On 15 November, the European Commission presented a series of new initiatives in a Skills and Talent Mobility package to make the EU more attractive to talent from outside EU, and to facilitate mobility within. Feeding into the European Year of Skills, the package consists of three major initiatives:

A newly established EU Talent Pool aims to facilitate the recruitment of jobseekers from non-EU countries in EU-wide shortage occupations, and help employers access a wider pool of skills and talent by sharing information on recruitment and migration procedures through a platform managed by interested member states. This new initiative is linked to Talent Partnerships with non-EU countries, providing mobility for work or training. The Commission's proposal for an EU Talent Pool will negotiated by the European Parliament and the Council.

A dedicated set of measures will simplify and speed up the recognition of skills and qualifications of third country nationals, bringing it closer to the system established for EU nationals that move to another member state. The aim is to develop the capacity of national recognition authorities to simplify and expedite procedures by improving comparability of third country qualifications and of how to assess jobseekers' skills, particularly in priority regulated professions. In the next step, the Commission will support member states’ implementation of the Recommendation on recognition of qualifications of third country nationals, and invite them to report on national initiatives, reforms, good practices and statistics.

The proposed Council Recommendation ‘Europe on the move – learning mobility opportunities for everyone' aims to boost mobility in all areas of education and training by setting new goals for 2030: increasing the share of mobility experience to at least 25% for higher education graduates, at least 20% of all learners benefiting from learning abroad for those with fewer opportunities, and at least 15% for vocational learners. The proposal also promotes the attractiveness of the EU as a learning destination for talent from third countries, in line with the geopolitical dimension of the European Education Area. The Recommendation ‘Europe on the Move' will be submitted to the Council for its consideration and adoption.

ACA welcomes this new package putting these crucial topics into the spotlight. It is of utmost importance to provide sufficient funding both at European and national levels and to develop further capacity of all actors involved to support its implementation on the ground.