Betriebswirt/Betriebswirtin (Fachschule) für Catering/Verpflegungsmanagement/Bachelor Professional in Wirtschaft

The advanced training takes place at technical colleges (Fachschule) and other educational institutions. Learning locations include classrooms and computer rooms.

Occupation type: Advanced training occupation: Bachelor Professional. Type of advanced training: Advanced training at technical colleges (Fachschule) (regulated by state (Bundesland) law). Duration of advanced training: 2-4 years (full-time/part-time). Tasks and activities: Business administrators (Betriebswirt/Betriebswirtin) for catering and food management plan and organize the purchasing, storage, preparation, and sale of food and beverages. They procure kitchen equipment and production devices, create menus, and develop new products. They also monitor compliance with hygiene regulations and food law requirements, thereby ensuring quality. They coordinate operational processes, handle accounting, and plan personnel deployment. They also develop marketing strategies and, if necessary, manage the entire operation. Work areas and locations: Business administrators for catering and food management are employed in catering businesses and in system gastronomy businesses.

Full-time: 2 years. Part-time: 3-4 years.

Distribution of hours (example): Compulsory area: General learning area: German: 1st training section 80 teaching hours, 2nd training section 80 teaching hours. English: 1st training section 120 teaching hours, 2nd training section 80 teaching hours. Politics, Economics, Law and Environment: 1st training section 80 teaching hours, 2nd training section 80 teaching hours. Vocational and Work Pedagogy I: 1st training section 40 teaching hours, 2nd training section 0 teaching hours. Total general learning area: 560 teaching hours. Professional learning area (1st and 2nd training section): Mathematics: 120 teaching hours. Project work: 120-160 teaching hours. Analyze, develop, and successfully design business concepts considering industry-specific fundamentals and business management methods: 80 teaching hours. Position a company successfully in the market long-term: 200-240 teaching hours. Personnel.

Advanced training (Weiterbildung) at state technical colleges (Fachschule) is generally free for students. Private technical colleges, however, usually charge course fees, and sometimes also admission and examination fees. Additional costs may arise, e.g., for work materials, travel to the training location, or external accommodation. Funding opportunities: Business administration advanced training can be financially supported according to the Advanced Training Promotion Act (Aufstiegsfortbildungsförderungsgesetz). Further information: Aufstiegs-BAföG - Aufstieg mit Förderung. Support for particularly talented young professionals: Stiftung Begabtenförderung berufliche Bildung (SBB) - Weiterbildungsstipendium.

Learning areas: Subject-specific, e.g.: Analyze, develop, and successfully design business concepts considering industry-specific fundamentals and business management methods. Perform and actively shape human resource management tasks. Plan, evaluate, and optimize processes of work organization development. Procure goods, services, and capital, and make investment decisions. Book business transactions, prepare and evaluate annual financial statements, and make entrepreneurial decisions based on cost and performance accounting. Develop fundamentals of nutrition science and create health-promoting concepts. Develop and apply food law fundamentals. Plan and create basic hygiene and quality management concepts. Plan the equipment, production, and process flows of a catering facility. Market food and specialties in a target group-oriented manner. Cross-disciplinary, e.g.: German, English.

In-depth knowledge in the following areas is a good prerequisite for successfully passing the advanced training examination: Economics/Law (e.g., to determine costs and comply with hygiene regulations), Mathematics (e.g., to create and evaluate statistics or cost accounting), Nutrition Science (e.g., to offer attractive products and meal plans).

The advanced training consists of theoretical and practical lessons. Depending on the education provider, one should be prepared for the following conditions: Lesson time for full-time instruction: full-day lessons on at least four weekdays; for part-time instruction: usually career-accompanying advanced training on weekends or in the evenings. Learning format: usually in-person events, meaning lessons in a classroom setting at the educational institution (possibly not at the place of residence).

The following advanced training alternatives are available for the profession of Business Administrator for Catering and Food Management: Management and Corporate Leadership Area: State-certified Hotel and Restaurant Manager/Bachelor Professional in Home Economics, Business Administrator (Fachschule) for Hotel and Restaurant Industry/Bachelor Professional in Business, State-certified Gastronomer/Bachelor Professional in Business. Commonality: Taking on leadership and organizational tasks in the hotel and restaurant industry. Hotel and Restaurant Industry Area: Certified Bar Master, Certified Hotel Master, Certified Kitchen Master, Certified Restaurant Master. Commonality: Taking on specialist and leadership tasks in the hotel and restaurant industry.

In 2020, the Vocational Training Act (BBiG) and the Crafts Code (HWO) were amended, introducing advanced training qualifications such as 'Certified Professional Specialist,' 'Bachelor Professional,' and 'Master Professional' to emphasize the equivalence of vocational and academic education. The use of professional titles depends on the enactment of corresponding new advanced training regulations.

The school and Fachschule (technical college) regulations of the Bundesländer (federal states) govern the duration, as well as possibilities for shortening and extending the training. Shortening: Participants with a degree in another specialization of the economics field or in a second focus of a specialization can shorten the advanced training. Extension: Participants can partly make up for missing professional experience during the advanced training. This may extend the duration of the advanced training.

This advanced training is legally regulated only in the mentioned Bundesland (federal state) and leads to the following qualification: Hesse: State-certified Business Administrator (Staatlich geprüfter Betriebswirt/Staatlich geprüfte Betriebswirtin), specializing in Catering and Food Management (Bachelor Professional in Wirtschaft). For internally regulated advanced training programs: Business Administrator for System Gastronomy (Betriebswirt für Systemgastronomie/Betriebswirtin für Systemgastronomie (DHA)) or Food Service Business Administrator (Verpflegungsbetriebswirt/Verpflegungsbetriebswirtin (DHA)).

The State-certified Business Administrator for Catering and Food Management (Staatlich geprüfter Betriebswirt bzw. staatlich geprüfte Betriebswirtin für Catering und Verpflegungsmanagement) is a vocational advanced training. It is regulated by state law and takes place at Fachschulen (technical colleges). The full-time training lasts 2 years, while part-time takes 3-4 years. There are also educational offers based on internal regulations.

After completing their advanced training, Business Administrators for Catering and Food Management can find suitable employment, for example, in system gastronomy and catering companies, as well as in supply clinics, sanatoriums, or homes with their own food service operations. To maintain and expand their expertise, individuals can pursue adaptive advanced training. The topics range from management and administration in the hospitality industry to accounting. With this advanced training qualification, Business Administrators can gain access to university studies even without a general higher education entrance qualification, for example, to earn a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or Business Management. Starting one's own business, such as a gastronomic establishment, is also possible.

School and technical college regulations: This advanced training is regulated by state law in the following Bundesland (federal state): Ordinance on Training and Examinations at One and Two-Year Technical Colleges (FS-APrVO) of 05.07.2011 (Hess.ABl. S. 323), last amended by Article 28 of the Ordinance of 16.12.2025 (Hess.GVBl. Nr. 110). There are no state-specific legal regulations in the following Bundesländer (federal states): Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thüringen. Overall for advanced training and activity: Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases in Humans (Infektionsschutzgesetz - IfSG), last amended by Article 3 Para. 1 of the Act of 04.03.2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 60).

Fachschulen (technical colleges) typically require a qualification in a relevant recognized Ausbildung (vocational training) and professional experience. Handling food requires instruction and a certificate from the public health department (Gesundheitsamt).