The international development labour market is undergoing significant changes. Against this backdrop, employers from the public and private sectors, recent graduates and training institutions came together to discuss the challenges and the future of the sector.
©IDOS
The international development labour market faces growing financial pressures and is influenced by political and public discourse. At the same time, the global landscape is shifting due to changing power dynamics and systemic competition. Recent graduates today are motivated by different factors than previous generations, including concerns about work-life balance and decolonial perspectives.
The workshop, held on 24 March, was co-organised by EADI, SLE, and IDOS. Carolin Kitzmann, a recent graduate of the IDOS Postgraduate Programme for Sustainability Cooperation (PGP) and now a Senior Policy Officer at BMZ, shared together with a SLE alumna the perspective of the young generation on job market expectations in development cooperation. She highlighted key entry barriers for young professionals, such as the scarcity of entry-level jobs and intense competition.
Participants discussed the impact of recent budget cuts on young professionals and the potential long-term consequences for the sector. Additionally, while training institutions—universities, universities of applied sciences, and think tanks like IDOS—have internationalised their programmes in recent years, international graduates continue to face challenges in securing jobs in the public sector. All training institutions also report difficulties with residence regulations for their international students and participants.
