Synergies

Our Horizon sister projects

Link4Skills is one of three EU-funded research and innovation projects addressing the topic “Global Shortages and Skill Partnerships”. We cooperate closely with Skills4Justice and GS4S, our two sister projects featured below. Working in parallel, we share our results with each other and jointly organise events.

SKILL PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE AND JUST MIGRATION PATTERNS

SKILLS4JUSTICE focuses on conducting a systemic analysis of skills shortages in five EU countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Lithuania) and six non-EU countries (Turkiye, UK, Norway, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Ethiopia) amidst global workforce migration. The research aims to provide evidence on the nature and development of skill shortages and explore the potential of skills partnerships in addressing these shortages in both migrant destination and origin countries. The four main research objectives include designing a shortage model for skilled worker recruitment, evaluating labor markets to assess workforce needs and shortages, surveying skilled migrant workers for their perspectives, and analyzing conditions influencing local development and foreign upskilling in destination countries. The project also aims to prepare a toolkit for implementing skills partnerships, facilitating sustainable investments, and addressing challenges related to skill shortages and migration.

GLOBAL STRATEGY FOR SKILLS MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT

In light of EU challenges relating to an aging workforce and the energy transition, the EU faces a shortage of relevant skills. GS4S seeks to better understand global skills shortages in selected sectors (Digital, Care and Construction), strengthens evidence-based policies through new evidence on various overlooked global mobility schemes.The project analyzes strategies of Multinational Enterprises and Small- and Medium Enterprises in filling shortages, alongside skilled migrant workers’ experiences in EU and non-EU regions. Through multi-level policy proposals and mixed-methods research, GS4S provides actionable data and tools for policymakers and businesses, fostering sustainable global strategies for skills, migration, and development.

Our common goals

  • Enhance EU migration governance by matching analyses of skills shortages in the EU and in non-EU countries.
  • Provide tools to decision-makers to navigate skill shortages in EU labour markets.
  • Present an overview of the trade-offs of filling shortages with migrant workforce vis-à-vis other alternatives such as education/local – and re upskilling/automation.