Strengthening Mobility to Tackle Skills Shortages: EARLALL at the Pact for Skills Thematic Seminar
16/05/2025
On 15 May 2025, members of the Pact for Skills gathered for a Thematic Seminar titled Securing and Retaining Skilled Workers to Tackle Skills Shortages.
The meeting opened with a presentation from Elin Danielsson, Policy Officer at the European Commission, DG HOME, titled “Legal Pathways to the EU and Talent Attraction.” The presentation underlined the importance of legal migration as a response to demographic shifts and persistent labour shortages across EU Member States. She emphasized that effective legal migration pathways are essential to attracting the talent needed for Europe’s economic recovery and its green and digital transitions.
EARLALL was proudly represented by Nicholas Waller, International Coordinator at the Working Life Department of the City of Borås (Sweden) and Coordinator of EARLALL’s Working Group on Mobility. He opened the “Good Practices” session with a presentation titled Good Practice from the Pact on Securing and Retaining Skilled Workers to Tackle Skills Shortages through Mobility. The presentation began with an introduction to EARLALL as a Brussels-based network that supports EU policy-making and promotes interregional cooperation in lifelong learning. It also highlighted the proactive work of Borås Stad – an associate member of EARLALL – where the Working Life Department promotes labour market inclusion through training and close collaboration with local partners.
A key element of his presentation was the Regional Skills Partnership for Lifelong Learning Mobility, launched in September 2024 by EARLALL’s Working Group on Mobility (coordinated by Region Västra Götaland in cooperation with Movetia). The initiative promotes mobility as a strategic response to skills mismatches.
The objectives include:
- Promoting skills development through mobility.
- Embedding lifelong learning perspectives.
- Reducing participation barriers, particularly for those with fewer opportunities.
- Facilitating international job shadowing and staff exchanges.
Nicolas presented forward-looking initiatives such as:
- Monitoring and sharing good practices.
- Clarifying the definition of “fewer opportunities” to promote inclusion.
- Developing a network of mobility promoters.
- Expanding the Mobility Matchmaking Tool to new stakeholders.
- Organising joint mobility project matchmaking events.
He concluded with real-world examples from the Mobility Matchmaking Exchange, involving learners and professionals from Borås Stad, Région Centre-Val de Loire (France), and Generalitat de Catalunya (Spain), supported by Erasmus+ and facilitated by EARLALL.
The event featured a rich array of voices with practical experience in skills and migration initiatives. Following Danielsson, Daniela Palermo (CIHEAM Bari) presented the NET-Work YOU initiative, aimed at increasing employment opportunities for young Egyptians in the green job sector. Her presentation detailed a five-phase structure including preparation, pre-departure training, a three-month work-based learning mobility, institutional capacity-building, and holistic re-integration support for returnees — including green start-up development.
Slavica Uzelac (European Federation of Building and Woodworkers) spoke about the LSP Construction initiative, addressing labour market integration through targeted support in the construction sector, while Sofia Santos Nunes (Social Services Europe) highlighted innovative practices from the LSP Long Term Care programme, focusing on the care sector and its workforce challenges.
The event concluded with a dynamic and thought-provoking panel discussion, where Nicholas Waller joined fellow speakers to reflect on how EU-level strategies are translated into tangible results on the ground. Together, the panelists examined challenges in implementation, shared lessons learned, and explored innovative approaches to ensure inclusive and effective talent attraction mechanisms across sectors and regions.
This exchange reaffirmed EARLALL’s critical role in shaping and delivering lifelong learning mobility across Europe. Through strategic partnerships and member engagement, the network continues to advance practical, inclusive, and scalable solutions to Europe’s evolving skills challenges. Nicholas Waller’s contribution underscored EARLALL’s position as a catalyst for regional innovation in education, employment, and mobility.
