What Exactly is Hand in Hand for International Talents?

Hand in Hand for International Talents is a pilot programme jointly run by DIHK Service GmbH — the service arm of Germany’s national Chamber of Industry and Commerce — and the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Germany’s Federal Employment Agency). It is funded by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE) — Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The programme was created to test and build a model immigration pathway that actually works — covering every single step from the moment a professional in India expresses interest to the day they are settled and working in a German company. India and Brazil are the two pilot countries selected, which means Indian professionals are at the very heart of this programme.

In plain terms: Germany’s government identified that the existing system for bringing skilled workers from India was too complicated, too slow, and too unsupported. So they built a structured, coordinated system that handles all the complexity — and tested it first with Indians and Brazilians, because those are the two countries Germany most wants to attract skilled professionals from.

Who Is This Programme For?

The programme recruits Indian professionals in five specific fields. If your background is in any of the following, you are eligible to be considered:

⚡  Electronics and Electrical Engineering — electricians, electrical engineers, industrial electricians, automation technicians, power systems engineers. This is Germany’s most acute shortage trade — 45% of all open electrical posts in Germany had zero candidates in 2024.

⚙️  Mechatronics and Automation Technology — mechatronics engineers, CNC machine operators, automation system technicians, robotics technicians, industrial maintenance engineers.

🔧  Metal Fabrication and Manufacturing — welders, metal fabricators, precision mechanics, tool and die makers, industrial mechanics, production engineers in metal processing.

💻  Information Technology — software developers, IT systems administrators, network engineers, data analysts, cybersecurity specialists, cloud engineers. Germany has 149,000 unfilled IT roles.

🍽️  Hospitality — Hotel and Restaurant Kitchens — professional chefs (Köche), kitchen managers, hotel management professionals. Germany’s hospitality sector has struggled with severe worker shortages since the pandemic.

What the Programme Does for You — Every Step Covered

This is what makes Hand in Hand genuinely different from other immigration pathways. The programme handles steps that normally take Indian professionals months of solo research and cost significant sums in consultancy fees:

The Recruiting Days — How the Virtual Interviews Work

The DIHK Recruiting Days are the formal employer-candidate matching events at the heart of the programme. They take place online via Microsoft Teams in a structured speed-dating format — held monthly. Here is exactly how they work:

Upcoming Recruiting Days — September to December 2026:

How the Recruiting Days work — step by step:

Step 1 — Employers browse candidate profiles. German employers access a PDF short-profile booklet (Kurzprofilmappe) for each sector. Indian professionals in the programme each have a profile with a unique ID code, their qualification, experience, and current German language level. Employers browse these and select who they want to meet.

Step 2 — Candidates receive interview requests. The DIHK team sends each candidate the employer’s company profile and the interview request. Candidates decide whether they want to meet that employer — giving them agency over who they talk to.

Step 3 — 15-minute speed-dating conversations on Microsoft Teams. Each confirmed match gets a 15-minute video conversation. An interpreter is available for candidates who need one. A DIHK team member manages the room and keeps time.

Step 4 — Interested employers sign a service agreement. If an employer wants to proceed, they sign a Dienstleistungsvertrag (service contract) with the programme and a follow-up full interview is arranged. The programme then manages the recognition, language, and visa process through to arrival.

Who Is Behind This Programme?

The programme is not run by a private agency. It is a coordinated effort between Germany’s most senior official institutions — which is why it is fully trustworthy and carries no risk of misrepresentation:

DIHK Service GmbH — the service company of Germany’s national Association of Chambers of Industry and Commerce. Manages the overall programme, the Recruiting Days, and employer relations. Contact: David Müller — mueller.david@dihk.de · +49 151 11331843

Bundesagentur für Arbeit — ZAV — Germany’s Federal Employment Agency and the public body responsible for international labour market placement. Contact for candidates: ZAV.BIPP@arbeitsagentur.de

AHK India (Deutsch-Indische Handelskammer) — the German-Indian Chamber of Commerce with offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bengaluru. Handles candidate selection, language preparation, and recognition process for Indian candidates. Visit indien.ahk.de

IHK FOSA — the official qualification recognition authority of Germany’s IHK network. Processes the formal German recognition of Indian professional qualifications under the Skilled Immigration Act.

Regional IHK offices and Agenturen für Arbeit — 24 regional IHK offices across Germany provide on-the-ground integration support once you arrive. Current project regions include Berlin, Bremen, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Essen, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Lübeck, Munich, Oldenburg, and more.

Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE) — Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Funds the entire programme — meaning this is backed by federal government money, not commercial interests.

How to Apply — What Indian Professionals Need to Do

The programme recruits candidates through AHK India. Here are the exact steps to follow:

①  Contact AHK India directly. The German-Indian Chamber of Commerce handles all candidate applications from India. Visit indien.ahk.de and reach out to the AHK office in your city — Mumbai, New Delhi, or Bengaluru. Explain your field, qualification, and work experience.

②  Or contact the DIHK programme team directly. Email David Müller at DIHK Service GmbH: mueller.david@dihk.de — explain your background and ask to be considered as a candidate for the programme.

③  Or contact the Bundesagentur ZAV team. Email the ZAV international placement team: ZAV.BIPP@arbeitsagentur.de — ask about participation as a candidate from India in the Hand in Hand programme.

④  Prepare your documents. You will need: your degree or vocational certificate, academic transcripts, full employment history with dates and employer names, passport copy, and a brief statement explaining your interest in working in Germany in your field. Everything can be submitted in English — German is not required at application stage.

⑤  Read more at the official programme website. Full programme information is at hand-in-hand-for-international-talents.de and dihk-service-gmbh.de

Does It Cost Anything for Indian Candidates?

The programme’s costs — including German language training, qualification recognition fees, and visa processing support — are covered through a service fee paid by the German employer, not by you. The employer pays a flat service charge scaled to their company size.

This means: if you are selected into the programme, the core costs of preparing you for Germany — language course, recognition process, visa support structure — are paid for by the company that wants to hire you. You are not paying immigration consultancy fees. You are being invested in by a German employer who has committed to bringing you over.

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