The German system has multiple tiers, the lowest degree can be reached after 3 years or 2 years in some cases for high-school graduates. To get the degree you have to pass a test. After that you can get some additional degrees and/or pass the test to be a Meister, which is quite costly. In the past you had to have several years of work experience to apply to a Meister exam, but now you can visit schools, too.

In some professions you are not allowed to start a business if you do not have the Meister. As a Meister you are now able to train other people doing their apprenticeship and are allowed to study within your field at a university, usually to be an engineer instead of a craftsman. So technically you could get a Phd without having finished school (very unlikely).