E-Learning BSG

E-Learning BSG is the online course platform of BSG Bildungsinstitut für Soziales und Gesundheit GmbH, a German-language provider of continuing education for learners who want to work in systemic counseling, coaching and therapy. Its home page sums up the offer as "Online Kurse in systemischer Beratung, Coaching und Therapie" (online courses in systemic counseling, coaching and therapy), and its certificate programs end in a certificate from the IHK, from the SCGD, or from both.

The FAQ describes the company behind the platform as an education, counseling and therapy provider working around social care and health, and the courses are written for that field. The flagship course page addresses professionals from social work, health care, coaching, education and therapy, and career changers too. The FAQ states that the courses are open to anyone interested, with no formal entry requirements, and that learners can start at any time and finish at their own pace.

The course catalog

The catalog runs from short courses to full certificate programs. The home page FAQ names four course types, Einzelkurse (single courses), Grundlagenkurse (foundation courses), Vertiefungskurse (advanced courses) and Zertifikatskurse (certificate courses), and measures each in Unterrichtseinheiten (UE), teaching units of 45 minutes.

The home page lists three bestsellers: Systemische:r Berater:in und Coach:in (IHK & SCGD), the systemic counselor and coach program; Job- und Bewerbungscoach:in (IHK), a job and application coach program; and Systemische:r Sozialtherapeut:in (SCGD), for systemic social therapists. The counselor course page also points to a combined program in systemic counseling and therapy and to Systemischer Familien- und Elternberater (SCGD), for family and parent counseling. Reviews from learners mention further certificate courses in addiction counseling (Fachkraft systemische Suchtberatung) and in conflict counseling and mediation (Fachkraft für Konfliktberatung und Mediation).

The flagship program shows what a full certificate course looks like. The systemic counselor and coach course is billed as "100 % digitale Online-Weiterbildung (163 UE)", which the course FAQ converts to "rund 122 Zeitstunden" (around 122 clock hours), with 20 learning units in total. It opens with a part on psychology and the counselor's stance (Psychologie und Haltung), then moves to coaching (conversation skills, systemic questioning techniques, peer case consultation and working methods) and to counseling (working with systems and systemic diagnostics). Bonus material includes the BSG podcast, with expert conversations on systems theory in social work, solution-focused coaching and creative counseling methods. The course page says the content can be completed in about five weeks full time, or spread over several months.

The same page introduces the trainers: Ralf Enchelmaier (philosopher and sociologist), Jennifer Herfurth (MSc in psychology), Alexander Weber (social pedagogue and systemic therapist), Mario Peine (vocational educator and systemic family therapist), Monika Knauer-Walter (mediator) and Sonja Salzsieder (supervisor).

How the courses work

Every on-demand course is fully online. Each module is made of prerecorded teaching videos followed by interim quizzes that can be repeated as often as needed. Scripts, slide sets and worksheets download with each module, and the course FAQ adds interactive tasks, role plays and self-reflection exercises. Modules open in order: finishing one opens the next, and the accompanying materials are released with their module. Video speed can be adjusted, and the FAQ describes the platform as "intuitiv und leicht bedienbar" (intuitive and easy to use) on a PC, tablet or phone. Points and coins add a game element to track progress, and the FAQ notes they neither affect the grade nor appear on certificates.

One practical detail matters for anyone studying in short sessions: progress inside a module is not saved. A learner who stops partway restarts the module, can skip the videos already watched, and has to redo the quizzes.

Interim tests use multiple choice, matching and true or false questions, and the course FAQ adds fill-in-the-blank items. Final tests become available after a set number of weeks, which the home page puts at four to seven weeks after the course starts, depending on the course. Each final test allows three attempts and requires at least 50 % correct answers. After a second failed attempt the FAQ recommends talking to the team. After a third, a learner can take a single oral re-examination by phone or in a live online meeting, for an exam fee paid in advance.

