What Volkshochschule Velbert/Heiligenhaus does

Volkshochschule Velbert/Heiligenhaus is a municipal adult education center (Volkshochschule) structured as a Zweckverband — a special-purpose association jointly governed by the cities of Velbert and Heiligenhaus in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Legally represented by Verbandsvorsteherin Maike Legut, the institution delivers continuing education to residents of both municipalities across six program areas: Gesellschaft (society), Kultur (culture), Gesundheit (health), Sprachen (languages), Beruf (career/professional), and Grundbildung (basic education). Course delivery is split between in-person sessions at over 50 locations (schools, community centers, libraries, partner facilities) and online instruction via the national vhs.cloud platform and Zoom. Specialized programs cover integration courses (BAMF-authorized), family education, seniors' programming (Aktiv im Alter, Junge VHS for youth), and accessibility-focused courses for people with disabilities. The institution also runs community engagement projects including the VHS Fotoclub, extraRadiO community radio, two newspapers (Wir Älteren, Standpunkte), and the Offers Kompenei Plattdeutsch dialect initiative.

The core operating technology is the Kufer WebBasys course management platform, which powers the public website (vhs-vh.de) with online registration, shopping cart functionality, calendar integration (.ics), and user account management. The institution holds Certqua-certified DIN ISO 9001 quality management and AZAV (Akkreditierungs- und Zulassungsverordnung Arbeitsförderung) accreditations, qualifying it to deliver publicly funded training programs. Web Inclusion GmbH's Eye-Able tool is integrated to ensure barrier-free access under BGG NRW and BITV NRW.

The revenue model combines three streams: per-course fees (Kursentgelte) charged on a pay-as-you-go basis with significant price variation (€0 for sponsored courses up to €170 for extended language programs), municipal budget allocations from the Zweckverband member cities, and government program funding (BAMF integration course subsidies and the Bildungsscheck 2.0 program funded by Land NRW and the European Social Fund starting February 2026). Distribution is multi-channel: self-serve online registration through the website, in-person registration at the Velbert Geschäftsstelle and Heiligenhaus Bürgerbüro with cash payment option, the printed Programmheft distributed at libraries and partner locations, and community referrals. The permanent staff is approximately 5 employees supplemented by a network of 150+ freelance instructors covering the full program portfolio.

Name

Volkshochschule Velbert/Heiligenhaus

Legal name

Volkshochschulzweckverband Velbert/Heiligenhaus

Website

https://vhs-vh.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Volkshochschule Velbert/Heiligenhaus is a publicly funded municipal adult education center, jointly operated by the cities of Velbert and Heiligenhaus in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, delivering courses across languages, health, culture, career, and basic education to local residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Adult and Continuing Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Other Schools and Instruction (6116)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Lifelong Learning Institutes (Osher/OLLI-style) & Senior Academies (EDAAAMAA), Health, Wellness & Lifestyle Noncredit Programs (EDAAAEAH), Hybrid, Multi-Location & Multi-Country Study Abroad Programs (EDAIAAAE)

Keywords

• Adult education
• Language courses
• Professional development
• Lifelong learning
• Community education

Headquarters

HQ city

Velbert

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Course Fees (Kursentgelte): Fees charged for individual courses and workshops. Prices vary by course type, duration, and content. Some courses are sponsored (e.g., free courses in cooperation with partner organizations).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Volkshochschule Velbert/Heiligenhaus is a municipal adult education center providing publicly funded continuing education courses across six program areas (Society, Culture, Health, Languages, Career, Basic Education), plus BAMF integration courses and targeted programs for seniors, youth, families, and people with disabilities. Courses are delivered both in-person at locations across Velbert and Heiligenhaus and online via the vhs.cloud platform, with self-service online registration and walk-in registration at the Geschäftsstelle.

Product overview

Volkshochschule Velbert/Heiligenhaus is an adult education center offering a comprehensive portfolio of in-person and online courses. The core offering consists of a course management system with online registration and the vhs.cloud platform for digital learning. The organization provides courses across six main categories: Society (Gesellschaft), Culture (Kultur), Health (Gesundheit), Languages (Sprachen), Career (Beruf), and Basic Education (Grundbildung). Additional offerings include special projects such as VHS Fotoclub (photography), extraRadiO (radio), newspapers ('Wir Älteren' and 'Standpunkte'), and the Offers Kompenei dialect project. The institution operates physical locations in Velbert and Heiligenhaus with both in-person and online course delivery options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Language Courses (Sprachen)

Quantifiable outcome

• Course offerings across 6 main program areas with over 150 instructors

Named customers2 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Verein für Velberter Kinder e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner for family and children's education. Jointly offers free first aid courses for primary school children. The VHS provides educational programming while the association sponsors the courses.
• Veronika Kautz (Gleichstellungsbeauftragte) and Frauennetzwerk HeiligenhausminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for women's counseling and support services. The VHS provides educational offerings for women in cooperation with the equal opportunities officer and women's network of Heiligenhaus.
• Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)coreOthersOfficial integration course provider authorized by BAMF. VHS processes participant data for BAMF reporting and receives funding for integration and language courses for migrants and refugees.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Goethe-Institut: National/international institution delivering German-as-a-foreign-language courses globally; comparable to VHS integration-course offerings for the migrant segment but operating at vastly larger scale and with international brand recognition.
• Volkshochschule Düsseldorf: Municipal VHS serving the state capital Düsseldorf, providing the same comprehensive lifelong-learning catalog and integration-course mandate, and offering a reference point for how larger urban VHS institutions scale programs and partnerships.
• Volkshochschule Köln: Largest VHS in NRW and one of the largest in Germany, serving Cologne with the same six-category structure and BAMF authorization; functions as the dominant regional incumbent against which smaller VHS institutions benchmark their programs.

Direct peers

• Volkshochschule Mettmann: Adjacent municipal Volkshochschule in the Mettmann district of North Rhine-Westphalia offering the same six-category adult education catalog (Gesellschaft, Kultur, Gesundheit, Sprachen, Beruf, Grundbildung) with similar BAMF integration authorization and vhs.cloud usage, making it the closest operational peer.

Emerging players

• ILS / Hamburger Fern-Hochschule: Germany's largest distance-learning institution offering remote courses across language, career, and hobby categories that overlap with VHS programming, particularly relevant given VHS Velbert/Heiligenhaus's online delivery via vhs.cloud.
• Deutsches Erwachsenen-Bildungswerk (DEB): Private/nonprofit adult education provider with nationwide presence offering language, health, and professional courses including BAMF integration programs; competes with VHS institutions for the same learner segments but with greater geographic reach.

Regional players

• Volkshochschule Wuppertal: Municipal VHS serving Wuppertal in NRW with similar public-mandate adult education offerings, BAMF integration courses, and vhs.cloud participation, operating at a meaningfully larger scale than Velbert/Heiligenhaus.
• Volkshochschule Essen: Larger municipal VHS serving the city of Essen in the same NRW region, offering an overlapping six-category catalog and vhs.cloud delivery; comparable in mandate but materially larger in scale and program breadth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/volkshochschule-velbert-heiligenhaus

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Volkshochschule Velbert/Heiligenhaus