The German government and the country's skilled craft sector on Friday launched an initiative to offer 10,000 refugees on-the-job training places as the shortfall in qualified workers in Europe's biggest economy continues to grow, Russia Today reported.

The German education ministry and the national Confederation of Skilled Crafts, or ZDH, said in a joint statement that they would offer apprenticeships to 10,000 asylum-seekers between April 2016 and April 2018.

The candidates should be aged at least 25 and have a strong chance of being granted asylum, the statement said.

In concrete terms, the scheme, which is backed by the Federal Labour Agency, will offer language lessons and initial qualifications and also provide the refugees with a chance for short-term work experience in a business.

"On the one hand, we have a sector with a large need for qualified labour, but on the other, people who don't yet have the qualifications" to fill the vacant positions, said labour agency chief Frank Weise.