Finding International Skilled Workers

You can pass on your job advertisement with the International Placement Service (ZAV) at the Federal Employment Agency. They provide support to German companies who are looking for staff from abroad and give advice free of charge on all questions relating to the recruitment of skilled workers from abroad.

In addition, the International Placement Service regularly publishes profiles of international candidates for specific sectors. In these, employers who are interested can find candidates from abroad and contact them via the ZAV.

Register your open positions with the Federal Employment Agency's service for Employers (Arbeitgeber-Service) and indicate that you would like to be published on the "Make it in Germany" platform. This way you can reach potential skilled workers world-wide.

Good to know: Would you like to attract skilled workers from abroad? The federal government’s platform for skilled workers from abroad, „Make it in Germany”, explains how the process works step by step, from the evaluation of your staffing requirements to the choice of country and the wording and placement of your job advertisement, as well as what you need to be aware of when recruiting from abroad.

If you are looking for a  skilled worker from abroad from one of the member countries of the European Union, you can publish your job advertisment on EURES, the European Job network which supports job mobility. They have a special section for companies.

Depending on the job profile, you also have some other options:

• Publish the job advertisement on suitable job platforms in the relevant countries and/or languages.
• Publish the job advertisement in specialist magazines, online as well as offline.
• Make use of national or international career platforms to draw attention to your company and your job advertisement.
• Visit career fairs, draw attention to yourself and make new contacts – to skilled workers who are looking to develop their career or to other employers.
• Publish your job advertisement in media abroad, in particular in well-known newspapers and specialist magazines, and actively use social media networks to look for staff.
• Contact universities and colleges in the relevant countries. They have alumni networks who can put you in touch with skilled workers who are motivated.
• Contact the career centres of German universities and colleges. Here again, alumni networks can be very useful.
• Contact other employers who have potentially already hired skilled workers from abroad. You can only benefit from their experience and tips. In many districts, there are company or business networks or even exchange platforms or company get-togethers on a regular basis.
• Contact the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad in the relevant countries.