By Avinav Nigam, Founder of TERN

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Introduction

As an entrepreneur who’s lived as an expat in Japan, Singapore, and now London, and worked extensively on the German market for nearly a decade, I’ve witnessed the global talent mismatch firsthand. TERN, my latest venture, is a two-sided marketplace inspired by the Arctic Tern—a bird that migrates 65,000 kilometers annually, embodying resilience and borderless ambition. This article outlines TERN’s mission to revolutionize global recruitment, with a focus on Germany, the GCC, the UK, and beyond, addressing clear pain points for talent and employers while leveraging AI to disrupt the space.

The Problem: A Broken Global Recruitment System

Global recruitment is plagued by inefficiencies that trap talent and frustrate employers. The core issues are:

1. Information Asymmetry: Brokers exploit candidates and employers, charging exorbitant fees and sowing distrust. For example, a nurse in India might lose 40 lakh rupees to a scam for a nonexistent job in Germany.
2. Process Complexity: The 70–80 steps from application to relocation—visas, certifications, language proficiency, cultural integration—are a bureaucratic nightmare, especially in Germany’s stringent Anerkennung process or the GCC’s fast-paced work permit systems.
3. Lack of Trust: Without a transparent, trusted platform, scams proliferate, leaving candidates and employers vulnerable.

These issues create a vicious cycle. In high-aspiration markets like India, the Philippines, Jordan, and Egypt, 30 million young people enter the workforce annually, but only a fraction find meaningful roles. Meanwhile, Germany needs 400,000 healthcare workers by 2030, the GCC faces shortages in construction and healthcare, and the UK’s NHS grapples with “corridor care” due to staff shortages. TERN exists to bridge this gap, connecting talent to opportunity.

Pain Points for Talent

• Financial Exploitation: Candidates pay high fees to brokers, often losing life savings to scams.
• Career Mismatches: Qualified professionals, like a Berlin doctor driving a taxi or an Indian nurse nannying, are stuck in low-skill jobs.
• Unclear Pathways: Lack of guidance on certifications, language requirements, or visa processes leaves talent stranded.

Pain Points for Employers

• Talent Shortages: German hospitals, GCC construction firms, and UK clinics face critical staffing gaps, delaying projects and compromising care.
• Inefficient Hiring: Lengthy, opaque recruitment processes increase costs and time-to-hire.
• Quality Concerns: Employers struggle to verify candidate qualifications, especially across borders.

TERN’s Solution: A Technology-Driven Marketplace

TERN is a C2B2B marketplace that streamlines ethical, global recruitment for healthcare, engineering, and logistics. Drawing from my experience scaling Cars24 (autotech) and founding IMMO (proptech), TERN uses AI and end-to-end process management to solve recruitment’s systemic flaws. Here’s how:

1. Symmetric Information and Talent Sourcing

• AI-Powered Profiles: Candidates from markets like India or Morocco upload CVs via WhatsApp ads. Our AI generates standardized profiles with 18 sections, assessing skills, certifications, and language proficiency (e.g., B2 German for Munich hospitals or IELTS 7 for UK clinics).
• Upskilling Guidance: The platform identifies gaps—such as needing Goethe-Institut courses for German or technical certifications for GCC roles—and provides tailored upskilling paths, empowering candidates with clear steps to global jobs.

2. AI-Driven Matching and Screening

• Precise Matching: Our AI pairs candidates with roles, like a Bangalore engineer to a Stuttgart tech firm or a Filipino nurse to a Riyadh hospital, ensuring alignment with local standards (e.g., Germany’s Anerkennung or NHS protocols).
• Screening Efficiency: AI screens for qualifications, language skills, and cultural fit, reducing employer workload and ensuring high-quality hires.
• Interview Preparation: Tools like mock interviews and cultural onboarding boost candidate success rates, addressing Germany’s high standards or the GCC’s fast-paced demands.

3. End-to-End Process Management

• Seamless Relocation: We manage the full journey—applications, visas, housing, cultural integration—like an Amazon delivery. In Germany, we navigate Anerkennung; in the GCC, we handle rapid work permits; in the UK, we streamline NHS onboarding.
• Documentation Automation: AI-driven workflows generate compliant documents, reducing errors and delays in visa or certification processes.

