Your Excellency Minister Kozlovskis,

Excellencies,

Director Pyke,

Distinguished delegates,

It is an honor to be with you today at this EMN Annual Conference on “Attracting and Retaining Talent in Europe.” Let me start by congratulating the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council on your excellent work in the area of migration and for hosting this meeting. What a joy to be in this beautiful and historic capital, Riga! Congratulations on the new National Library, the Castle of Light.

A skilled workforce is the basis of an innovative society — a society that can adapt to meet new challenges in a globalized world. This requires policies for attracting and retaining foreign talent at all levels, a pursuit that is becoming intensely competitive.

I wish to make three points: 1) the reality and irony of the global talent search; 2) a high road scenario in response to this reality; and 3) public and political support for migration.

I. Scene-Setter: the reality and irony of the global talent search

My first point is that the labour market for the highly skilled occupations is global, and so is the competition — and it is intense. With more than 1 billion migrants — one in seven people in the world — migration is a megatrend of this century. My thesis is three-fold: increased migration is inevitable, due to the digital revolution, distance-shrinking technologies, demographics and disasters; it is necessary, for durable and equitable economic growth; and migration is desirable, if well-governed. This perspective is particularly relevant in high-income, ageing societies and regions such as Europe with a negative replacement rate and shrinking population. A diverse population provides a competitive advantage for all economies, in particular small to medium economies, seeking to compete internationally. Migrants help drive economic growth through the culture, skills, languages, motivation and experience they bring. Migrants can have — and historically have had – a positive impact on growth: the “Europe 2020 Strategy” recognizes this — namely, that migration can be a key element in supporting regional economic growth and Europe’s global competitiveness. Indeed, EU countries face an estimated 40 million labour deficit by 2050 due to ageing.

The competition for migrant labor among the regions of the world will continue to increase rapidly. A recent McKinsey study found that — in the absence of efforts to upgrade the skills of the labour force — a shortage of 38 to 40 million highly skilled workers may arise in advanced economies by 2020. In the same period, China alone — a rapidly ageing society as well — is projected to have a gap of 23 million university-educated workers. Some EU countries have high unemployment rates; however, disaggregating these statistics reveals structural unemployment throughout the EU — with dire shortages in specific sectors: ICT, health, engineering, and business services throughout the EU. 

The 28 EU countries’ different levels of attractiveness and accessibility to migrants — as well as different labour needs — present both (1) challenges for policy harmonization; and, (2) opportunities for innovative policy.

European countries are familiar with the departure of their own skilled nationals, some of them with migrant backgrounds themselves. According to a 2010 German poll, more than one-third of Germany’s ethnic Turkish professionals and university students — many of them German citizens — think of moving to Turkey (Futurorg Institute in Dortmund). On one hand, this kind of “brain circulation” is one of migration’s benefits; on the other hand, it is also important, if one wants to retain talent, to understand why diaspora populations leave.

The cruel irony of the moment, however, is that rather than meeting our goal of attracting and maintaining talent, we have created a “perfect storm”. First, in spite of the immediate and urgent need for migrants in all skill categories — anti-migrant sentiment is growing in Europe; and this, despite the clear evidence of the benefits that migration brings. Second, our restrictive policies have tended to contribute to an increase in irregular migration linked with exploitation, as anti-migrant sentiment tends to drive increasing numbers of migrants into the hands of traffickers and smugglers. Already this year, in less than three months, some 500 migrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean (out of a total of at least 608 migrant deaths around the world). (Perhaps those opposing Mare Nostrum as a so-called “pull factor” for migrants may wish to review their position — for Mare Nostrum ceased its operations in December.) Third, at the same time — to  complete the “perfect storm,”  public confidence in governments’ ability to manage migration effectively has declined.

So what’s to be done? This brings me to my second point.

II. A “High Road” Scenario to Attract Talent and Reduce Migration Costs

First of all, those countries that (a) facilitate regular migration — which helps decrease irregular migration — and (b) reduce the human and financial costs of migration are more likely attract and retain migrants than countries that do not. The latter will suffer economically and socially. To reduce these costs, better approaches to identifying talent and maximizing its potential are essential.

IIa. Identify and encourage talent

Who are these highly skilled migrants? Those with postgraduate degrees, or those with long professional experiences? What about entrepreneurs? A 2013 study conducted over seven years found that native Europeans are more likely to upgrade to more skilled and better paid occupations when flexible national labor markets facilitate a large number of immigrants to enter. Many migrants establish SMEs themselves.^[1] Unfortunately, many skilled migrants,  who would be able to create jobs, would not pass the “highly skilled” criteria; nor do these criteria tell us how a particular migrant would fare.

Employers report^[2] that they seek resilience, adaptability, intellectual agility and versatility, but not all educational systems produce or assess these skills. The answer, therefore, is not to focus exclusively on high-skilled migrants, but implement measures to allow ALL — nationals and migrants, including refugees and asylum-seekers — to fulfil their potential, and thereby make the best of the resident talent. In this regard, education comes first: in the EU, 33 per cent of migrant children leave school early compared to 14 per cent for EU nationals. Given the number of migrants who moved as children and who went on to found successful global companies, it does not make sense to neglect this source of talent. Second, recognize qualifications and competencies to minimize “brain waste” and “de-skilling,” a phenomenon that is particularly harmful to women migrants.

