CYBERSQUAD AkademieAZAV-approved training provider

Planned start: 2 November 2026

Into IT security in nine months.

Live lessons with an instructor, every weekday, from home. No IT experience needed. With an approved Bildungsgutschein, it costs you nothing.

The course is called AI-Driven Security Operations Specialist.AZAV-approved — your Jobcenter or Agentur für Arbeit is allowed to pay for it.

Prefer to call: 0211 81994488 · Monday to Friday

Free funding check

Step 1Takes about two minutes

Will the Jobcenter or Agentur für Arbeit pay for your training?

A few short questions — then you’ll know which rule applies to you.

Your money keeps coming. If your training is funded through a Bildungsgutschein, the Agentur für Arbeit or Jobcenter keeps paying your Arbeitslosengeld (unemployment benefit) or Grundsicherung (basic income support). We only need your contact details at the end.

9months full-time

1.400teaching units (UE)

3certificates after passing the exams

0 €with an approved Bildungsgutschein

Before you read on

Four questions almost everyone asks us first

“I don’t have a German passport.”

Funding depends on having access to the German labour market — not on which passport you hold. Even a time-limited residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) does not exclude you.

“My qualification isn’t recognised here.”

For this job you need no formal recognition. IT jobs are not regulated professions in Germany.

“Is my German good enough?”

You need to be able to follow the lessons. We do not require a particular level — if in doubt, talk to us before you decide it’s not for you.

The most common question on the phone

“What do I live on during these nine months?”

Your Arbeitslosengeld keeps coming. You no longer count as a jobseeker, but as taking part in a training programme (Maßnahme). Two days of benefit only use up one day of your entitlement (§ 148 SGB III), and at least 90 days remain at the end. Grundsicherung continues unchanged.

All answers in detail →

Your path, online

From here on, you don’t have to work anything out on your own.

The path to a Bildungsgutschein has several stages — consultation, application, decision letter, registration. Most people don’t fail for lack of will, but because nobody tells them what comes next. That’s why you get your own area after the funding check.

Your documents are ready for youFilled in with your details, ready to print or upload in the BA app.
You see which step comes nextFrom the appointment at the Jobcenter or Agentur für Arbeit to registration — one step at a time, no jargon.
We get in touch firstYou don’t have to ask and you don’t have to keep track of anything. No password, one click from your email.

No call needed, no appointment, no waiting on the phone. If you’d rather talk, that’s fine too.

Laptop showing a video call with several people in a grid

Planned start: 2 November 2026

AI-Driven Security Operations Specialist

This is the name of the programme as the training objective (Bildungsziel) on your Bildungsgutschein — with no additions. The job behind it: Junior SOC Analyst. AZAV-approved until 19 July 2029.

Duration 9 months, full-time Location virtual classroom Group fixed group Lessons Mon–Fri, live

Junior SOC Analyst — that’s the person who is the first to notice an attack on a company. You learn to spot it before any damage is done, on the same systems that real security teams use. Every weekday with an instructor, in a fixed group. No IT experience needed.

0 €for you, with an approved Bildungsgutschein

Check which rule applies to you

Start 2 November 2026 (planned)
Equipment laptop and headset
Approval AZAV · Kiwa

Why things work differently here

The course material doesn’t come from one instructor’s folder but from two platforms: simpleclub provides IHK‑reviewed content based on the official framework curricula, TryHackMe provides the exams. Both are updated continuously.

simpleclubTryHackMe SOC‑Simulator

Usually

With us

Course material

Each instructor puts together their own material.

simpleclub: IHK‑reviewed content based on the official framework curricula, maintained by more than 60 education experts.

Exam

The provider’s own instructor runs the exam at the end.

TryHackMe runs the three exams — international, independent of us.

Proof

A certificate that nobody can verify.

A Credly link: any company can see for itself that you passed.

It’s the content that has been reviewed. Your final qualification comes from us, with an approval number — it is not a qualification in a recognised apprenticeship occupation like those from the IHK.

7.7 monthsis how long an open IT job in Germany stays unfilled, on average

27 %of recently hired IT specialists are career changers — just as many as people with an IT degree

Bitkom e. V. / Bitkom Research, “Der Arbeitsmarkt für IT-Fachkräfte — Bitkom-Studie 2025” (The labour market for IT specialists — Bitkom study 2025). Survey of 855 companies with 3 or more employees, May to July 2025. Figures refer to IT jobs overall, not specifically to IT security.

