L4S Publications
Here are key outputs from the Link4Skills project, including two books, 20+ working papers, a dozen corridor briefs, two policy briefs, and multiple newsletters.
Watch this space – more insights into skills, migration, and the future of work are on the way.
Policy Briefs
Link4Skills policy briefs translate project findings into recommendations for European and national policymakers addressing labour-market shortages, skills mismatches and fair skilled mobility.
The first brief, published in January 2025, examines how artificial intelligence and automation are reshaping European labour markets. It explores their effects on employment, productivity and demand for migrant workers, and recommends measures to support workforce adaptation and inclusive labour-market transitions.
The second brief, Towards a policy mix for fair skilled mobility, complements this focus by examining how skills development, selective migration, responsible automation, skills recognition, job quality and ethical recruitment can work together. It sets out recommendations for matching policy instruments to specific labour-market needs, highlighting Skills Mobility Partnerships and the Link4Skills Navigator as tools for supporting fair outcomes for workers and countries of origin and destination.
Books
Cross-border skill mobility partnerships: A handbook of good practices
Fatma Yilmaz-Elmas, 2026 | 60 pages
Building fairer skill mobility partnerships starts with learning from practice.
Cross-border Skill Mobility Partnerships: A Handbook of Good Practices draws on Link4Skills research to explore fairer approaches to working across borders. Through eight cases, it examines how partnerships can connect training, qualification recognition and employment while supporting workers throughout their journeys. The handbook highlights adaptable practices alongside challenges, including limited reintegration support and barriers to inclusion. It concludes with recommendations for designing partnerships that respond to local needs and benefit countries of origin and destination. A practical resource for policymakers, practitioners, employers, training providers and researchers seeking to build fairer, more sustainable skills mobility.
Access the book free of charge by clicking below.
Fair Skilled Mobility: A Manifesto
Edited by Izabela Grabowska and Mary Boatemaa Setrana
Routledge, 2026 | 248 pages | Open Access (funded by Horizon Europe)
What would it mean to get skilled migration right — for everyone?
This open-access volume proposes a fundamental reframing. Rather than treating the movement of skilled workers as a problem of brain drain and human capital loss, it argues for a shift toward ethical, balanced, and sustainable frameworks built on mutual benefit. In a world reshaped by demographic change, automation, and AI-driven labour market transformation, the book offers a manifesto for action: 13 theses for transparent, fair, and sustainable skilled migration infrastructure.
Access the book free of charge by clicking below or via Taylor & Francis →
Migration Skill Corridor Briefs
Concise, evidence-based summaries of pioneering Link4Skills research on migration skill corridors. Derived from the project’s more detailed corridor reports, these briefs highlight migration trends, policy frameworks, good practices, and challenges shaping international skills mobility across parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America.
Working Papers
L4S Working Papers capture essential elements of our research and innovation activities. They provide insights into cross-border labour migration, skill stocks, brain gain & drain, migration corridors, and the development of the our AI-empowered Navigator.
About this series
The Link4Skills Working Paper Series provides an evolving platform for disseminating the conceptual, methodological, and empirical contributions generated within the Link4Skills consortium.
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xx This report presents a low-resolution prototype (mockup) of the Link4Skills Navigator. It’s essentially a status report on development of the Navigator as of November 2024. It describes the Navigator’s key functionalities and explains the ongoing development process. A functional prototype of the Navigator is due for release at the end of 2025.
Published Articles
Newsletters
Our L4S Newsletter keeps you up-to-date on the latest developments in our project.
Subscribe today and the latest version will be delivered straight to your inbox.
Country Profiles
Our Country Profiles provide relevant information about places where Link4Skills is conducting empirical fieldwork on transnational labour migration with a focus on migration skill corridors. Countries investigated include Austria, Canada, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland and Ukraine. New profiles are being added as they become available.
Flyers
This colourful flyer describes our project in a nutshell. It outlines our purpose, geographical scope, and innovational focus. A pdf document, it is designed for printing on A4, A5, or A3 paper.
This flyer introduces the AI-assisted Link4Skills Navigator, a prototype decision-support tool designed to help policymakers and labour market stakeholders address skill shortages and shape fair, effective migration pathways. It outlines the Navigator’s core features and invites relevant actors to contribute to its ongoing co-creation and refinement.
