Recognition from North Africa on the rise

In Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, BIBB and GIZ are working together to ensure that recognition is taken into account at an early stage.

The number of applications for recognition rose again in 2025. There was a particularly sharp increase in applications for professional qualifications from Egypt and Morocco. Together with Tunisia, these three countries are among the ten most common countries of training in the recognition process.

In 2025, around 76,200 new applications for the recognition of foreign professional qualifications were submitted for federal occupations. This was seven per cent more than in the previous year. Within five years, the number of applications has thus almost doubled.

The trend was particularly strong for qualifications from Egypt: in 2025, around 3,000 applications for recognition related to professional qualifications obtained there – 88 per cent more than in the previous year. For qualifications from Morocco, the figure rose by 45 per cent to around 2,500 applications. Tunisia has been among the top five countries of training for several years now.

It’s great news that Egypt ranked sixth among the most common countries of training in 2025! The number of applications has risen by 88 per cent compared with the previous year. (Shahira Wassef, Head of the Migration Portfolio at GIZ Egypt)

Considering recognition at an early stage
In Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH are working together as part of THAMM Plus. The THAMM Plus project is jointly funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU). The aim is to integrate issues relating to the recognition of foreign professional qualifications more closely into counselling and training programmes even before migration takes place.

The BIBB Competence Centre for Vocational Recognition advises THAMM Plus on matters of professional recognition. This involves, for example, how knowledge of recognition procedures can be permanently incorporated into counselling. Furthermore, experience gained from recognition procedures is to be used to further develop training programmes in the countries of origin. This is a task that is becoming increasingly important in light of the EU Commission’s Skills Portability Initiative.

Caroline Przybylla, THAMM Plus adviser in Tunisia, emphasises:

Since 2022, Tunisia has consistently ranked among the top five countries of origin for applications relating to professions governed by federal law. We are delighted with this development! At THAMM Plus, we are constantly working to align the needs of the Tunisian and German labour markets and to develop training approaches that strengthen career prospects both in Tunisia and in an international context.

The latest recognition figures demonstrate the significance of this issue for skilled workers from these countries. However, the statistics do not allow us to draw any conclusions about the reasons behind the rising number of applications.

A detailed article on bibb.de explains how BIBB and GIZ are collaborating in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, and what approaches are being pursued.

How BIBB and GIZ support skilled workers in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia
Analysis of official statistics on the Federal Recognition Act for 2025
The results of the federal statistics for 2025 at a glance