Migration and Skills

The European Union (EU) is one of the most favored destinations for immigrants in the world. The subject of migration has been moving up the policy agenda of the EU for some time now. This increasing emphasis will continue with the EU 2020 (post-Lisbon) Strategy, which refers to the potential contribution of migration to EU growth and promotes the idea of labor mobility. Faced with an aging population, possible labor and skills shortages in the economies, and the need to compete for talent with countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United States, the EU is beginning to see legal migration as an opportunity and is thus taking a more proactive approach toward it.

'Migration and Skills: The Experience of Migrant Workers from Albania, Egypt, Moldova, and Tunisia' aims to unravel the complex relationship between migration and skills development. Based upon extensive field surveys carried out by the European Training Foundation and joint analysis of data with the World Bank, the book paints a precise picture of potential and returning migrants from four very different countries—two “traditional” (Egypt, Tunisia) and two “new” (Albania, Moldova) sending countries. It describes the skills these migrants possess, the extent to which migrants are able to use their skills and training while abroad, and the impact that the experience of migration has on their skills development. The book also offers suggestions on how the governments of countries sending migrants and countries receiving them could move towards more eff ective policies for managing legal migration flows. Policies that address the increasingly circular nature of migration benefit all parties involved.

By studying the phenomenon of migration in detail, 'Migration and Skills: The Experience of Migrant Workers from Albania, Egypt, Moldova, and Tunisia' seeks to promote a better understanding of the human faces behind migration: who they are and what they can offer, both to their host countries and their origin countries to which they return.