HANZ

What HANZ does

HANZ (Stiftung Hamburger Ausbildungs Netzwerk) is a Hamburg-based charitable trust foundation (gemeinnützige Treuhandstiftung) founded in 2000 by Dr. Michael Otto and Bernd Wrede to address youth unemployment and skilled-worker shortages in Germany. Operating under the umbrella of Haspa Hamburg Stiftung, the organization coordinates a tripartite network linking 75+ cooperating companies, 91 Hamburg schools, and students across 19+ additional German regions. As of November 2024, the core operating team consisted of three full-time staff — Chair Maren von Nordeck, Anica Emmett, and Philipp Unger — supported by a board drawn from Otto Group, Hapag-Lloyd, and Haspa Hamburg Stiftung, with Dr. Michael Otto (Otto Group) serving as patron. The organization's measurable track record includes a doubling of Hamburg Hauptschüler placement rates into unsubsidized vocational training within five years and a tripling of direct apprenticeship starts among ESA graduates within ten years, validated externally by the 2005 Carl Bertelsmann Prize from Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Name

HANZ

Legal name

Stiftung Hamburger Ausbildungs Netzwerk (HANZ)

Website

https://hanz.hamburg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stiftung Hamburger Ausbildungs Netzwerk (HANZ) is a Hamburg-based nonprofit foundation operating the meinjobobotschafter.de digital platform that connects students with volunteer career ambassadors from 75+ partner companies for 1:1 vocational orientation across Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Training and Career Orientation Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Internship/Apprenticeship Matching & Work-Based Learning Platforms (EDAFAMAL)

Keywords

• Vocational orientation network
• Youth career mentoring
• Apprenticeship placement services
• School-to-work transition
• Nonprofit foundation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Corporate Membership Contributions: Member companies provide time, expertise, and resources. The membership itself is free, but companies contribute through active participation as Jobbotschafter, offering internship positions, company tours, and training slots.
2. Donations and Grants: As a nonprofit charitable foundation (gemeinnützige Treuhandstiftung), HANZ relies on donations from private donors and companies, as well as grants. Donation account: IBAN DE20 2005 0550 1280 1703 64.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HANZ runs a free, donation-funded vocational orientation network that connects students, schools, and companies in Germany to improve the school-to-apprenticeship transition. Its flagship digital product is the meinjobbotschafter.de platform, which enables 1:1 online video calls between students and corporate career ambassadors (Jobbotschafter) for authentic career guidance, complemented by regular in-person and digital Netzwerktreffen (network meetings) and curated school partnerships.

