This report presents an overview of the financial aspects of the vocational education and training (VET) system in Germany. It is based on a survey that covered the following issues: (1) the economic, political, legal, and administrative background to the financing of the VET system; (2) the different types of training defined according to the national context; (3) the funding sources (central government, regional or local government, employers, individuals); (4) the mechanisms for the distribution of funding; (5) the expenditure levels over 10 years (1986-96); and (6) the trends and perspectives in the funding of vocational training systems. The report is organized into 10 parts. Part 1 covers the background to vocational training. Part 2 summarizes the funding of initial vocational training. Part 3 is an overview of continuing vocational training. Part 4 focuses on initial and continuing training for the unemployed. Part 5 looks at combined training programs (education and on-the-job training). Part 6 forecasts the future of vocational education and training funding in Germany. Parts 7-10 provide a list of abbreviations and German institutions, legal provisions, a glossary defining 28 terms, and a bibliography listing 94 references. (Contains 18 tables and 6 figures.) (KC)