An online platform to almost instantaneously match the skills sought by European companies with third-country workers wishing to bring their talent to the EU, rather like a dating app (some MEPs have referred to it as a ‘Tinder’ for legal labour migration)...
This was the project presented on Wednesday 15 November by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and the Vice-President responsible for promoting the European way of life, Margarítis Schinás, through a platform called the ‘EU Talent Pool’, which should enable construction companies, as well as the healthcare sector, to recruit the employees that will be in increasingly short supply as the population ages.
According to the Commission, which has proposed a draft regulation to this effect, the EU will need to recruit 7 million more people, particularly from third countries, between now and 2030, in order to meet various challenges, from demographic ageing to the new ‘green’ and digital skills that are required.
According to a recent Eurobarometer survey, skills shortages are getting worse for European companies (see EUROPE 13292/23).
On Wednesday, the Commission also presented a draft recommendation to encourage Member States to recognise the professional qualifications of third-country nationals more quickly, and another proposal for a recommendation on learner mobility.
This last proposal aims to increase the proportion of third-country students with a learning mobility experience to at least 25% for higher education graduates, and at least 15% for vocational learners by 2030, explains a press release. Furthermore, people with fewer opportunities should account for at least 20% of all learners benefiting from learning mobility abroad.
These proposals are being put forward at a time when the co-legislators are currently discussing the revision of the Single Permit Directive, with a further trilogue scheduled for 21 November. However, the Council of the EU has still not adopted its mandate on the revision of the directive on the residence status of third-country nationals.
While the EU has already launched ‘talent partnerships’, i.e. programmes to bring workers from five countries (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Bangladesh and Pakistan) to the EU - programmes which exist in addition to what the Member States themselves are already doing - the two European leaders stressed that these new proposals would in no way modify “national legislation or quotas” established by the Member States in terms of labour migration.
In the event of a ‘match’ on the new platform between a company and a third-country applicant, the final decision to grant a work and residence permit will still rest with the national authorities. A residence and work permit granted by a Member State outside the European framework of the single permit will also not be valid for work in another Member State.
Job offers from EU employers will be registered on the platform by the national contact points set up in participating Member States.
It will incorporate specific tools to make it easier for third-country jobseekers and employers to identify each other and to get in touch. Registered jobseekers from third countries and employers who have published a vacancy on the platform will be able to search for each other using filters and use a semi-automatic matching tool to create lists of matches between searches and requirements.
The new platform for bringing together employers and jobseekers from third countries will be “voluntary”, the two leaders insisted, even though it is a regulation.
The Commission also pointed out in its communication that third-country nationals already make a fundamental contribution to the EU labour market and economy. No less than 13% of key workers in essential functions are third-country nationals. Furthermore, in 2022, around 1.6 million first residency permits were issued to third-country nationals in the EU for employment purposes, the highest figure since 2009.
In any case, the platform was very well received by Damian Boeselager (Greens/EFA, German), who has been campaigning for such a regulation since 2020.
The MEP, who is also responsible for the text on third-country residents, said he was very enthusiastic about the launch of this tool, which he called the ‘Tinder’ for international talent.
“The EU talent pool aims to establish an adapted version of a model already used in Canada, Australia and the United States, to attract sought-after international talent to Europe”.
“Over the next 30 years, our working-age population will shrink by almost 50 million people. In Germany alone, 81% of founders believe that the shortage of talent is hampering their company’s growth. Attracting international talent is not just a matter of good migration policy, it is also a cornerstone of Europe’s competitiveness agenda”, he added.
For Dennis Radtke (EPP, German), “in these times of skills and labour shortages in Europe, we not only want to motivate EU citizens to fully develop their talents and achieve their professional goals, but also encourage third-country nationals to come to Europe by facilitating the recognition of their qualifications. Of course, this should mean a reduction in the administrative burden and waiting times, not a reduction in the quality of conditions of access to our labour market”.
Links to documents: https://aeur.eu/f/9kd ; https://aeur.eu/f/9ka ; https://aeur.eu/f/9k9 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)