Labor market and traineeships

Opportunities for all

Employees in Heidelberg can choose from a range of interesting companies, from SMEs to global corporations. Employers in Heidelberg can recruit their staff from a well-qualified labor force – thanks to the city’s ten universities with about 40,000 students, its first-class schools and a wide range of providers of initial and in-house training. About 90,000 full-time jobs in the city attract employees from near and far. The unemployment rate in Heidelberg is lower than five per cent.

Heidelberg is active. Together with stakeholders from industry, politics and society, the city is working hard to establish equality of opportunity in the labor market. The municipal service company Heidelberger Dienste GmbH advises and trains job-seekers and helps them find employment. At the same time, Heidelberger Dienste itself provides work for young jobless people, the long-term unemployed, the severely disabled and people with a restricted capacity to work.

Heidelberg supports the next generation. The city provides training in some 30 different occupations and subject areas. In the social work sector, the city offers a ‘dual’ course of study leading to the award of a Bachelor of Arts. The city has also worked together with partners in industry and local authorities to launch a number of different training initiatives in a bid to boost the supply of skilled workers.

Heidelberg is a family-friendly city. It comes out top in the country for provision of child care facilities – making an important contribution toward making family life and work compatible.