Events
The first partners meeting, Vytautas Magnus University, the 5th-6th February 2024.
The kick-off meeting of the project took place at the Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas (Lithuania) on the 5th and 6th of February 2024. This meeting covered many topics of discussion. The project officer Mr. Angel Fuentes Mateos from the European Commission presented the Horizon programme and general requirements for the project management, financial management, dissemination, and exploitation of the projects. Project coordinator Vidmantas Tūtlys presented the goal, objectives, and work packages of the SKILLS4JUSTICE project. There were also discussed the principles and requirements of project management and financial management. Then partners discussed planning of dissemination and data management processes. Significant share of the meeting was dedicated to the drafting of the theoretical framework of the research and development of the methodologies of research in the work packages 2 and 3 dealing with the analysis and modelling of skill matching and migration pathways in the project partner countries. Partners decided that the next partners meeting will be hosted by the ITB University of Bremen (Germany) on the 16th-17th September 2024.
27 - 30 August 2024 - European Conference on Educational Research, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus. Vocational Education and Training Network (VETNET) Research Workshop Skills Shortage and Recruitment of Skilled Workers in the EU, UK, and Norway: Development of Local Human Capital or Immigration? 30th of August 2024
Presenters: Vidmantas Tūtlys, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania, Michael Gessler, Andreas Saniter, Kristina Kühn, ITB Bremen University, Germany.
In this workshop the representatives of the project consortium presented the first interim findings of research executed in the framework of the EU Horizon Europe programme project “Skill Partnerships for Sustainable and Just Migration Patterns (Skills4Justice) implemented in 2023-2026. Research workshop aimed to disclose and discuss the implications of the skills shortage models of two migration destination countries in Europe (Lithuania and Germany) for the choices of economic stakeholders and policy makers between the investment in the development of local human capital and attracting migrant workforce. The workshop was based on the following research questions: 1) What are the common and specific features of skill matching and skills shortages in the countries? 2) How are the eventual skill mismatches and shortages regarded and treated by the enterprises, education and training providers and policy makers? 3) Tow what extent and how immigration and attracting foreign workforce is favored as solution of skill matching and shortage problems?
The participants of the workshop outlined the relevance and importance of the conducted research study. During the discussion there was outlined that research on migration and skill matching should take into consideration the ever-present gap between the policy intentions and plans and their real implications for the solution of targeted problems. Skills-based integration of migrant workers in the labour markets of destination countries is a highly complex process, especially when it comes to matching of the skills and qualifications possessed by the migrant workers with the skills demand of the enterprises. This matching is often strongly biased by the subjective and diverging understanding of the essence of needed skills by the migrant workers themselves, employers and governments. In discussing the typical problems of relationship between skills shortages and migration in the destination countries, the participants of research workshop outlined the challenges related to the fair division of responsibilities and costs of the integration of labour migrants, difficulties in developing social capital and trust in the skills of migrant workers and their proving instruments, lack of experience and know how of the responsible institutions, social partners and society in general in accepting and integrating migrant workers, strengthening of the polarized politics in the field of migration in the context of geopolitical tensions in Europe. There were also outlined challenges of the recognition of skills of migrant workers, promotion of the vocational education and training pathway amongst them, difficulties of language education. From the point of view of the origin countries and migrant workers themselves the biggest challenges, according to the participants of workshop, concern enhancing of the return or circular migration to enable mutual benefits from the accumulation of skills, as well as lack of understanding and knowledge about the economic costs and psychological consequences of the labour market integration for the migrants themselves.
