South Africa
Skilled Talent Recruitment in the Context of Vocational Education and Training Partnerships (BBP)
BODY sequa gGmbH / Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (giz)
PARTNER Partnerships for Development Oriented Labour Migration (PAM)
TIMEFRAME 2026 – 2028
The growing demand for skilled workers in Germany coincides with high employment and qualification requirements in several partner countries.
With this background, the global initiative “Partnerships for Development-Oriented Training and Labor Migration” (PAM), in collaboration with the Skilled Workers Fund, supports the development of partnership-based approaches to attracting international skilled apprentices and talent. The aim is to align economic interests with development policy objectives.
The specific goal of this project is to place 15 to 20 young students from Motheo TVET College — who are personally and professionally qualified — as apprentices with our member companies of Kreishandwerkerschaft Steinfurt Warendorf. The participants undergo an intensive language learning program and career orientation activities to prepare them for apprenticeship training in the skilled trades in Germany. The selection of trades will be based on the participants’ personal profiles and the requirements of the participating companies.
In addition, the range of vocational training programs at Motheo TVET College is to be expanded by introducing an interdisciplinary, modular, and interactive in-depth training program. This is intended to specifically prepare prospective trainees for the demands of a career in the skilled trades and to strengthen key skills. The goal is to make this in-depth training a permanent offering at the college, so that businesses can benefit from it continuously over the long term by being able to employ skilled talent.
The project will develop recommendations for a model of sustainable apprentice migration from South Africa, which will be used to further develop the approach and potentially adapt it to other contexts. In this way, the project contributes to improving employment prospects for young people in South Africa and to securing a skilled workforce in Germany.
Activities and Measures
- Coordination and implementation with the college and participants
- Selection and communication with applicants in collaboration with Motheo TVET College
- Completion of a German language course up to Level B1, followed by an exam administered by an accredited language provider
- Design and implementation of an interdisciplinary in-depth training program at Motheo TVET College
- Organizing intercultural preparatory courses to ease integration into the German dual apprenticeship system
- Coordination of visa applications
- Support for our participating member companies
- Development of appropriate matching processes based on the participants’ skill profiles and the demands of the companies
- Placement into skilled trades apprenticeships
- Assistance with arrival in Germany
- Offering support to apprentices and companies at the start of the apprenticeships
- Mentoring, coaching, and, if necessary, arrangements for an advanced German language course
- Capacity-building measures for the long-term implementation of a multidisciplinary, interactive in-depth training program at Motheo TVET College
- Suggestions for a concept for sustainable apprentice migration from South Africa
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