Donner + Partner

What Donner + Partner does

Donner + Partner is a German vocational education and training group headquartered in Waiblingen, operating a network of more than 50 training centers across seven federal states (Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Hessen, Niedersachsen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Sachsen). Founded in 1991 as a successor to an earlier 1982-era entity, the company provides AZAV-certified vocational retraining, continuing education, integration courses, rehabilitation support, and individual coaching under a group of legally independent wholly-owned GmbH subsidiaries. Its core technology is VIONA® (Virtuelle Online Akademie), a virtual classroom platform supporting over 500 live online seminars with Application Sharing, whiteboard, and video collaboration features that enable nationwide remote participation alongside the physical center network.

The company serves four primary customer cohorts: unemployed individuals and job seekers funded via Bildungsgutschein and AVGS vouchers issued by the German Federal Employment Agency and Jobcenter; migrants and immigrants participating in integration and language courses; rehabilitation participants supported by Deutsche Rentenversicherung and Berufsgenossenschaften; and companies seeking inhouse corporate training, with AI Advisory as a current focus area for the B2B segment. Revenue is generated predominantly through publicly funded programs (Bildungsgutschein, AVGS, ESF PLUS projects administered via Sächsische Aufbaubank), supplemented by fee-for-service corporate training, customized firmenschulungen, and seminar room rental. Government funders (Agentur für Arbeit, Jobcenter, federal and state ministries) act as both referral channels and paying entities, making the company effectively a B2G/B2B2C operator.

Donner + Partner is family-owned, with the founding Donner family retaining ownership; the second generation assumed operational leadership in July 2017, supported by experienced managing directors. The firm holds AZAV certification as a credentialed provider of employment-promotion training and maintains a registered VIONA® trademark. No external private equity or venture capital investment is indicated, and no public listing exists. Multiple specialized programs (MOKA, Yes SHE can, RETURN, JUMP IN, CHANCE 4.0, ESF PLUS Tandem+, Betreuungsassistentenkurse, Kaufmännische Übungsfirma) illustrate a product strategy of segmenting the publicly funded training population into cohort-specific modular offerings.

Name

Donner + Partner

Legal name

Donner + Partner GmbH Bildungszentren

Website

https://donner-partner.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Donner + Partner is a family-owned German vocational education group operating 50+ AZAV-certified training centers across seven states, delivering government-funded retraining, integration courses, and coaching via its VIONA® virtual academy and in-person programs for job seekers, migrants, and employers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Education and Training

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Technical and Trade Schools (61151)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Online/Hybrid Lifelong Learning Platforms & Open Enrollment Programs (EDAAAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Training Delivery Services (Onsite/Virtual Instruction, Workshops, Coaching) (BPAEANAN), Virtual Training, Workshops & Masterclasses (Interactive Sessions) (MPAGAOAJ)

Keywords

• Vocational education training
• Online learning platform
• Corporate workforce training
• Career coaching services
• Government funded training

Headquarters

HQ city

Waiblingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices52 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government-Funded Training Programs: Revenue from AZAV-certified training programs funded by the German Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit), job centers, and other public funders through Bildungsgutschein (education vouchers) and AVGS (activation and placement vouchers).
2. ESF European Social Fund Projects: EU-funded projects including ESF PLUS Tandem+ for parents in welfare systems, co-financed by the Free State of Saxony and managed through Sächsische Aufbaubank.
3. Corporate Training (Firmenschulungen): Inhouse training services for businesses, including AI Advisory and customized corporate seminars, offered as fee-for-service.
4. Rental of Seminar Rooms: Rental of training facilities to businesses and organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Donner + Partner is a German vocational education and continuing-training provider that delivers subsidized re-employment training, vocational retraining, integration courses, career coaching, and corporate in-house training through 50+ Bildungszentren across Germany and its proprietary VIONA® virtual online academy offering 500+ live-tutored courses. Offerings are split between publicly funded programs (Bildungsgutschein, AVGS, ESF PLUS qualification tracks) for individuals and commercial services for employers, including custom in-house seminars, AI and digitization upskilling, care-assistant courses, and seminar-room rentals at multiple sites.

