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Dressed in dark grey, and viewed in semi-side-profile, against a bably blue background, with pink and blue circle graphic motifs, the outlines of EASNIE Director João Costa and ETF Director Pilvi Torsti are overlayed next to each other, facing in opposite directions, microphones in hand, as they address an audience of captive listeners

OPINION PIECE - Europe must harness talent, not restrict it

Pilvi Torsti, Director of the European Training Foundation (ETF)

João Costa, Director of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (EASNIE)

Europe’s labour market is facing a contradiction it continues to manage rather than resolve. Employers across the EU report persistent difficulty in finding the skills they need, but access to talent from outside Europe’s borders remains limited and unnecessarily complex. And yet, according to recent Eurobarometer data, nearly half of Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises struggle to find workers with the right competences on home soil.

Given the hurdles they face, only around one in seven SMEs has even attempted to recruit workers from outside the EU.

The reason is not a lack of need, or even a genuine lack of available talent. It is a malfunction of the system itself. Administrative procedures around labour migration remain cumbersome and unpredictable. For smaller firms, in particular, this is enough to deter wider recruitment efforts beyond the EU’s external frontiers. As a result, vacancies often remain unfilled; not because the skills aren’t there, but because access to them remains restricted.

Against this backdrop (and somewhat ironically, from an economic perspective), foreign workers’ integration within the EU job market is increasingly framed as a threat. Not that we endorse a utilitarian view on immigration, however. Foreign workers typically look for better opportunities in their lives. In some cases, they are also fleeing poverty or war; but like all of us, they simply aspire to a life of peace and well-being. Integration is, first and foremost, about humanity. It just so happens that, in Europe especially, labour market integration also fulfils an effective need in the countries concerned.

Portugal offers a telling example. Recently, heated discussions have focused on limiting migrant workers’ access to social benefits, echoing a broader European narrative around the burden migrants place on national systems, despite considerable evidence indicating they actually contribute to the sustainability of the social security model. Indeed, the warped logic of exclusionary discourse obscures a basic economic reality. At a time when companies face acute labour and skills shortages, the real issue is not excess; it’s mismatch.

This discursive tension was evident in recent exchanges in Stresa, Italy, where policymakers and experts from EU Member States and partner countries gathered to discuss education and labour market reforms. A clear point emerged from the talks: mobility is increasing, but the systems designed to manage it are misaligned with labour market needs. Too often, countries focus on managing migration after arrival, rather than preparing for it prior to departure.

For migrant workers themselves, in most cases, having their qualifications recognised is a lengthy, onerous process. Recruitment channels also lack consistency and access to the labour market sees such workers occupy roles below their skill level. Upon arrival, it is not uncommon for highly skilled migrants to face roadblocks, unable to practise their profession for months or years due to slow recognition procedures. The results are wasted potential for individuals but also squandered resources for health systems and businesses that face shortages.

Conversely, when mobility is organised around skills, a more ‘virtuous’ cycle can emerge. Workers can enter jobs that reflect their abilities, companies source the competences they lack, productivity increases, and countries of origin remain connected to skills development. In this way, more ‘circular’ labour migration is given a chance to flourish. This kind of system generates mutual benefits, for countries of origin, countries of destination and migrants themselves. Socially, however, mistrust and scepticism are higher than ever, which is where historical experience comes into play.

Roughly 50 years ago, Portugal emerged from a dictatorship, with literacy levels leaving around 30% of the population without basic skills. With democratic transition came large-scale investment in education, predicated on the will to increase participation and build capacity. This historic shift reflected a time-honoured principle: by investing today, you reap the benefits tomorrow. The analogy is fitting for Portugal’s contemporary labour market too. If the country chooses to strategically dedicate resources to efficient, skills-first labour migration now, the returns will be greater in the long run. Investment in adult education and training for newcomers is also urgent. Addressing such challenges early is consistently less costly than remediating them later.

Ultimately, it becomes a question of antagonism between hostile public opinion (exclusion bias) and definite economic benefit (inclusion bias).

Portugal’s long experience of emigration adds another dimension. Historically (and indeed, today), the Portuguese workforce has had to adapt to foreign labour markets where recognition and skills matching were not immediate. Portuguese emigrants faced the same negative bias in the past when they fled in search of freedom and a better life. In the current context, similar frictions affect inward mobility, with a sad erasure of collective memory. Immigrants in Portugal today are not a threat in the same way Portuguese emigrants in the past were not a threat to anyone overseas. Stunting the integration of valuable foreign labour is therefore self-defeating. When recruitment stalls, projects are delayed, production is reduced and investment is reconsidered; and eventually, relocated.

European initiatives are beginning to address some of these structural gaps. The so-called ‘Talent Partnerships’ link the EU labour market with partner countries by aligning training with labour market demand and investing in skills before mobility occurs. The ‘EU Talent Pool’ also provides a framework for matching employers with candidates in fields beset by labour shortages. The European Training Foundation (ETF) contributes to this work by collaborating with countries neighbouring the EU to strengthen their education and training systems. Acting as a ‘bridge’ between the EU and partner countries, the ETF supports more organised mobility that benefits countries of origin and countries of destination.

However, we cannot run the risk of perfecting a model that only picks those with predefined matching skills. Workers should be made welcome, and countries need to develop training and education models that enables them to work, flourish and develop in their jobs and careers. The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (EASNIE) strives for a better inclusion of children arriving to European countries. Quality education for all, without segregation, promotes full inclusion in society and a better transition to adult life. This is the commitment of EASNIE’s member countries; the progressive development of models that improve inclusive education.

Public debate’s current emphasis on welfare eligibility highlights how migration is often considered only when individuals enter the host country. In earlier stages in the migration flow, skills recognition and potential access to employment remain less visible. Yet this is precisely where competitiveness and inclusion intersect, and where all parties have the most to gain – and all means all.

This op-ed was originally published in Portuguese-language weekly Expresso (Portugal) on 15 July 2026.

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