Development Cooperation Trainee Programme
The Development Cooperation Trainee Programme familiarises you with complex coordination and management tasks in development cooperation.
What does the Development Cooperation Trainee Programme offer?
The programme begins on 1 July of each year and lasts 17 months, during which time you will learn hands-on about many different aspects of German and multilateral development cooperation. The programme focuses on technical cooperation (TC). Training begins in Germany with one month of preparation for your assignment abroad, comprising an induction period at GIZ Head Office and a preparatory programme at the German Academy for International Cooperation (AIZ).
This is followed by a 11-month assignment abroad, eight months of which will be spent working on a GIZ project in one of our partner countries and the remaining three months in a partner country or at the head office of another German or international organisation for development. You will then undertake a five-month assignment at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Bonn or Berlin.
Once you have completed this programme, you will be well qualified to take on a challenging post as a specialist or manager at GIZ, or within another German or international development institution.
What are the prerequisites?
You need to have a university degree. Please refer to the relevant trainee programme advertisement for its specific profile requirements. You should also have gained some initial work experience (this can include internships) or hold a postgraduate qualification. Initial experience of working in a developing country and knowledge of development cooperation (this can similarly include internships) are desirable. The programme is open to people of any nationality, but it is important that you have a sound command of spoken and written German.
What are trainees paid?
€1,900 per month