small note: I kept the German names in brackets after the English terms, since they’re official programme/school-type names your readers may still encounter on forms or other German pages. If your English page is aimed at an audience that doesn’t need those references, I can strip them out for a cleaner read – just say the word.