The e.b.a. – Entwicklungsgesellschaft für Erziehung, Bildung und Arbeit – gGmbH (Development Association for Education, Training and Employment ) is a non-profit organization promoting the education and further education of people in the Emscher-Lippe region. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the DGB Bildungswerks NRW e.V., the largest provider of political education in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Due to the structural change in the northern Ruhr area, the goal of e.b.a. gGmbH is to promote equal opportunities for everybody in the region. One of our particular concerns is the improvement of access conditions to the labor market and the promotion of equal participation in education for employees. In this context the e.b.a. carried out numerous projects, i.a. the federal project “Learning Region” of the BMBF (2000 – 2008), from which the project office in Recklinghausen emerged. There is also a counseling center for education vouchers (Bildungsschecks) of the NRW Ministry of Labor and the education bonus (Bildungsprämie) of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS).