What KWb does

KWB Koordinierungsstelle Weiterbildung und Beschäftigung e. V. is a Hamburg-based non-profit registered association (eingetragener Verein) founded in 1990 by the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, employer associations (UVNord), the DGB Nord labor union, and the Federal Employment Agency. It operates as a coordination center for continuing education and employment, running 12+ programs spanning return-to-work qualification (Comeback), leadership development (Die Führungskräfteschmiede), part-time vocational training placement (ServiceCenter Teilzeitausbildung), women's mentoring (Expertinnen-Netz, Womenomics), school diversity mentoring (Schulmentoren, IKO), migrant integration (Level Up! 2.0, Settle*In, TALENTS Hamburg), anti-bias training, and demographic-transition programs for the 50+ workforce. Its technology stack is built entirely on third-party tools — D2L Brightspace LMS, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Eventbrite, and Office 365 — with no proprietary AI or platform assets; its wholly-owned subsidiary KWB Management GmbH acts as a Class Technologies virtual classroom reseller and handles education management services.

The organization's business model is primarily B2G/B2B2C: the dominant revenue stream is public funding from the European Social Fund, German federal ministries, the Hamburg Senate (Behörde für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Innovation), the Federal Employment Agency, and the Federal Foreign Office (for international projects in Ukraine, Armenia, and elsewhere). Fee-for-service revenue is generated from a smaller commercial tail — leadership workshops at 1,798 EUR + VAT per participant, business coaching at 248 EUR + VAT per session, and shorter half-day workshops at 398 EUR — distributed via direct enterprise sales, event-driven marketing (Demographie Werkstatt, Coffee Breaks, Business Talks), a tri-annual newsletter, and an active presence on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. Customers are predominantly Hamburg-based employers (e.g., Hamburger Hochbahn as a named best-practice case) and individual participants from target segments including parents, women re-entering the workforce, migrants, refugees, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and workers aged 50+. KWB holds AZAV and DIN EN ISO 9001 certifications, hosts the secretariat of Demographie Netzwerk Hamburg, and is a founding member of Bundesverband Soziales Mentoring, giving it institutional entrenchment in the regional workforce-development ecosystem.

Name

KWb

Legal name

KWB Koordinierungsstelle Weiterbildung und Beschäftigung e. V.

Website

https://kwb.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

KWB is a Hamburg-based non-profit coordination center, founded in 1990 by the Hamburg Senate, employer associations, labor unions, and the Federal Employment Agency, delivering vocational training, leadership development, and diversity-inclusion programs to employers, job seekers, and underserved groups in Hamburg and selected international markets, primarily funded by EU, federal, and Hamburg public sources.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Training and Workforce Development

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Technical and Trade Schools (61151), Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate/L&D Course Licensing from Creators (B2B Upskilling) (MPACALAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Vocational training programs
• Workforce development services
• Leadership development training
• Return-to-work programs
• Diversity inclusion training

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: KWB is funded by public sources including EU (European Social Fund), Federal Government of Germany, State Governments (Hamburg), and institutional partners. The organization develops and implements preventive qualification concepts for companies and employees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

KWB is a Hamburg-based non-profit coordination center for further education and employment. It designs and delivers vocational training, leadership development, return-to-work qualification, part-time vocational training placement, mentoring, and diversity/inclusion programs, primarily serving individuals and companies in the Hamburg region. Funding is largely public (EU, federal, state), with some fee-based workshops, coaching, and seminars; it also resells the Class virtual classroom software through its subsidiary KWB Management GmbH.

Product overview

KWB operates as a coordination center for further education and employment in Hamburg, offering a portfolio of educational programs and services rather than a unified technology platform. The core educational technology product is Class, a virtual classroom software offered through KWB Management GmbH as an authorized reseller, which provides interactive online and hybrid learning tools built on Microsoft Teams or Zoom. The broader portfolio includes standalone programs such as Comeback (return-to-work qualification), Die Führungskräfteschmiede (leadership development), ServiceCenter Teilzeitausbildung (part-time training placement), Womenomics (women's professional development), Expertinnen-Netz (women's mentoring), Schulmentoren (school diversity mentors), and Level Up! 2.0 (media/IT careers for migrants), along with public seminars and the Demographie Netzwerk Hamburg event series. These programs are distinct offerings under the KWB umbrella rather than modules of a single platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Führungskräfteschmiede: Leadership development program for (junior) executives in Hamburg featuring four workshops, business coaching, and peer exchange
• Comeback
• ServiceCenter Teilzeitausbildung
• Expertinnen-Netz. Mentoring für Frauen
• Womenomics
• Schulmentoren
• Demographie Netzwerk Hamburg
• CareNet Hamburg
• Level Up! 2.0
• TALENTS Hamburg
• Class Reseller
• Onlineakademie TLA

