Career coaching funded by the German government (AVGS)
For tech professionals registered with Jobcenter or Agentur für Arbeit.
What AVGS is
AVGS (Aktivierungs- und Vermittlungsgutschein) is a voucher from the Agentur für Arbeit or Jobcenter that pays for individual job or business coaching. You get up to 15 job coaching sessions of 90 minutes each, completely free for you. The voucher is issued by your case worker, and the coaching is delivered by an AZAV-certified provider.
I do my AVGS work as part of Transform Training – an AZAV-certified coaching company in Berlin. They handle the paperwork and the voucher process; I handle your sessions.
The team is three coaches: Maria Kuzminova (marketing, creative industries, self-employment, NGOs), Liubov Höpfner (business coaching, startup consulting, economics & finance), and me – the IT and tech focus.
Are you eligible?
You can usually request an AVGS voucher if you:
- are registered as unemployed with the Agentur für Arbeit or Jobcenter, and
- have paid social security contributions in Germany for at least 12 months (or meet other criteria your case worker confirms).
You are not eligible if:
- you are on a job-seeking visa (Chancenkarte) and haven't worked in Germany yet,
- you are employed and not registered as job-seeking.
Not sure? Your case worker is the final word. We can also discuss eligibility on the intro call.
What we work on
My focus is people from IT and adjacent tech roles (QA, backend, frontend, DevOps, engineering management, data, ML, product, project management, etc.).
In 15 sessions we typically cover:
- Direction: what role, what kind of company, what's actually realistic in the German market for your seniority and stack.
- Reading job ads and adapting CV and cover letters so they don't read generic.
- Preparing for interviews in English with stories that show seniority, decisions, learning, impact.
- Building an application routine that doesn't overwhelm you.
- Filtering red flags before you spend energy on the wrong role.
- Building LinkedIn profile and outreach.
What you won't get from me: market analysis as a service, lists of companies to apply to, or me telling you which role "is right for you". That's not what career coaching is, AVGS or not.
How to start – 3 steps
- Book a free intro call with the Transform Training team. We talk through your situation, the AVGS process, and which coach is the best fit.
- Request the AVGS voucher from your Agentur für Arbeit or Jobcenter advisor. Transform Training helps you frame the request.
- Sign the agreement and schedule your sessions. Typically 2× per week, 90 minutes each, in-person at Mindspace Kurfürstendamm / WeWork Kreuzberg or online.
FAQ
Yes. The voucher covers 100% of the coaching cost. You pay nothing.
AVGS coaching has to be delivered by an AZAV-certified company. Transform Training is certified; my private practice (tanya.coach) is not – and won't be, because the certification and reporting are a full-time job in themselves.
Yes – there's a field on the request form. Select 'Tatiana Sennikova' there or mention my name during the call.
Usually no. AVGS is for people who have already paid social security contributions in Germany. If this is your case and you still want coaching, the private packages on tanya.coach/private-coaching are an option.
Up to 15 sessions of 90 minutes - the exact amount is decided by your case worker. The voucher is issued for a fixed period (usually a few months).
Yes. We meet in person in Berlin or online via Google Meet.
English or Russian with all coaches on Transform Training team. German is available with Maria Kuzminova.
Yes, there's a separate AVGS track for entrepreneurship coaching (up to 30 sessions). At Transform Training, that's Maria Kuzminova and Liubov Höpfner. I focus on employment-oriented coaching; if you're going the founder route, ask for them when you book the intro call.