Supporting Talent Partnerships with Pakistan: Enhancing Legal Migration and Skills Development

Introduction

In the context of growing youth unemployment, labour shortages in the EU, and rising irregular migration, the European Union has partnered with Pakistan to establish a Talent Partnership that fosters safe, legal, and mutually beneficial labour mobility.

This project supports Pakistan in developing its human capital while addressing Europe’s demographic and labour market needs. Developing legal pathways to the EU and cooperatrion with major partner countries is one of the main pillars of the EU Pact on Asylum and Migration. Under the Pact, Talent Partnerships are one of the key implementation tools of the EU external policy on migration.

Against a backdrop of a booming youth population in Pakistan, high unemployment, and a rising preference among Pakistani workers for the EU as a destination, this Talent Partnership responds to a mutual need. For Pakistan, labour migration is a critical tool for poverty reduction and economic development (remittances alone amounted to USD 29 billion in 2022, equating to 7.7% of its GDP). At the same time, EU countries are facing structural labour shortages in key sectors such as healthcare, logistics, agriculture, and IT. The project is thus situated at a strategic intersection of development and migration priorities for both parties.

Scope and objectives

The programme will operationalise the EU-Pakistan Talent Partnership by implementing a comprehensive package of measures to improve legal labour migration and skills development. Specific actions include:

Supporting the design and implementation of legal migration and mobility schemes.
Building the capacity of Pakistani institutions to govern labour migration.
Facilitating the mutual recognition of skills and qualifications through assessments, certification support, and alignment with EU standards.
Enhancing collaboration between public and private actors in Pakistan and the EU to promote ethical recruitment and ensure demand-driven training.
Developing and delivering pre-departure training, language courses, orientation programmes, and support for reintegration upon return.
Conducting labour market analyses and data collection to better match Pakistani skills with EU labour shortages.
Raising awareness among potential migrants about legal migration pathways and helping reduce reliance on informal or exploitative channels.
Mainstreaming gender equality by ensuring at least 30% female participation in capacity-building and mobility activities, and by addressing gender-specific barriers to migration.
Coordinating with existing EU-funded initiatives, especially in vocational training and reintegration, to ensure coherence and maximise impact.

Results

The following results are expected:

Enhanced institutional and technical capacities in Pakistan to implement legal labour migration schemes.
Enhanced knowledge and understanding of current labour migration trends from Pakistan to the EU Member States.
Stronger operational frameworks to identify, select, train, and match Pakistani candidates with EU opportunities.
Strengthened collaboration between public and private actors from the EU Member States and Pakistan in the area of labour migration.
Improved migration governance through policy dialogue and coordination between Pakistani authorities and EU institutions.

Implementing Partners

GIZ

Funding instrument

NDICI – Global Europe