Exclusive | TOMCOM: 12 of 79 sent to Germany for jobs, candidates dispute data

TOMCOM counts 12 of 79 Ausbildung candidates as deployed to Germany. None of its bus-driver trainees has gone, RTI replies to Siasat.com show.

Hyderabad: The Telangana Overseas Manpower Company (TOMCOM) says 12 of the 79 candidates in its German apprenticeship, or Ausbildung, programme have been deployed to Germany. None of its bus-driver trainees, 19 by its RTI replies and 24 in a separate response TOMCOM sent to Siasat.com‘s media queries, has gone.

The figures came in replies to two Right to Information (RTI) applications Siasat.com filed in July and August, and to first appeals filed after both went unanswered past the 30-day deadline. TOMCOM also sent batch-wise tables answering our September 16 questions, and on October 27 answered follow-ups sent on October 23.

The disclosures follow Siasat.com’s two-part investigation into the programmes, which TOMCOM ran in 2024 and 2025 with its private implementation partner, Fairstreet India Pvt Ltd. That reporting rested on information the candidates came forward with. Ausbildung candidates estimated that 70 to 75 people had enrolled and that five or six had German offer letters by early 2026. Bus-driver candidates said they knew of no one from their 21-member shortlist who had reached Germany.

The official enrolment figure is close to candidates’ estimate, while its deployment count is about double theirs, which the candidates dispute.

What the numbers show

TOMCOM counts 12 Ausbildung candidates, or 15 per cent, as deployed. Its batch-wise table, however, lists only 11 – seven from Batch 1 and four from Batch 2, and records the lone Batch 3 candidate as “pre-visa obtained,” meaning still to travel.

Four bus drivers received work contracts, listed as offers in TOMCOM’s data, and two have pre-visa approval, its email said. None has gone yet.

Across both programmes, that is 12 of 103, or 12 of 98 using the RTI figure of 19 bus drivers – about 12 per cent. With no deployment dates, there is no telling how long candidates waited after training. Citing confidentiality, TOMCOM would not say how many employment opportunities Fairstreet provided and did not say whether its private partner secured any of these placements.

Figures that don’t add up

The RTI replies list 12 deployed, one from Batch 3. The table lists 11, yet its total row says 12. In her October 27 email, General Manager K Naga Bharathi said 12 had been deployed, and that one more, who has completed the pre-visa process and awaits his final visa, “is not included in the list of 12.”

That makes it 13. Every record TOMCOM has shared accounts for 12, all agreeing on 11 from Batches 1 and 2. The email does not give the pre-visa candidate’s batch, but the only candidate at that stage in TOMCOM’s data is from Batch 3. If they are the same person, TOMCOM’s records support 11 deployments, not 12. If not, the 12th appears in no batch record. TOMCOM has not explained the gap.

What TOMCOM won’t say

Fairstreet says it “diligently fulfilled its obligations” under its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TOMCOM. But TOMCOM has withheld the MoU, citing data protection and confidentiality, so neither those obligations nor Fairstreet’s accountability can be checked.

Naga Bharathi said the 12 attended online interviews in which German employers explained the roles, signed contracts only with their written consent and got German visas on that basis. She did not say whether the count includes candidates moved from their technical, food technician, logistics or hospitality streams into other trades, or who quit and came home after finding the work was not as promised.

TOMCOM also did not say whether the four bus-driver offers include candidates who had left and sought refunds. Avinash from Nizamabad told Siasat.com his offer came only after he formally exited. On further opportunities, TOMCOM said it “is reaching out to all candidates who are interested in overseas placement programmes.”

Fairstreet’s admission letters gave Ausbildung candidates nine months to pass B1, after which employer interviews “will be scheduled.” Candidates at an October 23 online meeting said Fairstreet business head Saurav Pandey advised those who had cleared B1 to now pursue B2, and spoke of exploring placements in 2027.

Asked about interview dates, employers and roles, TOMCOM named none. Teachers were assessing candidates’ ability “to face the native German speakers,” it said, adding that “it is not about B1 or B2 exams but to improve the spoken German language skills.” Interviews for “interested candidates” would follow, with its “MoU partners” and “as per the instructions of Telangana government.” It did not say whether Fairstreet’s engagement extends beyond the nine months.

TOMCOM acknowledged complaints about hostel facilities, changed language requirements and delayed interviews, which it said were “addressed as and when required.” It gave no refund numbers, saying the programmes are “not closed” and an “ongoing process,” though elsewhere it said those who discontinued were refunded “subject to the applicable terms.”

The agreement that came later

Candidates from all three batches had told Siasat.com that a second document, the Candidate Agreement Form (CAF), arrived a week or more after classes began, once they had moved to Hyderabad and paid about Rs 1.28 lakh each. It recast Fairstreet’s role as “organising and facilitating interviews with up to three potential employers if required,” disowned commitments beyond it, added attendance and assessment conditions and placed disputes in courts in Lucknow, more than 1,000 km away.

TOMCOM disclosed nothing about the CAF. Siasat.com asked, in its RTI applications and in its questions to the agency, when the form was drafted or approved and whether introducing it after training began was normal practice. TOMCOM answered “NA” in one reply and did not take up the questions in the other. It also answered “NA” when asked for the Goethe pass rate within the deadline. Its data shows 42 candidates cleared B1, with no dates. Candidates had told Siasat.com that fewer than 10 cleared it within the nine months.

14 names, but 8 went privately

Candidates listed 14 people they say reached Germany, with at least eight through private routes. Siasat.com sent the list to TOMCOM on October 23, asking whether its tally included any of them or anyone recruited privately or moved to another trade. The October 27 reply repeated that 12 had been deployed after online interviews, without saying whether any of the 14 were among them.

Dinesh (name changed), a Batch 2 candidate from Warangal, said officials described his job as “butchery sales” and assured him it would not involve handling or processing meat. In Germany, he said, it meant handling raw meat and tasting it. He resigned, came home and sought a refund, which TOMCOM rejected. Besides roughly Rs 2.5 lakh paid under the programme, he said he paid Rs 1 lakh to a private firm he was directed to.

TOMCOM says candidates “were placed in the roles they had opted for at the time of joining,” and that where they moved sectors, it connected them with employers “after confirmation from the candidates.” Asked whether the Batch 2 candidate who took the butchery job is among the 12, it did not say.

On October 22, another Ausbildung candidate emailed TOMCOM that a private firm had found him his job in Germany and that TOMCOM had played no part and should not claim credit. He demanded a full refund and compensation.

Candidates push back

On October 19, soon after both parts were published, TOMCOM emailed candidates announcing employer interviews in November and free online preparation from October 22. In the days that followed, 20 to 30 candidates wrote to TOMCOM’s leadership and to Harichandana Dasari, Principal Secretary of the Labour, Employment, Training and Factories Department. Some demanded guarantees signed by the managing director and verifiable employer details.

Most boycotted the October 23 session with Pandey to press for direct talks with senior officials. Those who attended said six or seven joined. A follow-up online “language assessment” drew fewer than five, they said.

(Siasat.com’s next report in this investigation series examines TOMCOM’s performance over several years and some of its partner agreements)