Germany launches programmes to draw international students to its workforce

NEW DELHI: Germany has recently announced a new initiative which looks at recruiting international students and graduates and training them to be future specialists in the German workforce.

The initiative was launched by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The BMBF will fund the new initiative with €120 million until 2028.

The new initiative looks at attracting new graduates, training and qualifying them to live and work in Germany thus addressing the shortage of skilled workers in the country. This initiative will consist of two programmes, FIT and Profi plus.

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The FIT programme

The Promotion of International Talent for Integration into Studies and the Labour Market programme – also known as the FIT Programme – will have universities offering international students tailor-made support measures like preparatory courses and accompanying programmes for academic success and entry into the workforce at a later stage. These tailor-made support programmes are to prepare international students in various phases of their studies to integrate them into the society.

Speaking at the launch of the initiative, federal education minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger said: "Germany is in third place in the global ranking of the most popular countries to study in. For a large number of international students, the good prospects of remaining in Germany later in their careers have already been a key factor in deciding in favour of Germany as a place to study in the past. With the 'Campus Initiative for International Professionals', we want to provide international students with tailored support during their studies and transition to the German labour market. After all, we urgently need more bright minds and hard-working hands for growth and prosperity in our country.”

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Universities in Germany have been asked to participate and will be selected for these projects. At least 70 such projects will be funded and around €1 million will be given to each project at selected universities till 2028.

The Profi plus programme

This programme looks at academic adaptation qualifications for the German labour market. The programme is aimed at students who already have a foreign university degree and also foreign professional experience. These students will be given support for adapting their qualifications to the German labour market.

Apart from specialised training, there will be coaching in writing job applications as well job-related language and communications training. For the Profi plus programme, funding has been planned for 25 university projects; each will get €700,000 till 2028.

Talking about how the initiative will be helpful for both German and international students, Joybrato Mukherjee, presi dent, DAAD said: “With this initiative, we are expanding the opportunities for our member universities to qualify and support international talent during their studies, at graduation and during their transition into the German labour market. In this way, we are strengthening the integration of international students at universities and in our society. At the same time, we ensure that young people from all over the world have better career opportunities in Germany after successfully completing their studies and contribute to alleviating the shortage of skilled workers."

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Study in Germany and Indian students

The number of Indian students going to Germany is increasing every year.

The German Ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann had said in August that the number of Indian students going to Germany this year had crossed 42,000 which was an increase of 25% in one year. “India now is no. 1 group of foreign students in Germany, much faster than expected! Germany is popular among Indian students - and Indian students are popular in Germany, I hear from professors very often,” he wrote on X.

Also to help hasten the visa process for Indian students, the German Embassy’s Academic Evaluation Centre from April this year has replaced the mandate for paper-printed certificates with digital certificates.