4. Quality Control and Trust

• Verified Profiles: AI and human oversight ensure candidate credentials are authentic, building trust with employers in Germany, the GCC, and the UK.
• Transparent Processes: Real-time updates keep candidates and employers informed, eliminating the black-box approach of traditional recruitment.
• Brand Building: Inspired by my work with global brands like P&G and Disney+, TERN aims to become a trusted name in recruitment, ensuring consistency across complex geographies like Germany’s federal system or the GCC’s diverse markets.

AI’s Role in Disrupting Recruitment

AI is TERN’s backbone, addressing specific recruitment challenges:

• Screening: AI evaluates CVs against job requirements, flagging mismatches (e.g., missing B2 German) and reducing manual review time by 70%.
• Recruitment: Predictive algorithms match candidates to roles with 90% accuracy, minimizing bad hires.
• Quality Control: AI verifies certifications and monitors candidate progress, ensuring compliance with Germany’s strict healthcare standards or the GCC’s project timelines.
• Documentation: Automated workflows generate visa applications and contracts, cutting processing time by 50%.
• Global Brand Building: AI-driven marketing targets talent in India and employers in Germany, creating a scalable, trusted platform akin to P&G’s global campaigns.

These solutions save time, reduce costs, and unlock opportunities, like placing a Kerala nurse in Hamburg or an Egyptian engineer in Dubai.

Why Germany and Beyond?

Germany is a cornerstone for TERN due to its acute workforce shortages—150,000 healthcare workers needed by 2025 and 1.7 million elderly care workers by 2035. My decade-long engagement with the market, coupled with the fact that my wife lived there, revealed to me its precision-driven economy and staffing gaps in Berlin’s hospitals and Baden-Württemberg’s engineering firms. The GCC’s construction and healthcare boom, the UK’s NHS crisis, and the US’s logistics needs broaden our scope. As an Indian, I’m inspired by India’s “Heal by India” vision, channeling its 22 million unabsorbed workers to global markets.

My experience with global brands like P&G and Disney+ informs TERN’s approach to complex, multi-geo operations. Just as Disney+ scaled streaming across cultures, TERN builds a recruitment platform that adapts to Germany’s federal regulations, the GCC’s rapid growth, and the UK’s compliance needs.

Upskilling: Closing the Talent Gap

TERN’s upskilling programs prepare candidates for global roles, addressing four gaps:

1. Education Quality: Partnerships with institutions standardize training to meet Germany’s healthcare benchmarks or GCC engineering standards.
2. Cultural Fit: Cross-cultural training bridges differences, preparing Indian nurses for Germany’s elderly care or Filipino workers for Dubai’s multicultural sites.
3. Language Proficiency: Intensive courses ensure B1/B2 German for Germany or Arabic basics for the GCC.
4. Soft Skills: Interview coaching and onboarding programs ease transitions, like adapting to Germany’s workplace formality.

Last quarter, we trained 200 nurses and 50 engineers for German roles, alongside 30 candidates for the GCC and UK, readying them for Munich, Dubai, and London.

Building a Global Team

Our remote-first team in Berlin, Bangalore, and London thrives on:

• Technology: Slack and video calls sync operations across Germany’s visa complexities and GCC’s tight timelines.
• Autonomy: We hire self-starters who own tasks, from sourcing talent in Jordan to placing nurses in Hamburg.
• Purpose: Our mission—unlocking global talent—drives us, fueled by successes like a doctor in London or an engineer in Dubai.
• Transparency: Weekly updates align teams on wins (e.g., 50 German placements) and challenges (e.g., UK visa delays).

This structure mirrors the global, agile operations I honed at P&G and Disney+, ensuring TERN scales across markets.

The Road Ahead

TERN is poised to transform recruitment amid Germany’s 2025 healthcare crisis, the GCC’s growth, and the UK’s NHS challenges. We’ve placed hundreds of candidates and aim for one million global roles, aligning with India’s “Heal by India” vision. For my kids and countless dreamers, TERN is personal—a mission to place one nurse in Munich, one engineer in Dubai, one doctor in London at a time.

Don’t wait—Join our movement today! Connect with us on WhatsApp for personalised guidance, sign up on our platform to explore global opportunities, or fill out our form to start your journey!

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