Labour Shortage in the EU and the Role of Migrations

How to attrach skilled newcomers

As recently addressed by the independent pan-European media network EURACTIV in its latest report on migration (https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/special_report/europes-qu…) the EU is in deep need of new labour workforces and newcomers' arrival and economic integration can respond to this. 

After the non-successful results from the "EU Blue Card", launched in 2011 to attract highly skilled workers, the European Commission is now focusing on new strategies to attract the necessary labour forces to fill the gap that the ageing of the European population is leaving. 

The "EU Talent Pool" goes in this direction, a series of international agreements to attract highly skilled migrants. This online platform will allow candidates to upload their CVs to European employers, national employment services, and private employment agencies.

Nevertheless, it has been pointed out how the recognition of skills already present in the EU might contribute to the solution of this problem. Through the simplification of the procedures for official recognition of qualification from third countries, the EU can benefit from the labour workforce already settled here. 

As Sinem Yilmaz, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Group, indicates “One way to address skill shortages is to simplify the qualification procedures and benefit from the skills of migrants and refugees already residing in the EU [...] Many migrants are overqualified for their jobs and European employers struggle to find people with the skills that they need.”