The Role of Employers and Employer Engagement in Labour Migration from Third Countries to the EU

This paper is part of the joint project between the Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission and the OECD’s Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs on “Review of Labour Migration Policy in Europe”. This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Grant: HOME/2013/EIFX/CA/002 / 30-CE-0615920/00-38 (DI130895). A previous version of this paper DELSA/ELSA/MI(2015)8 was presented and discussed at the OECD working party on migration in June 2015. The paper examines the ways in which employers are protagonists in international labour migration, and what can be done to ensure that they are partners in increasing European attractiveness for internationally mobile talent. Facilitating movement of Intra-Corporate Transfer (ICT) workers in multinational companies, improving the ability of SMEs to access foreign workers, as well as attracting entrepreneurs and investors in the EU single market, are the three principal channels examined in the report. The paper provides recommendations for policy development in these three areas.