In the last decade, migration within Europe’s borders has increased exponentially.
One major motive for this increased mobility can certainly be attributed to globalization, but it’s also important to consider how advanced European societies have become more and more interested in “luring” highly skilled foreign workers in their own country.
Better opportunities and a more competitive global economy are just two, albeit the most important, of the factors that play a key role in attracting highly skilled workers to a foreign economy.
According to some estimations, in 2017, it is estimated that the number of people who have relocated from their birth country towards a new one is close to 260 million, with the figure growing larger by the day.
Around the year 2000, this figure was much smaller, registering around 180 million migrants across Europe.
The EU has taken notice of this drastic increase and has labeled the subject of migration as one of the high priority ones.
With insights from the European Commission, this map shows the skill level of workers who, for one reason or the other, decided to leave their birth country and to relocate elsewhere.
Understanding which countries are the most attractive destinations for highly skilled workers and lower-skilled workers alike can give an interesting view of the collective perception of that particular country.
For instance, Poland has a higher proportion of skilled workers than a much more conventionally attractive destination as the UK. France is the country of choice for many low skilled workers.
We can also notice that, in Ireland, 67% of the population born outside the Irish borders is highly skilled, which is a testament of the Government’s efforts to more easily integrate any foreign citizen in the Irish system.
Many more insights can be discovered on the map. In this day and age, the perception of a migrant portrayed in the news is more often than not accompanied by a negative caption or sensationalistic headlines stressing how much of a danger this increasingly high flux of people within the EU can be. It is of great importance not to fall into stereotypical views of society and to learn as much as we can from the stats provided to us. Differentiating between lower-skilled, medium-skilled, and highly skilled workers help us seeing things more clearly and provides the right context to an increasingly globalized world.
You can find the EU Migration map on the following link: https://www.accurity.ch/blog/eu-migration-map/
Nicola Clothier is CEO of Accurity GmbH, a Swiss-based employment service provider. Nicola has an Honours degree in English Literature from Stirling University and more than 20 years’ experience in Swiss employment, and personnel leasing up to executive level throughout Europe.
Accurity provides the legal and financial framework necessary for contract and permanent staff to take up employment in Switzerland. We support clients, contractors and recruiters to ensure each party is successful in achieving their goals in compliance with Swiss law.