The curriculum

9 months in 6 phases

Full-time, Monday to Friday — including 4 weeks of holiday. Tap a phase to see what happens in it.

2 weeks holiday 2 weeks holiday

SEC0Week 14

SEC1Week 23

SAL1Week 30

Zertifikat from the AcademyWeek 39

Start · Week 1

IT basics and digital work Weeks 1–7 · 280 UE›

Person concentrating on work at a laptop

Hardware, Windows, Linux, files and permissions — plus first steps in Python. We start from zero.

simpleclub Live instructor

Networks and security basics Weeks 8–14 · 280 UE · ends with SEC0›

TCP/IP, routing, firewalls: how data travels through the internet and where an attacker looks for a way in.

simpleclub 🎖 SEC0 exam

Cyber Security 101 Weeks 17–23 · 280 teaching units · ends with SEC1›

The ten most common web vulnerabilities, understanding malware, reading log files, first steps with a SIEM.

TryHackMe 🎖 SEC1 exam

SOC Analyst Training Weeks 24–30 · 280 teaching units · ends with SAL1›

Assess alerts, separate real attacks from false alarms, document an incident properly. Every day in the simulator.

SOC‑Simulator 🎖 SAL1 exam

AI in everyday work, data protection, IT service Weeks 33–36 · 160 teaching units›

The AI tutor answers a learner's question

How you really use AI tools in a security team — and where the limits are. Plus the GDPR.

AI‑Tutor Live instructor

Job applications and starting your career Weeks 37–39 · 120 teaching units›

CV, LinkedIn profile, your portfolio — and practice interviews, one with HR, one with a technical expert.

Live instructor Practice interviews

Person wearing a headset at a workstation in a security team

What you'll hold in your hands at the end

SEC0 · Pre-SecurityVerifiable via CredlyWeek 14

SEC1 · Cyber Security 101Verifiable via CredlyWeek 23

SAL1 · Security Analyst L1the most important of the threeWeek 30

📜 Academy certificatefrom us, with our approval numberWeek 39

The three exams are run by TryHackMe, not by us — each one can be verified via Credly. The final certificate comes from us, with our approval number; it is the provider’s own certificate, not a qualification in a recognised training occupation such as those awarded by the IHK (chamber of industry and commerce) or the Handwerkskammer (chamber of skilled crafts). For your Jobcenter or Agentur für Arbeit: 1,400 teaching units, full-time, Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 16:40.

The SOC simulator overview: number of alerts, how many were classified correctly or incorrectly, a ring chart by alert type and the list of open cases

The job behind it

A security team does not sit in a basement. It sits at screens, watches a company’s alerts and decides which of them are serious. From Phase 4, you practise exactly this work every day.

In Germany, junior jobs in IT security are mostly advertised with an annual salary between 41,000 and 70,000 euros, depending on region, company and previous experience. What you earn in the end depends on your application — nobody can promise that.

First of all: We are a training provider, not a job placement service. We cannot promise you a job. What we do: teach you the craft and practise job applications with you.

From Phase 4

Then you work in the security team

An alert comes in. You decide: real attack or false alarm? You see everything — sender, subject, history and the suspicious link. And the clock is running.

Scenarios based on real attack patterns — sorted by MITRE ATT&CK
The course content is in German — technical terms stay in English, your instructor explains them
You work in a squad — a fixed group, joint review, every day

tryhackme.com · SOC‑Simulator

Tour of the SOC simulator: choose a scenario, handle an alert, open the analysis machine

Tour in progress · 9 seconds

Squad leaderboard with rank, handling time and points

You compete with each otherA leaderboard in the squad — who handles alerts fastest and gets them right?

Evaluation: closed alerts, handling time, false-alarm rate, points

You see your progressClosed alerts, time taken, hit rate. A real security team uses the same metrics.

End of a scenario with a report and a success message

And you close the caseWrite the report, close the case — the attack has been stopped. That is exactly what your job will be later.

The path — four steps

How to get your Bildungsgutschein

From your click to the decision letter, it usually takes two to six weeks. Each step tells you what you do and what we do for you.

Man checking on a laptop whether funding is possible

You do a quick check

Three questions on this page. You find out straight away whether funding is possible for you — no registration, no name and no phone call.

