The national report for the study of the European Migration Network (EMN) “Sustainable labour market integration of third-country nationals: skills matching policies and instruments” provides an overview of the causes of migrant skills mismatch, state policies for promoting sustainable labour market integration and preventing skills mismatch, as well as the main challenges and good practices in addressing the issue of migrant skills mismatch.
More than half of European companies consider the skills shortage to be a problem that cannot be postponed as companies cannot find workers with the right qualifications and skills to fill vacancies. The shortage of workers with the appropriate skills is expected to worsen in the future, so the question becomes increasingly relevant: how to effectively use the skills of migrants already living and working in the European Union?
This issue has not been a national policy priority in Latvia, although it has been discussed more since the arrival of Ukrainian civilians, which resulted in a relatively large number of third-country nationals entering the labour market over a certain period of time. However, according to the interviewed experts, the reasons for the skills mismatch for all types of migrants in Latvia are generally the same and the main ones highlighted are the lack of official language skills, limited access to information about the labour market, employers’ concerns and the related need to practically assess migrants’ skills to work in the local environment, and the complexity and duration of the procedure for the recognition of qualifications obtained abroad.
Various measures and initiatives aimed at increasing the employment of the population and the integration of third-country nationals are in place. In 2023, the Integration and Inclusion Agency was established to provide timely and targeted consultations and practical support to third-country nationals on various issues. The State Employment Agency offers a wide range of active employment measures for job seekers. A support program is available for adults to obtain new qualifications or improve existing skills in professions with high demand in the labour market. Latvian language courses of various levels are also available for third-country nationals.
Summarizing the expert opinions, it was concluded that the biggest challenges are still the acquisition of the Latvian language skills, the complexity and length of the professional qualification recognition procedure, and the mismatch between employers’ requirements and migrants’ practical skills and readiness. At the same time, examples of good practices were also noted, such as Latvian language courses available to migrants and measures implemented by the State Employment Agency to promote employment and cooperate with employers.