The on-demand courses have no live sessions, no exchange between participants and no direct contact with trainers, which the FAQ explains by the courses being prerecorded. Content questions go to Jennifer Herfurth of the e-learning team, who helped design the courses and teaches in them. Learners who want live contact can choose the Blended-Learning program or the Systemisches Methodentraining (systemic methods training), both of which include live online sessions with the trainer on fixed dates. Access does not expire: the FAQ says a booked course stays available permanently, including after completion.

Certificates

Finishing an ordinary online course earns a Kompetenzbescheinigung, a statement of competence with the course title, confirmed by BSG. The certificate programs add more: a BSG certificate by email plus an IHK and/or SCGD certificate by post. According to the FAQ, IHK certificates are produced by the IHK and mailed to graduates, while the e-learning team sends SCGD certificates. The exams are built into the course, with no separate external exam at the IHK or SCGD. The FAQ answers "Ja, SCGD-Zertifikate werden bundesweit anerkannt" (yes, SCGD certificates are recognized nationwide), says SCGD membership is not required to receive one, and offers an English-language certificate on request. The counselor course page also lists SCGD membership terms for graduates: a reduced admission fee of 150 € and an annual fee halved to 300 € for the first two years.

Prices, payment and funding

The systemic counselor and coach program is listed at 1.442,22 €, reduced from 1.849 €. The home page advertises an autumn campaign, "Sicher dir jetzt 22% auf alle Zertifikatslehrgänge!" (22% off all certificate programs), and claims "bis zu 81% Kostenersparnis im Vergleich zu einem Präsenzseminar" (up to 81% savings compared with a classroom seminar). The FAQ is direct about extras: "Nein. Bei diesem Angebot gibt es keine versteckten Kosten." (No, this offer has no hidden costs.) Exam fees, access, and the issuing, printing and shipping of certificates are included in the price; the oral re-examination is the one extra fee the FAQ names.

Payment methods are SEPA direct debit, PayPal, Klarna invoice and credit card, and the home page adds Sofort bank transfer. The counselor course page offers installments of up to 12 months through PayPal or Klarna and up to 48 months through SEPA direct debit, each subject to a credit check, while the home page advertises PayPal installments of 3 to 24 monthly payments. An employer can be named as the payer at checkout, and companies and institutions get individual terms and packages. Licenses can be transferred before they are redeemed through the "Team & Lizenzen" area, so a company can assign courses to staff or a buyer can give one as a gift. Graduates get an alumni discount of 50 % on the regular price for further certificate programs.

BSG is an AZAV-certified training provider, so its AZAV-certified courses can be funded through a Bildungsgutschein (education voucher) from the Agentur für Arbeit or the Jobcenter, up to 100 % for the counselor program. Funded learners pay the AZAV price, which the FAQ says can differ from the website price, must finish the counselor course within five weeks full time or eight weeks part time, and can fund one course per voucher; bundles are not fundable.

Before buying, every course offers a free test module, an excerpt from one of its modules, so a learner can judge the content and the trainer first.

Support

Support runs by email at e-learning@bildung-sg.de and by phone. The FAQ promises help with technical questions "jederzeit" (at any time) and says the team responds on weekdays during office hours, with callbacks on request. After booking, learners receive a step-by-step guide to redeeming their license, and the platform carries its own usage FAQ. Reviews from learners on the site praise the service; one, signed Agram45, calls the platform "Eine tolle Möglichkeit, sich (beruflich) weiterzubilden!" (a great way to train further, professionally) and the course design "übersichtlich und strukturiert" (clear and structured), and David Aulich writes that the materials are "umfassend und verständlich gehalten" (comprehensive and easy to understand).

Who it suits

E-Learning BSG suits professionals in social work, health care, education and therapy who want a systemic counseling or coaching qualification without leaving work, and who value an IHK or SCGD certificate at the end. The course page notes the programs help meet a continuing education obligation (Fortbildungspflicht). It also fits career changers, since no prior qualification is required, job seekers who can use a Bildungsgutschein, and employers who want to train staff through transferable licenses. It is less suited to learners who want live discussion in every course, since only the blended and methods training formats include live sessions, and to anyone who does not read German, as the platform is German-language even though certificates can be issued in English.