Skilled workers from abroad: the trade careers page

The responsible body is not a distant federal authority but the regional chamber. The Professional Qualifications Assessment Act names the chamber of crafts as the competent body for occupations regulated under the Crafts Code (Section 8 (1) no. 2 BQFG). The Crafts Code draws the consequence: foreign training certificates are equivalent to the journeyman's examination once their equivalence has been established (Section 40a HwO). For the business this is good news, because it usually already knows the chamber's contacts from apprenticeship training.

The chamber compares the content and duration of the foreign training with the German reference occupation and takes into account documented work experience that can make up for differences (Section 4 BQFG). The result is a decision on full or partial equivalence. With full equivalence, applicants have the same legal standing as graduates trained in Germany; with partial equivalence they can obtain further qualifications and apply again (Handwerkskammer Hannover). Equivalence with the master craftsman's examination in a licensed trade has its own procedure, and there too the chamber of crafts decides (Section 50c HwO).

Not every skilled worker has a formal qualification. People who have worked in a trade for many years without a vocational qualification can have their work experience assessed and certified in a validation procedure. The Handwerkskammer Hannover names, among other requirements, a minimum age of 25 (Handwerkskammer Hannover) and German at level B2 or higher (Handwerkskammer Hannover). For the careers page this means: even without a journeyman's certificate from the home country an application can be worthwhile, and the business works out the right route together with the chamber.

Many inquiries do not come from the next village but from abroad. Then recognition is tied to residence. A residence permit for employment requires, among other things, a specific job offer and, where the permit in question demands it, established equivalence of the qualification (Section 18 (2) AufenthG). A skilled worker with vocational training is someone who has a qualified vocational training from Germany or an equivalent foreign professional qualification (Section 18 (3) AufenthG). The chamber's decision is therefore often the precondition, and the job offer comes from the business.

For this case there is the fast-track procedure for skilled workers. The employer applies for it at the competent immigration office, acting on the skilled worker's authority (Section 81a (1) AufenthG). Where required, the office starts the recognition procedure at the chamber and invites the employer to a meeting within three working days (Section 81a (3) AufenthG) as soon as the chamber requests further evidence or its decision arrives. In this procedure the chamber confirms receipt within two weeks (Section 14a (2) BQFG) and should decide on equivalence within two months (Section 14a (3) BQFG). Businesses that offer this route should say so on the careers page, because for a skilled worker abroad it is a strong signal.

If something is still missing after the decision, the skilled worker does not have to wait in the home country. Subject to further conditions, a residence permit should be granted for a training measure that makes up for the differences, initially for up to 24 months (Section 16d (1) AufenthG). Alongside it, employment independent of the measure of up to 20 hours per week (Section 16d (1) AufenthG) is allowed. With the approval of the Federal Employment Agency, the skilled worker may also work without a time limit in a job related to the future occupation (Section 16d (2) AufenthG). German skills matching the measure are required, as a rule at least sufficient skills; that corresponds to level A2 (Section 2 (10) AufenthG).

A second route, often called a recognition partnership in practice, gives the business a larger role: the skilled worker enters the country, already works in the business and starts the recognition procedure after entry at the latest (Section 16d (3) AufenthG). It requires a professional qualification recognized by the state where it was obtained, with a training period of at least two years (Section 16d (3) AufenthG), plus a specific job offer, the approval of the Federal Employment Agency where needed, and an agreement. In it the skilled worker undertakes to start the recognition procedure without delay after entry, and the employer undertakes to enable the required training measures as part of the employment. The business must be suitable for training or further qualification. The residence permit is initially valid for at most one year (Section 16d (3) AufenthG) and can be extended up to a maximum of three years (Section 16d (3) AufenthG).

A third route works without prior recognition in Germany and relies on work experience. The Federal Employment Agency can approve qualified employment if the skilled worker has at least two years (Section 6 BeschV) of work experience gained within the last five years (Section 6 BeschV) and a professional qualification recognized by the state where it was obtained, with at least two years of training. The salary must reach at least 45 percent (Section 6 BeschV) of the annual contribution assessment ceiling of the statutory pension insurance. If the employer is bound by a collective agreement and employs on its terms, this salary threshold does not apply.

People who are still learning German read a careers page differently from native speakers. Long sentences, unexplained technical terms and abbreviations such as BQFG or HWK slow them down. Plain language here means short sentences, one idea per sentence, active verbs and technical terms that are explained the first time they appear. The word equivalence belongs on the page because it appears in the decision, but with a sentence on what it means. This helps more than skilled workers from abroad. Apprentices, parents and everyone reading on a phone in the evening also get there faster.

Plain language is not a legal requirement for the careers pages of trade businesses, but it follows the same ideas as accessibility; what the Accessibility Act actually requires is covered in the article on accessibility for trade businesses. The text is best written by someone in the business who knows the work, and checked by a second person from outside the trade. How business and agency work together on the copy is described in the article on website copy the business provides.

For a skilled worker coming from abroad, the job is only half of the decision. The other half is where to live, how to learn German and who helps in the first weeks. A business does not have to solve everything, but it should say what it offers. That can be accommodation for the first months, contacts to landlords in town or simply a person who comes along to apartment viewings. Even the sentence "We help you look for an apartment, but we do not provide one" gives a skilled worker information they can plan with.

For German classes there is a public framework. Eligibility for job-related German classes can also be granted to people who are already employed or have an employment contract, and explicitly to those who need to reach a certain language level alongside recognition (Section 4 DeuFöV). Special classes lead from A2 to B1, among other things, or focus on individual occupational groups in connection with recognition (Section 13 DeuFöV). The skilled worker applies for eligibility; the business can help by scheduling working hours so that the class fits. Incidentally, the recognition grant does not cover language classes; the Anerkennung in Deutschland portal explicitly lists them among the costs that cannot be funded.

The section is part of the careers area we build as part of the website for a fixed price: from 1,490 euros net, one-time; details are in the price overview. Businesses that want new positions added and filled ones switched off can book website maintenance from 49 euros per month, cancelable monthly, with no minimum term. Translation costs come on top if short versions in further languages are wanted. All prices net, prices as of September 2026. What the careers area includes overall is shown on the page recruiting staff, and for pictures from workshop and site there is photo support for the trade website.