Extending the talent pool as a driver for growth.

Speak to any European entrepreneur, and you will have heard something along the following lines: “I can’t find qualified people”, “our biggest challenge is retaining talent”, and “we need to up-skill our employees”.

Companies' ability to attract and retain their workforce are under pressure due to several factors. Not only is the overall workforce in decline due to ageing. But low unemployment rates, strong labor markets and a global reset of priorities following the Covid Pandemic have made Europeans more than ever ready to leave their jobs. Inadequate compensation, lack of career development and advancement, and uncaring and uninspiring leaders are the most commonly cited reasons for leaving. Also, when they retire, they’re more likely to be gone for good—reducing the pool of potential workers for European employers.

To make matters worse, the HR industry has been focused on shifting talent left and right, not maintaining or extending the talent pool.

Retain and excite existing talent.

We strongly believe that entrepreneurs and private companies can play a vital role in ensuring employees do not permanently leave the workforce by improving their career development through education, better employer matching and a more dynamic labor market.

We look forward to supporting entrepreneurs building services and products in the areas of professional development, education, coaching and talent matching, especially those with solutions for more experienced employees.

Additionally, we would like to support companies in doing more with their existing talent by enabling them to train and integrate digital skills to ensure continued performance and happiness and helping them implement retraining programs to retain workers.

Attract and integrate global top talent.

One key solution to the workforce shortage problem is to attract talent from regions where it is available and integrate it into our strong economic areas. We see two large trends emerging.

First, EU internal labor mobility has been on the rise from 0.4% of the total population in ‘03 to 0.6% per year in ‘17, but is still only a fraction of the US interstate movement of 2.4%. We expect this gap to close further and internal mobility to be a strong force in solving the demographic crisis.

Second, as worst-hit economies such as Germany come to terms with reality, we see economic pressure driving the government and private sector to take action. Policies such as the “Skilled Immigration Act” in Germany but also changing language requirements aim to make our economy more attractive destinations for global talent.

Immigrants everywhere face similar challenges. A lack of information before, during and after they leave their home countries as well as language problems and cultural integration.

That is why we are super excited to see entrepreneurs tackle these challenges. We are strong believers in those companies that will be able to combine classic HR services such as visa-application support, recruiting and language training with community building and culture training to help established businesses attract and retain international talent.