How companies in Europe are struggling to recruit workers from outside the EU

The Commission said the EU faces “persistent labour and skills shortages across key economic sectors, with about 84 per cent of all occupations in shortage in at least one EU Member State in 2023”.

The EU executive adds that the potential to recruit foreign workers “remains largely untapped”, especially by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represent 99 percent of all EU businesses.

Few SMEs tried to hire workers outside the EU in the past two years, with proportions ranging from 2 percent in Hungary, to 7 percent in Sweden, 9 percent in France, 11 percent in Austria, 15 percent in Denmark, Spain and Italy, 25 percent in Germany and 48 percent in Malta.

Among those that have recruited outside the EU, 54 per cent said the process was “difficult”.

Complex administration and immigration procedures were the most frequent barriers (31 percent), followed by difficulty finding suitable candidates (25 percent) and language issues (24 percent), according to the survey.

Positive views were also expressed, with almost a quarter of recruiters (24 percent) saying not to have had any problems. The highest share was reported in Greece (67 percent) and Portugal (46 percent), while few companies (less than 10 percent) said they had no issues in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Among companies that have recruited third-country nationals, more than 60 percent said their integration and retention was easy.

Among SMEs that have not tried to recruit outside the EU (86 percent), the most common perceived barriers were language requirements, administrative and regulatory procedures, and the recognition of qualifications.

The survey also showed that recruitment for both EU and non-EU citizens typically occurs via informal contacts and employee referrals, while private agencies were mentioned more frequently for international recruitment.

Companies said hiring outside the EU could become easier with financial support, information and guidance, assistance in finding candidates, help with workplace integration, and immigration and relocation support.

The Commission is launching the EU Talent Pool, a platform for international recruitment meant to help ease skill shortages. The Commission also recently proposed a new visa policy asking EU countries to make procedures "simpler and faster" for skilled workers.

READ ALSO: How the EU's new Talent Pool for non-EU jobseekers will work

Magnus Brunner, Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, said the results of the survey "clearly shows that we must help our businesses to attract talent".

"With the visa strategy, we aim to facilitate international recruitment. We need to simplify and speed up procedures through digitalisation, less red tape and smoother transitions from study to work or entrepreneurship," he said.