Product overview

HANZ operates as a dual offering: a digital career orientation platform (Meinjobbotschafter.de) that connects students with job ambassadors via 1:1 video calls, and a broader network (HANZ Netzwerk) that brings together companies, schools, and political stakeholders to strengthen vocational training in Germany. The platform serves as the user-facing digital product while the network provides the organizational framework for collaboration and support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• meinjobbotschafter.de digital platform Digital career orientation platform that connects students with corporate career ambassadors (Jobbotschafter) through 1:1 video call sessions, providing authentic professional insights and personal guidance for career discovery. The platform is embedded in the school system so students can reach ambassadors without selection processes.
• HANZ Netzwerk (corporate-school-student network) Free professional network connecting 75+ companies, 91 Hamburg schools, and political stakeholders to improve vocational training and facilitate collaboration on career orientation initiatives. Includes regular digital and in-person Netzwerktreffen with expert presentations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Doubled the placement rate of Hamburg Hauptschüler graduates into non-subsidized vocational training within 5 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers26 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Handelskammer HamburgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Long-standing cooperation for vocational orientation. Supports HANZ platform as complementary to existing offerings. Dr. Malte Heyne (Hauptgeschäftsführer) actively supports the initiative.
• Haspa Hamburg StiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000Parent foundation under whose umbrella HANZ operates as a charitable trust foundation. Provides governance and administrative support for the organization.
• Handwerkskammer HamburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHjalmar Stemmann (Präsident) actively supports HANZ. Partnership extends reach to craft trades and vocational training in Hamburg.
• Agentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since inception in 2000. Original collaborator in Hamburger Hauptschulmodell along with schools and Arbeitsstiftung Hamburg.
• Leuphana University LüneburgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership where a student completed a master's thesis analyzing needs and trends in digital career orientation using HANZ platform as example.
• Schulsenatorin Hamburg (Ksenija Bekeris)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenatorin für Schule, Familie und Berufsbildung supports HANZ on behalf of Hamburg Senate. Provided explicit endorsement for digital platform approach.
• Gymnasium EppendorfcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFocus group partner for platform testing. One of four partner schools participating in prototype testing with ~30 students.
• Stadtteilschule BlankenesecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFocus group partner for platform testing. One of four partner schools participating in prototype testing with ~30 students.
• Stadtteilschule WilhelmsburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFocus group partner for platform testing. One of four partner schools participating in prototype testing with ~30 students.
• Stadtteilschule LohbrüggecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFocus group partner for platform testing. One of four partner schools participating in prototype testing with ~30 students.
• Autonome Jugendwerkstätten Hamburg (ajw)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHANZ funding supports PC workstations in 'ABO-Werkstatt' for vocational orientation. ajw helps youth find apprenticeships through hands-on learning.
• MUT AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHANZ funding supports mentorship for 5 apprentices during their probation period. Focus on self-image development and preventing training dropouts.
• SchlauFox (JEA! Program)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHANZ funding supports 'Jeder*Jedem ein Abschluss!' program helping youth obtain first general education certificate (ESA). Coaching since 2009.
• AquaAgentenminorOthersSocial partner organization collaborating with HANZ on youth support initiatives.
• CocietyminorOthersSocial partner organization in HANZ's partner network.
• FinlitminorOthersSocial partner organization in HANZ's partner network.
• Michael Otto Foundation for SustainabilityminorOthersSocial partner organization in HANZ's partner network.
• YoungClassXminorOthersSocial partner organization in HANZ's partner network.
• Klischee FreiminorOthersSocial partner organization in HANZ's partner network focused on overcoming stereotypes.
• Social EntrminorOthersSocial partner organization in HANZ's partner network.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Jobmensa: German platform connecting students and graduates with side jobs, internships, and entry-level roles. Comparable as a student-employer matching service targeting the same youth demographic as HANZ.
• Jobvector: Specialized job matching platform focused on technical, scientific, and professional roles in German-speaking markets. Comparable as a niche career-matching platform for early-career and skilled professionals.
• Praktikum.de: German platform for internships, apprenticeships, and entry-level positions. Directly comparable as a student-to-employer matching service in the vocational and early-career space.
• Azubis.de: German apprenticeship search and matching platform targeting school leavers. Competes directly with meinjobbotschafter.de on the same student-employer matching problem in the vocational training space.
• Ausbildung.de: Germany's largest dedicated apprenticeship matching platform. Directly comparable as a digital platform connecting students with apprenticeship opportunities and employers, serving the same student-employer matching use case as HANZ.

Regional players

• Stiftung Bildung: German nonprofit foundation focused on education and youth development outcomes. Comparable as a charitable foundation operating in the German education and youth-employment space, though with broader thematic scope than HANZ.

Broad incumbents

• Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Jobbörse / Ausbildungsstellen): German federal employment agency operating the official apprenticeship and job matching platform. Comparable as the statutory nationwide incumbent HANZ positions itself as complementary to; vastly larger scale and budget.
• LinkedIn (Career Exploration / Apprenticeships): Global professional network increasingly offering apprenticeship listings, career exploration tools, and school integrations. Broad incumbent with growing overlap to HANZ's career-orientation use case.
• Indeed Germany: Global job search platform with significant German presence and apprenticeship listings. Broad incumbent whose general search product partially substitutes for HANZ's employer-matching role.
• StepStone (Germany): One of Germany's largest general job platforms, with dedicated apprenticeship and entry-level sections. Broad incumbent offering overlapping career-orientation functionality at much greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hanz-netzwerk
• Instagraminstagram.com/hanz.hamburg

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 HANZ