Are you looking for highly motivated young professionals to be integrated in your companies or partner companies in Kosovo? Or are you interested in expanding your business to Kosovo or neighbouring countries? Would you like to attract them to your company at an early stage? Use your outstanding opportunity and participate in the Internship Programme of German Business for the Countries of the Western Balkans.
The Internship Programme of German Business holds an excellent opportunity for your company to meet highly qualified young talents of various professional backgrounds during a three to six month internship in Germany where they get trained for future employment at your company branch in Kosovo.
What is the Internship Programme of German Business about?
The Internship Programme of German Business was established after the assassination of Serbia’s first democratically elected Prime Minister, Dr. Zoran Djindjic, in 2003. The Programme has been initiated as a public-private partnership program by the German Eastern Business Association (Ost-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft e.V.) together with the Federal Government of Germany (Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ) and has been rewarded as a regional lighthouse project ever since.
The aim of the Internship Programme of German Business is to preserve the legacy of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic by empowering young professionals to bring the region closer to the European Union and supporting the practical-orientated education of students and young graduates. The Internship Programme of German Business includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
Up to now, more than a 1000 young professionals have been trained in more than 260 German leading companies. Among them, more than a hundred young professionals from Kosovo with a diverse academic background have gained practical work experience in the frame of our Internship Programme of German Business. Former scholarship holders remain part of the programme’s very active regional alumni network, which is committed to lifelong learning. The cross-border network organise regional seminars, conferences, courses, and workshops on current engineering topics, business trends, and soft skill trainings for the alumni of the Programme. Annually, up to 65 scholarship holders are given the opportunity to gain practical work experience in German companies located in Germany through internships lasting between three- to six-months. During these internships, they can apply their academic knowledge in practice. By doing so, they enhance their studies with practical training, acquire additional qualifications and set milestones for their professional career upon their return home. The scholarship holders are chosen in several selection rounds very carefully in order to make sure that only the most motivated candidates are suggested to companies as possible interns.
Companies, on the other hand, have the opportunity to train their future employees in the frame of an internship for future employment at their companies’ branche in Kosovo. You have the opportunity to host highly skilled young professionals who offer their expertise, technical knowledge, and insights into their regional and home country markets. Furthermore, candidates have advanced knowledge of English and have the opportunity to learn or improve their knowledge of German. This Programme offers you committed and well-educated young professionals who want to boost their own careers, the further development and economic well-being of your company and who may even support you to generate innovative ideas for your business. Additionally to that, you are having the opportunity to increase the branding of your company as well as support young people, their education and their future participation in the development of your country.
What services does the Internship Programme of German Business for the Countries of the Western Balkans offer to you?
You have the opportunity to benefit from our Internship Programme of German Business for the Countries of the Western Balkans in various ways:
1. Host a scholarship holder to train him /her for a future employment in Kosovo
You have the outstanding opportunity to participate in the selection of candidates from Kosovo who will be trained in your headquarter or partner company in Germany for an employment back home. The candidates have a broad academic background in engineering (all areas), economics (all areas), journalism, agriculture and commercial law.
Additionally, the project teams take care of the administrative and organisational preparation of your future intern(s) and employee(s) such as:
- Candidate’s selection consisting of several selection rounds and assessing their skills
- Organisation of visa, work permit, health insurance, including the organisation and financing of the intern’s arrival to and departure from Germany
- Providing relevant support in the search for accommodation
- Cross-cultural and administrative preparation of the scholarship holders prior to their stay in Germany
- Finances: This Programme is a public-private partnership. The Federal Governement of Germany pays a monthly scholarship, the preparation prior to the internships in Germany, and the travel arrangements. The companies pay a monthly renumeration to the intern according to the status of the intern and the regulations of the minimum wage in Germany.
2. Boost your branding and be the future employer of an alumni
- Use your outstanding opportunity and post your job vacancies in the Programme’s internal Career Centre
- Invite interested alumni to your company premises and present yourself as their future employer.
- Be part of the B2B cooperation of your company with the alumni club.
Become part of our twenty year success story and participate in the Internship Programme of German Business for the Countries of the Western Balkans.
