What is Hand in Hand for International Talents?
Hand in Hand for International Talents is a joint pilot project of the Federal Employment Agency and DIHK Service GmbH that was launched in 2020. As the topic of skilled migration is very relevant to German companies, the project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. IGCC is the local implementation expert for the HiH project and is the first point of contact for all participants joining the project from India guiding them through the entire migration process.
What does the journey of a successful participant in the Hand in Hand for International Talents project look like?
Many young professionals dream of a career in Germany. Reshma Sahadevan applied to the HiH project because she likes German engineering technology as she saw all the best brands coming from there. As a solar industry professional Shakeel Khan applied to HiH because he knew the German solar industry was very sophisticated and he wanted to work with the newest innovation in the field of work he is passionate about. The HiH project received an overwhelming number of applications, but Mr. Khan and Ms. Sahadevan stood out with their extensive experience, relevant skills, and high motivation for working with German companies.
All candidates for HiH had to fulfil various requirements, such as vocational education in the field of Electrical/Electronics or IT and at least two years of corresponding professional experience. The sister project ProRecognition was able to confirm that Ms. Sahadevan and Mr. Khan have good recognition potential to take them to the next step in the application process.
Both were able to convince the Federal Employment Agency of Germany that they would be a great fit working for a German company, which led to their admission to the project. As both of them had got a green light from the Federal Employment Agency of Germany, the recognition process as well as German language training (A1-B1) for them was initiated. Noteworthy is that they were working full-time for their previous employers here in India while at the same time learning German in evening classes after work.
Additionally, the project also trained them in soft skills to prepare them for their jobs in Germany, such as intercultural sensitivity, expectation management, and taxes in Germany. Giving them a holistic preparedness for their life in Germany was central to the aim of the project, as only a satisfied and well-integrated person will stay in Germany long-term.
HiH also assisted them in adapting their application documents for Germany and prepared them for mastering interviews with German companies. Bringing qualified candidates together with German companies that are participating in the HiH project is central to the placement process and the pivot point where the project partners work together.
All the efforts poured into learning German and training for an interview soon paid off when they each received a job offer from a German company. After clearing the B1 exams and the required visa process, they both flew to Germany to their new home. Ms. Sahadevan went with her husband, Mr. Khan, on the other hand, will soon be reunited with his family in Germany. Even after their arrival, they both had a contact person from a local chamber of commerce to support them during their first days in Germany and assist the German companies in integrating the new employee.
Here’s a short overview of how a journey of a HiH candidate looks like (See image gallery)
Shakeel’s experience and motivation in his own words:
“I wanted to work in Germany to work with and learn from experts and the latest technologies in solar energy. I also found the regular informative webinars and online training courses offered by the project extremely helpful. I also benefited greatly from the support during the online job interviews with German companies.”
Currently, the HiH project has 22 participants from India who are moving a step closer to working in Germany each day. The experiences have shown that skilled migration to Germany might be a challenge at first, hence cooperations and local points of contact as in the HiH project are crucial to support candidates and German companies through the entire process and overcome any hurdles on the way.
