A pilot programme from auto giant BMW aims to “give something back” to customer countries in economic toil, but it is giving by taking – with 25 Spanish youths set to head to the firm’s German headquarters in Munich.

This is according to the firm’s personnel chief Milagros Caiña-Andree, who was born in Spain but educated in Germany, speaking to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

And she says the programme could be expanded to other states, such as Greece or Italy, if it proves a success.

“We want to give something back to these countries in which we sell our cars, after all,” she says.

The initial programme will see 25 Spaniards between the ages of 18 and 25 trained for a year, and Caiña-Andree describes that they will “be immersed in German culture, possibly live with a BMW host family and work in development, sales, marketing or another area”, after which they will have the option of staying in Germany or returning home.

• Yesterday, wide-ranging recommendations for EU countries were published by the European Commission, shifting the focus away from fiscal measures, and looking instead at de-regulating labour markets and cutting youth unemployment.