Just as we want educated migrants and migrant children and therefore want to ensure they have access to our schools — so also do we want migrants and migrant families to have access to public health facilities so that we have healthy migrants — after all, healthy migrants make healthy countries. Migrants’ access to public service should be viewed as serving the national interest — not as doing migrants a favor (which is the common stereotype). 

Overcome barriers of bias and discrimination; recognize competences; facilitate access to education and training; help employers to recruit and employ legally, both internationally and within the country; and support employers in managing a diverse workforce. And recognize that having more highly skilled workers may also mean a growing demand for the various services provided by the lower-skilled workers.

IIb. Attracting talent: reduce migrants’ costs

Recruitment abroad is a daunting task for many EU businesses — small and medium enterprises — in the absence of ethical recruiters. Unscrupulous recruiters extort large fees from desperate migrants — to the detriment of migrants and employers and lure many abroad under false pretenses and false promises. IOM’s response is the “International Recruitment Integrity System” (IRIS) – an initiative to create a set of principles and standards to accredit ethical recruiters and facilitate reliable migrant recruitment for businesses of any size. A linked area — facilitating clear and cost-effective visa processes (VACs) is also an IOM area of expertise; IOM’s Visa Assistance Centres help reduce costs while promoting regular migration and reducing irregular migration by providing regular channels.

Other cost-reducing measures would include reduced remittance costs and multiple-entry visas, to allow migrants to visit their families or return temporarily. Money houses charge 10-15 per cent for transferring heard-earned money home. IOM’s joint project with the Universal Postal Union would reduce the costs of remittance transfers to below 5 per cent. Given that global remittances total USD 450 billion, this would save families some USD 25 million -- savings to put bread on the table, educate children, and provide care to the sick and elderly.

Some countries have taken innovative measures that help them benefit from migrants’ plural identities and trans-national lives. Estonia, for example, offers e-residency for entrepreneurs and others who may be interested in the broad range of the government’s digital services, for setting up businesses.

My third point is a question:

III. Public and Political Support – Stumbling Block or Building Block?

Third, given the long-term nature of Europe’s skill shortages, public and political support is absolutely necessary to retain and cultivate talent, to change the migration narrative, and to manage social diversity.

If there is to be broad-based support for migration policies, elected leaders and government officials — at all levels — must take the initiative to create a more balanced and open migration dialogue with their constituents; address concerns and explain the benefits that migrants bring.

An open dialogue combined with integration is necessary for political and public support for migration policies; and this support is indispensable if Europe wants to attract and retain the talents it needs and manage and benefit from diversity.

Effective integration is essential to this open dialogue — from (a) pre-departure cultural orientation that has proven so effective, to (b) language bridging classes once in the country, and (c) community-based activities that help host populations learn about migrants, develop mutual respect for rights and responsibilities, and include migrants in their communities.

To be perfectly honest with you — mayors, in my experience, live much closer to migrants than do some of our parliamentarians and politicians. It’s very simple — it is the mayors who have to ensure jobs, shelter, security, access to public services, and ultimately, the social and economic integration of migrants. In this regard, IOM is convening a global conference on the theme “Migrants and Cities” in October — an initiative designed to bring together mayors from around the world to share experiences, lessons learned and best practices.

Integration requires us to embrace and manage social diversity: to accept that migrants, like their hosts, have multiple identities, and can retain their roots and interests in countries of origin while trying their wings in becoming part of host societies and investing in them. Sustaining the dialogue and integration requires the full participation of all actors — migrants and host communities alike. There is no contradiction between the integration of migrants, on the one hand, and their remaining an active diaspora to support their countries of origin and families back home.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Europe’s urgent need to attract and retain migrants illustrates that increased migration is inevitable, necessary and desirable, if well-governed. Europe will be successful in attracting and retaining talent to the extent to which it identifies the right talents; facilitates regular and ethical labour migration; reduces the human and financial costs for employers and migrants; adopts a balanced public dialogue; pursues an active program of public education and information on migration; and facilitates integration — all needed to ensure durable political and popular support from host communities and migrants alike. Diverse societies attract talent and are productive. Attracting and retaining talent poses two challenges: (1) fostering and managing diversity; and (2) changing the migration narrative to one that more honestly and fairly recognizes the overwhelming positive role that migrants have played historically in all our countries — yours and mine.

^[1] Giovani Peri, “Immigration and careers of European workers: effects and the role of policies,” IZA Journal of European Labour Studies 2013, 2:17, doi:10.1186/2193-9012-2-17, accessed from http://www.izajoels.com/content/2/1/17. See also, Francesco D’Amuri and Giovanni Peri, “Immigration, Jobs and Employment Protection: Evidence From Europe,” Working Paper 17139, National Bureau of Economics Research, Cambridge, MA, June 2011, accessed from http://www.nber.org/papers/w17139.  

The competition for workers stretches far beyond the EU and shows that countries will have to compete for migrants that they have gotten used to taking for granted The United States and Mexico are now competing for agricultural labor. Most of the estimated 1 million agricultural workers in the U.S. are from Mexico, but the pool is declining due to shrinking birthrates, rising education, and more jobs in nonagricultural sectors in Mexico.

^[2] Global Talent Index, Economist Intelligence Unit, 2011.