You · on your own · anonymous 2 minutes

We write your documents

Shortly afterwards, all the papers for the office are in your area: approval number, costs and the written reasons — ready to print.

We · no password needed Usually two working days

You go to your appointment

You present the papers at your Agentur für Arbeit (employment agency). The three sentences you can say are included. You make the application yourself.

You · we get you ready One appointment

Man at a laptop after the training course has started

The Bildungsgutschein arrives — you start

You upload it in your area and send us the provider’s copy by post. Then your place is reserved and we register you.

We · then we call you Then the course starts

Two things you should know. Classes are planned to start on 2 November 2026; for that we need a minimum number of registrations — if there are too few, we postpone the start by two to four weeks and let you know straight away. And: your Bildungsgutschein is usually valid for three months. If it expires before then, we get in touch in good time.

SAMPLE

What a Bildungsgutschein looks like

Training goal: AI-Driven Security Operations Specialist
Valid until
Name
Costs: are covered
Issued by: Agentur für Arbeit

You get this document from your office — not from us. Since 2025 it is always issued by the Agentur für Arbeit, even if your case is handled by the Jobcenter. It is usually valid for three months.

Kiwa seal: programme approval for the funding of further vocational training

Approved for the Bildungsgutschein Both the training provider and the programme are certified under AZAV. That is the only reason your office is allowed to pay for it. Left: programme “AI-Driven Security Operations Specialist” · approved until 19 July 2029 Right: training provider · certificate reg. no. A2601001 · valid until 10 June 2031 · both by Kiwa ZERTPUNKT GmbH

FAQ

Almost everyone asks this

What do I live on during these nine months?

Arbeitslosengeld (unemployment benefit) continues — and is used up only half as fast: two days of training cost one day of entitlement (§ 148 SGB III). Grundsicherung (basic income support) also continues. If you are not receiving any benefit at the moment, the Bildungsgutschein can still be approved — but it does not cover your living costs.

I have no IT skills.

You don’t need any. Phase 1 starts from zero: first computers and networks, then attack patterns, then the real thing in the simulator.

I don’t have a German passport.

That is not a problem. Funding goes to people who have access to the German labour market — not to people with a particular passport. A time-limited Aufenthaltstitel (residence permit) does not exclude you either: since January 2026 this has been stated explicitly in the Weisungen (official instructions) of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit on § 81 SGB III. The Bildungsgutschein is not shortened to the end date of your permit. Tell us early how long your permit is valid — we sort that out with you in advance, not afterwards.

My qualification from abroad is not recognised here.

For this job you do not need to have your qualification recognised. IT jobs are not regulated in Germany — unlike medicine or nursing, for example, the law does not tie entry here to any particular qualification. To be admitted to our course, you do not need a particular school-leaving certificate either. Still, bring all the certificates you have to your appointment at the office: they help to make sense of your background — and they help us write your written reasons.

Is my German good enough?

Classes are in German. You should understand and speak German well enough to follow the lessons and ask questions. We do not require a particular level — and no language certificate either, neither telc nor Goethe. You do not need to apply for anything or wait for an exam date. Instead, we have a short chat with you and tell you honestly whether it is enough. Your instructor explains the English technical terms; everyone learns those from scratch, native speakers too.

Nine months full-time — can I manage that?

Classes run Monday to Friday, with four weeks of holiday planned in. If you look after children, the childcare costs can be funded as well (§ 87 SGB III). Ask us about this before you say no.

Am I too old at 45?

No. What counts for funding is not your age but whether the training gets you back into work (§ 81 SGB III). If you are still employed and 45 or older, your employer’s share of the course costs can be waived completely — for companies with fewer than 500 employees. If your company belongs to a group, all employees of the group are counted (§ 82 Abs. 2 Satz 4 und Abs. 6 SGB III).

What if the office says no?

Then you have lost nothing: the funding check costs nothing and does not commit you to anything. We write your written reasons in advance, so you can take them to the appointment.

Can’t find your question here? Call us — Monday to Friday. Marsí, our AI adviser, answers first; she answers most questions straight away. She can also start the conversation in English, Arabic or Ukrainian and tell you in your language that advice and classes here are in German. If you want to speak to a person, someone from our team will call you back; that conversation is in German. You do not need to fill anything in beforehand.

0211 81994488