- Funding Programme
- Year
- 2023
Improving the economic migration framework to attract and retain qualified talent in Flanders and Wallonia
The Commission will support the Belgian regions of Flanders and Wallonia improve their economic migration management to facilitate attraction and retention of sought-after profiles from third country nationals, resulting in the supply of a well-qualified workforce that can meet the labour needs of domestic employers.
Context
Both Flanders and Wallonia face cyclical and structural labour shortages. Accentuated by the COVID 19 pandemic, both regions are facing challenges in procuring the right skills, including through improving the opportunities, channels and mechanisms for employers in Flanders and Wallonia to recruit third-country nationals from outside their regions. Ultimately, the current situation risks jeopardising economic growth in the region and addressing it is expected to encourage investment and improve competitiveness.
Support delivered
The support measures for each region will include:
- Analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the regional economic migration frameworks for Flanders and Wallonia.
- Identification of international good practices, including regulatory elements, that can be applied to each regional attraction, retention and migration governance framework.
- Identification of potential initiatives to support international recruitment in each region.
- Recommendations for regulatory and procedural changes in the respective economic migration governance frameworks of Flanders and Wallonia.
Results achieved
The project is expected to result in the regions’ increased ability to attract and retain third-country nationals with sought-after skills, as well as their overall ability to govern economic migration.