Welcome to the Harnessing Talent Platform
Newsletter!

Europe's got talent. But talent needs to be nurtured, especially as the EU is going through an important demographic transition, as highlighted by the 2023 Report on the Impact of Demographic Change.

In 2023 the Commission published a Communication on Harnessing Talent in Europe's Regions and launched the Talent Booster Mechanism, which aims to bring a fresh impetus for reskilling and upskilling as this year’s first key initiative to contribute to the European Year of Skills.

This Mechanism will support EU regions affected by the accelerated decline of their working age population to train, retain and attract the people, the skills and the competences needed to address the impact of the demographic transition.

The Harnessing Talent Platform (HTP) will help regions exchange experiences, share good practices and access knowledge. The Platform will hence be a key support tool for regions to address the consequences of the demographic change and mitigate the challenges associated with the decline of tertiary educated populations across the EU.

This quarterly newsletter will deliver the latest updates around the Harnessing Talent Platform directly to your email. Here is what you can expect:

• latest news of the Platform
• progress and insights from our Working Groups around these areas: Digital, Health, Territorial and R&I
• updates about our Technical Assistance services and how to address regions’ untapped potential
• links to key resources and publications around harnessing talent in Europe’s regions
• first-hand information about past and upcoming events  
• details concerning the EU's Talent Booster Mechanism and its activities such as open calls and funding opportunities

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• learn about the support offered to EU cities, regions, and Member States by the European Commission through the Talent Booster Mechanism and the Harnessing Talent Platform
• find out the list of 10 selected regions to receive expert support to attract, develop and retain talent from Pillar 1 of the Talent Booster Mechanism
• reflect on relevant policies for attracting, retaining and developing talent and how the underlining demographic transition influences the prosperity of EU’s regions
• gain insights from experts and hear about key trends and best practices

This event will be hosted by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). 

You can find and download a detailed agenda of the event here.

The WGs aim to facilitate discussions and strategic exchanges among stakeholders from different territorial levels, focusing on harnessing talent in Europe and the territorial impacts of demographic changes. Their first meeting will take place in Brussels on 24 November 2023. The work of these WGs aims to provide insights into how regions can address demographic challenges, attract, develop, and retain talent, and ultimately, create policies and guidance based on their findings. 

Follow the Working Groups’ work and get to know their members here.

• The mobility of students contributes to host countries' economies and labour markets
• Retaining students after graduation can address labour market and population needs, particularly in areas outside major cities
• Creating welcoming and inclusive environments is crucial to attract and retain foreign students
• The benefits of student migration positively affect the entire EU population

Read the full article here and stay tuned for more insightful articles!

You can also find out more here or download the full document directly via this link.

You can find more information about this session as well as some quotes here.

On this occasion, we also invite you to watch the reply of the high-level thematic session on “Retaining talent for regional growth”, where EC Vice-President Dubravka Šuica is discussing best practices on how to attract more skilled workers in regions.

• Skills and Talent Mobility package – Commission proposes new measures on skills and talent to help address critical labour shortages.
• Opening of the call 'Capacity Building Strand 2b' under the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument
• The vote on the European’s Parliament report on harnessing talent in Europe’s regions is foreseen on 23 November 2023. Yesterday the Commission made a short presentation on harnessing talent during the plenary sitting in Strasbourg: Sitting of 21-11-2023 | Plenary | European Parliament (europa.eu)