The Trade and Crafts Code

Membership of the German skilled crafts sector does not depend on company size or turnover. Instead, German legislation lays down in the the Trade and Crafts Code (the ‘Handwerksordnung’), which trades belong to the sector.  A distinction is made between regulated skilled crafts requiring authorisation (Annex A), non-regulated crafts (Annex B1) and non-regulated trades similar to skilled crafts (Annex B2).

Regulated skilled crafts are the ones, which requirie a master degree or a comparable qualification to set up abusiness. The master examination is the most important CVET examination in the skilled crafts sector. Regulated Crafts are linked to dangerous work and provide vocational education and training, which is relevant to other sectors as well. In non-regulated crafts, a master certification can be obtained on a voluntary basis.