Global Skills and Talent Initiative: Research
Labor and skills shortages threaten the European Union’s economic growth. Attracting workers with sought-after skills from abroad will be an important means of addressing these challenges. This report examines best practices for designing and managing labor migration corridors between EU and non-EU countries, with the aim of benefiting countries of destination and origin, employers, and migrant workers alike.
European employers are increasingly reporting difficulties finding workers with the right mix of skills, in sectors ranging from health care to information and communications technology. Alongside investments in workforce training and reskilling, a more joined-up EU approach to attracting and admitting immigrant workers with in-demand skills could help European societies address these shortages, as this report describes.
Refugee labor pathways offer a potential win-win solution for displaced people with in-demand skills and industries facing acute labor shortages. Why and how do employers engage with these programs? This first-of-its-kind study examines the experiences, motives, and constraints of employers who have recruited workers through these pathways, and what those insights mean for discussions about scaling these programs up.
In the global race for talent, governments in Europe and beyond are exploring ways to attract workers with needed skills. At the same time, some lower- and middle-income countries are seeking to expand their nationals’ access to economic opportunities abroad. This policy brief examines employment- and skills-based mobility projects that seek to facilitate the movement of workers with in-demand skills, including their unique value-add and common challenges.
The level of education and training expected of workers in the United States has increased considerably in recent decades, and this trend looks set to continue. This report explores the forces driving this change and how the education levels of immigrant-origin and other workers compare to those likely to be needed in the future U.S. workforce, overall and in key occupational groups.
U.S. employment-based visa policies, last updated in 1990, are not aligned with the country’s current and future labor market needs. This policy brief outlines MPI’s proposal for a new visa pathway that could help the United States better leverage immigration to meet its labor market needs, boost protections for both U.S.- and foreign-born workers, and flexibly adapt to future economic and demographic changes.
U.S. colleges and universities have seen enrollment fluctuate over the last 20 years, shaped by demographic and economic changes in the United States and shifting views of the value of higher education. This issue brief explores how enrollment trends have played out for immigrants, the children of immigrants, and U.S.-born individuals with U.S.-born parents.
Inefficiencies in the U.S. immigration system and case backlogs are preventing individuals eligible for immigration to the United States from filling some of the millions of job vacancies. This policy brief outlines executive actions that could facilitate the migration of needed workers, retain immigrants already in the U.S. workforce, and ease challenges experienced by U.S. employers and their foreign-born workers.
College-educated immigrants are more likely to have advanced degrees than their U.S.-born peers with college degrees. But their educational levels have not always translated into similar occupational gains: They are more likely to be overeducated for their positions. Drawing on PIAAC data, this fact sheet sketches educational characteristics, monthly earnings, skill underutilization, and job quality for immigrant and U.S.-born college graduates alike.
The number of people who work from home or another location other than a traditional office has been growing for decades, but the pandemic has accelerated this shift—with important implications for immigration policy. This report examines trends in remote work, challenges digital nomads and employers face when navigating immigration systems, and opportunities to adapt immigration policies to keep pace with changes in the world of work.
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