Brussels (Brussels Morning) – The European Council supports creating an EU Talent Pool, an online platform matching jobseekers from outside the EU with EU job vacancies in shortage occupations. It aims to enhance EU labour market competitiveness and address skill shortages. Member state participation is voluntary, and the system includes safeguards for stability.
The European Council agreed to its position on a bid for an EU Talent Pool. The Talent Pool will be set up as an EU-wide online forum that will match profiles of jobseekers from outside the EU with job vacancies for lack occupations of EU employers. It seeks to facilitate the recruitment of talent from third countries who live beyond the EU, to make the EU labour market more competitive and to contain shortages in the European labour market.
Can the EU Talent Pool Attract Global Talent?
The EU Council‘s position strives to reconcile principles of fair recruitment with a protected and comprehensive migration system while also strengthening the position of the European Union in the global race for talent. Candidates from third countries will be able to enlist their profiles on the Talent Pool platform and provide details about their skills, qualifications, work background and language knowledge. The platform will also include job vacancies from employers in the EU (in participating member states).
What Impact Will the EU Talent Pool Have?
The EU Talent Pool will assist in overcoming some of the challenges fronted both by European employers who want to compel internationally and by third-country jobseekers. These challenges include apprehension about the accuracy, quality and comparability of capabilities and skills obtained abroad, difficulties in accessing and comprehending information about recruitment processes and the increased costs associated with these procedures. As the EU Talent Pool is indicated to tackle the problem of labour market deficiencies, only job vacancies that refer to established national or EU-wide shortage fields will be listed on the EU Talent Pool.
In line with the EU Commission recommendation, participation in the Talent Pool will remain unforced for member states. However, the Council determined that when member states decide to join the project, they should indicate which entities are permitted to take part in the Talent Pool – employers, temporary work instruments, private employment agencies or labour market intermediaries.
The Council has also placed in place a withdrawal procedure, with clear directions and a number of safeguards to assure stability in the system. According to the Council, a participating member state may shrink from the EU Talent Pool at any time. However, it must report its decision to the Commission no later than 6 months before the expected exit date.
Founded on the position member states decided that the Council will be able to begin negotiations with the European Parliament to find agreement on the final legislation.
The proposal was introduced by the European Commission on 15 November 2023. It is part of the talents and skill mobility package of the EU which seeks to attract more talent from outside the EU and to facilitate mobility within.
