A willingness to recruit international skilled professionals is an important starting point. For an appointment to become a reality, however, that willingness needs to lead to decisions, clear responsibilities and a transparent process. What skills are needed? How can they be assessed? What language preparation is necessary, and who will provide support throughout the process?
A new IAB Brief Report 19/2026 by Annette Jacoby and Felix Stips provides a timely basis for considering these questions. In the third quarter of 2025, around four per cent of German establishments reported having recruited workers from third countries during the preceding twelve months. Among establishments actively seeking staff, the figure was around six per cent. These figures refer to recruitment from outside the EU, rather than the recruitment of third-country nationals already resident in Germany or another EU country. The report does not provide a comprehensive picture of labour migration.
For us, this raises a practical question. How can organisations prepare for international recruitment so that a possibility in principle becomes a reliable option in practice?
Translate organisational needs into clear requirements
The starting point should be a careful review of the work involved. What tasks will the person undertake? What knowledge is essential? Which skills can be developed through structured induction or training alongside work?
This distinction helps organisations define recruitment profiles more precisely. It also provides a basis for discussions with candidates, education and training providers, and cooperation partners.
A role profile should therefore make clear what a person will actually be expected to do in their day-to-day work. This includes technical tasks as well as communication, collaboration and responsibility. The more clearly these requirements are described, the more precisely existing skills and development needs can be considered.
International recruitment thus becomes part of forward-looking workforce planning. Organisations should establish early on which tasks they want to recruit additional people for and what conditions they can create to support those people as they join.
Assess skills transparently
Among establishments with staffing needs that had not recruited from third countries, 46 per cent cited language barriers and 29 per cent cited uncertainty about assessing qualifications as reasons. Respondents could give more than one answer.
For employers, this highlights the need for a transparent comparison between job requirements and existing skills.
What tasks has a person already performed? Which procedures, tools or areas of responsibility are they familiar with? Which aspects of their experience are transferable to the intended role, and where is further development needed?
Structured discussions about professional knowledge and experience, together with suitable practical tasks, can support this comparison. The key is to establish the criteria in advance and ensure that everyone involved understands them. Candidates should also be able to see what is expected and how their experience is taken into account.
A sound assessment provides a better basis for selection, induction and training. It also makes clear which questions remain open.
Connect professional experience with training and development
Of the establishments surveyed, 57 per cent would, in principle, be willing to recruit people from third countries without a recognised vocational or university qualification, in some cases subject to certain conditions. Professional experience played an important role in this. These findings describe a willingness to recruit, rather than appointments that have actually been made.
The absence of a recognised qualification does not mean that a person has no skills or qualifications. A responsible decision requires formal credentials, practical experience and the requirements of the specific role to be considered individually. The professional and immigration requirements that apply in each case need to be clarified separately.
In our view, an assessment of skills should therefore be linked to a development perspective. Where particular knowledge is missing, there needs to be a concrete understanding of how it can be acquired.
This includes suitable learning opportunities, time for training and professional guidance in the workplace. It is equally important to consider how progress in learning will be identified. A development plan should be clear to both the organisation and the person concerned.
This makes it possible to discuss, even before an appointment is made, which tasks are planned at the outset and what further career opportunities could become available as the person develops.
Align language requirements with the actual work
Language requirements should be described as specifically as possible. A general reference to a good command of German says little about the communication a role requires.
Does the role involve coordinating with colleagues, documentation, conversations with customers or safety-related instructions? Which language skills are needed from the outset, and which can be developed alongside work?
Considering these questions allows for more targeted preparation. Professional training and language learning should be coordinated accordingly. Learning content can, for example, draw on typical conversations, work processes and technical terminology associated with the intended role.
The organisation also has a responsibility to communicate clearly. Clear work instructions, understandable processes and reliable points of contact are part of a working environment that helps new employees find their feet.
Managers and existing teams should be involved in this process. They need to know how induction is organised, what support is planned and how questions or uncertainties can be raised.
Coordinate the entire process reliably
Among establishments that had actually recruited from third countries, 64 per cent reported administrative hurdles. Here, too, respondents could give more than one answer.
Organisations have only limited influence over public administrative procedures. They can, however, shape how they work with the authorities and partners involved.
Who maintains an overview of the process? Who provides the documents? Who communicates with the prospective employee, and who coordinates selection, training and a possible start date?
These responsibilities should be assigned early on. This includes a realistic timetable that makes dependencies clear. If a step is still outstanding, those involved need to understand what this means for the remaining preparations.
Reliable coordination also requires transparent communication with the people preparing for a change in their professional and personal lives. Commitments should be dependable. Open questions should be raised in good time.
Use cooperation to expand organisational capacity
Not every organisation can carry out every task itself. One possible response is cooperation that brings together complementary areas of expertise and responsibility.
Employers can contribute their requirements and workplace induction. Education and training providers can develop suitable training programmes. Other partners can support recruitment, preparation or coordination.
For this to become a sustainable process, there needs to be a shared understanding of quality, responsibility and communication. Candidates should be able to see who is responsible for what and whom they can contact with questions.
Cooperation therefore needs to be organised with care. It requires aligned expectations and clear handovers between those involved.
Shape international recruitment as a process of development
We see international recruitment as a shared process of development for people and organisations. This includes well-founded selection, suitable training and a working environment that is deliberately prepared to welcome new colleagues.
For managers, this means taking an early look at their own organisation. Are requirements described clearly? Can skills be assessed transparently? Have time, responsibility and support been allocated for induction?
The answers provide a basis for decisions that connect the organisation’s staffing needs with people’s future prospects.
Openness in principle can thus become a concrete path forward. A path on which people can contribute and develop their skills, and organisations can create the conditions for long-term collaboration.