Products and services

• Comeback – Perspektive Wiedereinstieg Return-to-work qualification program for professionals re-entering the workforce after a family break, providing orientation, coaching, and internship placement in office and project management for women returning to work.
• Die Führungskräfteschmiede Leadership development program for (junior) executives consisting of four workshops plus business coaching sessions, designed to prepare participants for management responsibilities and modern leadership in hybrid and digital work environments.
• ServiceCenter Teilzeitausbildung Advisory center supporting individuals and companies with part-time vocational training, providing placement and ongoing support throughout the training period for parents, caregivers, and other individuals needing flexible training models.
• Womenomics Women's professional development project offering networking events, workshops, and business talks focused on economic equality, gender-sensitive corporate culture, and career advancement.
• Expertinnen-Netz. Mentoring für Frauen Mentoring network for women providing professional guidance and support for career development, including international mentoring activities.
• Onlineakademie TLA (TeleLearnAkademie) Online academy offering distance learning programs including media engineering, business administration, and e-moderating courses, utilizing the D2L Brightspace learning management system.
• Schulmentoren – Für starke Schulen School mentors project that trains parent mentors to support schools in diversity-aware school development and inclusion initiatives.
• Level Up! 2.0 Program supporting young adults with migration backgrounds in career orientation and qualification for media and IT professions.
• Anti-Bias-Praxis Practice-oriented training program teaching anti-bias approaches to reduce prejudice and promote fair treatment in professional, community, and volunteer-work settings.
• Seminare für Fach- und Führungskräfte Expert-led seminars for professionals and executives offering practical knowledge for career success, available as in-house company training; includes workshops such as 'Gefühle in der Arbeitswelt' (EUR 398 incl. VAT for a 4-hour workshop) and business coaching (EUR 248 + VAT per 90-minute session).
• Demographie Netzwerk Hamburg (ddn Hamburg) Demographic network organized by KWB that brings together companies and experts to address demographic change challenges in the Hamburg region through events, workshops (Demographie Werkstatt, Coffee Break 50+, Business Talks), and knowledge exchange.
• Class Virtual Classroom Virtual classroom software resold by KWB Management GmbH (a Class reseller) that professionalizes online and hybrid seminars by providing teaching tools directly within Microsoft Teams or Zoom, including breakout rooms, interactive whiteboards, polls, tests, attendance tracking, and LMS integration (D2L Brightspace, Blackboard, Canvas, Cornerstone, Docebo, Open LMS/Moodle).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,100 people supported through ServiceCenter Teilzeitausbildung since 2017
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of HamburgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Founding partner who established KWB to address the Hamburg region's need for qualified workers. Provides ongoing funding and strategic direction.
• Hamburgische Vereinigung der Unternehmensverbände (Employer Associations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner representing Hamburg employers. Contributed to KWB's establishment to address labor market needs.
• Arbeitsagentur Hamburg (Federal Employment Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner providing employment agency perspective and ongoing collaboration on workforce development programs.
• DGB Nord (German Trade Union Confederation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLabor union representation as founding partner, ensuring worker perspectives in workforce development initiatives.
• Eleos-UkraineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the 'I know you can' project supporting women affected by conflict in eastern Ukraine, including Crimean Tatar women. Focus on business start-up support and financial literacy through mentoring in Kiev, Dnipro, Kherson, Chernivtsi, Liviv, and Odessa since 2019.
• Shanghai Economic Management CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Fit for China executive internship program between Hamburg and Shanghai (2008-2019) to strengthen trade relations.
• VISTCO College Thanh Hoa (Vietnam)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for German-Vietnamese Academy for logistics professionals as part of GENEV network (2010-2012).
• Demographie Netzwerk Hamburg (ddn Hamburg)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKWB hosts the secretariat for ddn Hamburg, a network focused on demographic change and workforce management. Organizes events including Demographie Werkstatt.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCexw0vVq9s1h_aYQZtsdl1A
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kwb-koordinierungsstelle-weiterbildung-und-besch%C3%A4ftigung-e-v

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KWb