The European Migration Network has published a new Inform, Exploring Legal Pathways to Fulfil Labour Needs, which examines trends, innovative methods and approaches in migration management in the context of talent partnerships aimed at legal. labour migration, mobility and skills development.
As emphasized in the new Pact on Migration and Asylum, the development of legal channels is an important tool not only in the context of labour migration, skills matching and addressing labour shortages, but can also potentially contribute to reducing irregular migration.
The information gathered in the Inform shows that initiatives aimed at legal labour migration, mobility and skills development are in place in most European Union Member States. Partnership initiatives with third countries, which are currently taking place in the Member States, take various forms and are currently being implemented by the Member States through bilateral agreements, programs and projects. Some Member States have employment-related legal migration systems or schemes for specific nationalities and / or professions and sectors. To date, Latvia has not implemented bilateral partnership measures and initiatives with third countries in order to purposefully attract labour in sectors where there is a labour shortage. Regarding complementary work-related pathways for persons in need of international protection to facilitate their integration into the labour market, most Member States, including Latvia, have reported no initiatives in this area. Some projects have taken place in France, Germany and Finland.