Product overview

Donner + Partner is a German adult education and training provider (Bildungszentren) offering a diversified portfolio of educational products and services centered around vocational training, career development, and labor market integration. The core offerings include the Virtuelle Online Akademie VIONA® as the flagship virtual learning platform with over 500 courses, supplemented by specialized programs like MOKA (migration integration), RETURN and JUMP IN (career coaching), CHANCE 4.0 (qualification), and Yes SHE can (women's integration). The company provides integration courses (German language), commercial retraining, care assistant training, and company-specific inhouse training. The product architecture combines the VIONA virtual academy as the primary digital learning infrastructure with modular coaching programs (Mein Leben mein Plan, SWITCH 16k, ESF PLUS Tandem+) and traditional classroom offerings across over 50 locations throughout Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VIONA (Virtuelle Online Akademie): Virtual Online Academy offering innovative distance learning with over 500 courses, enabling participants across Germany to attend live online seminars with trained instructors.

Products and services

• VIONA® Virtual Online Academy Proprietary live-tutored virtual classroom platform delivering 500+ online courses in vocational continuing education, retraining, and qualification, accessed by individual learners and corporate clients across Germany.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful integration into employment through training and placement programs
• +1 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Agentur für Arbeit (Employment Agency)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman Federal Employment Agency that refers job seekers to training programs and funds education through Bildungsgutschein and AVGS vouchers.
• Jobcenter (Job Centers)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal job centers that refer welfare recipients to vocational training and placement programs, providing funding through SGB II.
• Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German Pension Insurance)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPension insurance provider that may fund rehabilitation and retraining programs for insured individuals.
• Berufsgenossenschaften (Accident Insurance)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional accident insurance associations that may fund workplace reintegration programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DEKRA Akademie: Subsidiary of DEKRA e.V., one of Germany's largest AZAV-certified vocational training providers offering retraining, integration courses, and corporate training across numerous locations. Directly comparable as a national adult education and labor-market integration provider with similar government-funded customer mix.
• TÜV Rheinland Akademie: Corporate-training arm of TÜV Rheinland offering AZAV-certified vocational courses, integration programs, and inhouse corporate training across German states. Directly comparable as a hybrid public-funded/private corporate training operator with strong brand association.
• IBB Institut für Berufliche Bildung: One of Germany's largest private AZAV-certified vocational education groups, operating hundreds of locations and the VIONA® virtual academy under license from its network. Directly comparable on business model (Bildungsgutschein/AVGS-funded training), product mix (Umschulungen, integration, coaching), and multi-state physical footprint.
• comcave.group: German private vocational education and digitalization training provider (acquired by Apleona) operating AZAV-funded retraining and further education programs with strong virtual learning capabilities. Comparable as a hybrid physical/virtual operator focused on IT and commercial upskilling.
• BBQ Bildung und Berufliche Qualifizierung: German AZAV-certified vocational education group offering retraining (Umschulung), integration courses, AVGS coaching, and corporate training. Closely matches Donner + Partner on customer cohorts, funding sources, and product portfolio.
• DAA Deutsche Angestellten-Akademie: Major German adult education foundation offering AZAV-certified vocational training, integration courses, coaching, and corporate education nationwide. Closely matches Donner + Partner on funding mix (Bildungsgutschein/AVGS), customer segments (job seekers, migrants), and product breadth.
• bfz Berufsförderungszentrum: Subsidiary of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB) offering vocational retraining, integration, and coaching programs AZAV-certified for voucher funding. Comparable on government-funded training model and participant-referral channels.
• bfw Berufsfortbildungswerk: One of Germany's largest vocational education providers (part of Arbeitgeberverband Gesamtmetall) with AZAV-certified programs in retraining, integration, and coaching. Operates a comparable multi-location model with government-funded voucher programs as the core revenue engine.

Regional players

• SBH Nord: Regional vocational training and integration provider in Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein/Lower Saxony). Comparable on integration and retraining offerings funded via Bildungsgutschein but operates in a different regional footprint from Donner + Partner.

Broad incumbents

• Grundbildung und Schulabschlüsse (TÜV NORD Education): TÜV NORD's education arm offering certified vocational training and corporate upskilling in Germany; broader industrial services group's education unit. Comparable on AZAV-certified offerings and B2B corporate training.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/donnerundpartner
• Facebookfacebook.com/donnerundpartnergmbh

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries4 records

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 Donner + Partner