Job profile: Elektroniker/-in Energie- und Gebäudetechnik

🌐 Machine-translated page. The German version is authoritative.

What does an Elektroniker for Energie- und Gebäudetechnik do?

The Elektroniker / Elektronikerin der Fachrichtung Energie- und Gebäudetechnik (short: EuG) plans, installs, tests and maintains the electrical systems in buildings: from the Hausanschluss (house connection) via the Zählerplatz (meter position) and the Unterverteilung (sub-distribution board) to the last Steckdose (socket outlet). On top of that come today’s Photovoltaik (photovoltaics), Wallboxen (wallboxes), Wärmepumpen (heat pumps), Netzwerk- und Gebäudeleittechnik (network and building automation — smart home, KNX) and the regular Prüfung (testing) of existing installations.

The trade belongs to the Elektrotechniker-Handwerk (electrical trades; Annex A No. 25 of the Handwerksordnung). Training takes place in the company and in the Berufsschule (part-time vocational school) — the dual Ausbildung. The Handwerkskammer (HWK) (Chamber of Crafts) is responsible for the exams, not the IHK.

There is a second Fachrichtung: Automatisierungs- und Systemtechnik. This page covers only Energie- und Gebäudetechnik — the Fachrichtung that is by far the most commonly trained one in the Elektrohandwerk.

The Ausbildung at a glance

Point	What applies	Source
Legal basis	Verordnung über die Berufsausbildung zum Elektroniker und zur Elektronikerin (ElekAusbV) of 30.03.2021	ElekAusbV 2021
Duration	3½ years (42 months)	§ 2 ElekAusbV
Form	dual: company + Berufsschule (block lessons or 1–2 days per week)	BIBB
Fachrichtungen	Energie- und Gebäudetechnik or Automatisierungs- und Systemtechnik	§ 4 ElekAusbV
Exam	gestreckte Gesellenprüfung (stretched journeyman’s exam): Part 1 in the 4th Ausbildungshalbjahr, Part 2 at the end	§ 6 ElekAusbV
Qualification	Gesellenbrief; title „Elektroniker/-in Fachrichtung Energie- und Gebäudetechnik”	ElekAusbV 2021
Responsible body	Handwerkskammer (HWK)	BIBB

What you learn during the Ausbildung

The ElekAusbV divides the Ausbildung into three areas (§ 4):

Fachrichtungsübergreifende Fertigkeiten (skills common to all Fachrichtungen) – the same for both Fachrichtungen: analysing jobs, installing, commissioning and testing electrical systems, fault-finding, instructing customers, documentation.
Fertigkeiten der Fachrichtung Energie- und Gebäudetechnik (skills of the Energie- und Gebäudetechnik Fachrichtung) – for example Konzipieren von Systemen der Energie- und Gebäudetechnik (designing energy and building technology systems) and Installieren und Inbetriebnehmen von Energiewandlungssystemen (installing and commissioning energy conversion systems — photovoltaics, storage, charging infrastructure).
Integrativ zu vermittelnde Fertigkeiten (skills taught across the curriculum) – occupational safety, environmental protection, digitalisation, rights and duties during the Ausbildung.

What the Berufsschule teaches alongside this is set out in the Rahmenlehrplan (curriculum framework): 13 Lernfelder (learning fields) with a total of 1 020 Unterrichtsstunden (lessons). You’ll find the overview on the Lernfelder page.

The gestreckte Gesellenprüfung

“Gestreckt” (stretched) means: there is no longer a separate Zwischenprüfung (intermediate exam); instead there are two exam parts, and both count towards the final grade.

Part	When	Exam area	Weight
Teil 1	4. Ausbildungshalbjahr (i.e. after about 1½ years)	Elektrotechnische Anlagen und Betriebsmittel (electrical installations and equipment) – 8 h practical task + 120 min written	30 %
Teil 2	End of the Ausbildung	Kundenauftrag (customer job) – 16 h practical task with a situational Fachgespräch (technical discussion, max. 20 min)	36 %
		Systementwurf (system design, written)	12 %
		Funktions- und Systemanalyse (function and system analysis, written)	12 %
		Wirtschafts- und Sozialkunde (business and social studies, written)	10 %

You have passed (§ 15 ElekAusbV) if

the overall result from Teil 1 and Teil 2 is at least „ausreichend” (sufficient),
Teil 2 on its own is at least „ausreichend”,
the Kundenauftrag is at least „ausreichend”,
at least two further exam areas of Teil 2 are „ausreichend”, and
no exam area of Teil 2 is „ungenügend” (insufficient).

That makes the Kundenauftrag the heart of the exam: it carries the most weight and must be passed on its own. That’s exactly why on this site we practise guides like the Unterverteilung the way they are demanded in an exam — with planning, build-up, testing and a protocol.

Requirements

Legally, no specific school leaving certificate is required. In practice, most companies hire people with a Hauptschulabschluss (lower secondary school certificate) or mittlerer Schulabschluss (Realschule) (intermediate school certificate). More important than the certificate:

Mathematics and physics at a solid level – Ohm’s law, power, rule of three, units. We explain the basics from scratch.
German – jobs, standards, test protocols and the exam are all in German. If German isn’t your first language: this site explains things in your language, but every Fachbegriff (technical term) stays German. That way you learn both at once.
Care and safety awareness – mistakes on electrical installations can be deadly.
Physical fitness – working on ladders, in tight spaces, on construction sites.
Colour vision – conductor colours (brown, black, grey, blue, green-yellow) must be reliably distinguishable.

For applicants from abroad: a foreign school certificate is usually not an obstacle — the company decides. A language level of B1–B2 is realistically needed, because the Berufsschule teaches in German from day one.

Ausbildungsvergütung (apprentice pay)

There are two minimums: the statutory Mindestausbildungsvergütung (minimum apprentice pay, § 17 BBiG) and — where a Tarifvertrag (collective agreement) applies — the Tarif. In the Elektrohandwerk, the Tarif is well above the statutory minimum.

Ausbildungsjahr	Statutory minimum pay 2026 (gross/month)	Tarif Elektrohandwerk Baden-Württemberg from 1.3.2026
1st year	724 €	1 140 €
2nd year	854 €	1 190 €
3rd year	977 €	1 290 €
4th year	1 014 €	1 390 €

The minimum pay applies to all Ausbildungen that start in 2026, for the entire duration of the Ausbildung. The Tarif in other Bundesländer differs; ask about the applicable Tarifvertrag when you apply. A company not bound by a Tarifvertrag may pay at most 20 % below the Tarif, otherwise the pay counts as not appropriate (§ 17 Abs. 4 BBiG).

Finding an Ausbildungsplatz (training position)

e-zubis.de – Ausbildungsportal of the E-Handwerke (ZVEH) with a vacancy finder by postal code.
Jobbörse der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (job board of the Federal Employment Agency) – search for „Elektroniker Energie- und Gebäudetechnik”.
Lehrstellenbörse der Handwerkskammer (apprenticeship board of the Chamber of Crafts) in your region.
Directly at the company – many small electrical companies don’t advertise openings. A phone call or an internship often opens more doors than an online application.

A Praktikum (internship) of one to two weeks is the best test: you see the everyday work, and the company sees you.

Test yourself

🧠 Test yourself

1. How long is the Ausbildung to become an Elektroniker for Energie- und Gebäudetechnik?

2. What does „gestreckte Gesellenprüfung" mean?

3. Which exam area carries the most weight and must be passed on its own?

4. How high is the statutory Mindestausbildungsvergütung in the 1st Ausbildungsjahr for a start in 2026?

5. Which body is responsible for the Gesellenprüfung?