Conference paper: https://zenodo.org/records/13237349
Slides of the workshop:
ECER 2024 SKILLS4JUSTICE workshop_20240830_KK
The second partners meeting, ITB Bremen University, 16th-17th of September 2024
On the 16th and 17th of September 2024 the partners of Skills4Justice project met at the Institute of Technology and Education of the University of Bremen, Germany. The meeting weas dedicated for the discussion of the progress and interim findings of research activities related to the design of the skill matching models of the destination and origin countries (work packages 2 and 3) and launching of the preparation for the survey of migrant workers planned in 2025 (work package 4). The presentations of partners gave a rather comprehensive picture to the commonalities and differences of the research findings concerning the interrelations between the skill matching and migration, as well as the multi-level context of these interactions. The interim research findings indicated important topics for the planned comparative studies and related publications which were also discussed in this meeting. There can be explored implications of the patterns of recruitment and employment of the migrant workers for the skill formation in the origin countries. Other interesting areas of research concern employment patterns of migrant workers in relation to skills shortages/mismatches in the different sectors of economy influenced by the green transition and digitalization, as well as emerging skill partnerships on recruitment and training of migrant workers in the sectors of economy. Attention of researchers will also be focused on the implications of the military conflicts and natural disasters for the forced emigration and resulting skill formation pathways of the forced migrants in the areas of employment and skill formation. Representatives from the Ankara University leading the survey of migrant workers in the work package 4 introduced the outline draft of the research methodology, key stages and methods of research covering desktop study, statistical analysis related to the situation of the migrant workers in the countries, quantitative survey and interviews with migrant workers. There were discussed the next steps for the preparation of this research activity.
Presentation of the project research at the HEIRS Conference
The project research findings were presented at the International Conference of the Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relationships “Civil Economy: an Old-New Paradigm. A conference in honor of Stefano Zamagni” organized by the LUMSA University on the January 31st – February 1st 2025. Vidmantas Tūtlys presented a paper “Theoretical perspectives of civil economy paradigm and capability approach in exploring skill matching and sustainable migration pathways” presenting the findings of the literature review and preliminary findings of analysis of the skills partnerships disclosed in conducting research of skill matching in the destination countries represented in the project (WP2). The paper has been submitted to the journal “International Review of Economics. Journal of Civil Economy” (Springer).
The third partners meeting in Skopje on the 10th-11th of March 2025
The partners discussed concluding steps of the analysis of skills mismacthes and their solutions in the work-packages 3 and 4. There were also discussed and finalised the design and methodology of survey of the migrant workers, as well as research instruments of the quantitative and qualitative study. Partners agreed to conduct the collecting of data from April to the end of July 2025
and then to proceed with the data analysis. The collecting of data and preliminary findings of surveys will be presented and discussed in the fourth partners meeting to be held in Ankara on the 4th and 5th of September 2025.
Presentation of the project research findings at the EBES Conference
Prof. Violeta Cvetkoska from the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje presented the findings of research at the 51st EBES Conference, which took place in Rome, Italy from the 11th to 13th of April 2025. The title of this presentation and conference paper is “Brain-Drain and Skill Mismatch: Can Higher and Vocational Education Bridge the Gap?” The paper can be found at the Results section of this website.
Presentation of the project research findings at the 34th European Conference on Operational Research EURO2025
Prof. Violeta Cvetkoska from the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, participated in the 34th European Conference on Operational Research (EURO 2025), held at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom on the June 22nd-25th 2025. This special edition brought together over 2,000 participants from around the world, including leading researchers, academics, and practitioners in the field of operational research. Within the Analytics Applications stream, she presented the paper titled “Solving Skilled Labor Shortages: A Data-Driven Approach”, co-authored with Prof. Vidmantas Tutlys and Prof. Jonathan Winterton, as part of the research conducted under a Horizon project. The paper offers an integrated analytical framework for identifying and predicting skilled labor shortages across 11 countries, using time-series models and analyzing structural, institutional, and geopolitical factors. The research supports policy-making and targeted interventions aimed at building a sustainable and resilient labor market.
Presentation of the project research findings at the 22nd IMISCOE Annual Conference
Vidmantas Tūtlys and Marta Pachocka together with the colleagues from the Horizon Europe sister projects Links4Skills and GS4S presented the findings of the research in the 22nd IMISCOE Annual conference held at Aubervilliers – Paris from the 1st to 4th of July 2025. The research of the Skills4Justice project was presented in the three conference interventions: Research workshop “Horizon Europe sister projects on challenging the EU-centric paradigms in skills shortages and labor migration research” held on the 2nd of July, Book Discussion on “Fair Migration Skill Flows. Focus on Origins” , and the paper session “Sustainable skills development: breaking with traditional binaries in knowledge production”, the last two held on the 3rd of July. This paper session included two presentations of the Skills4Justice project research results – the first presentation discussed sustainability aspects of the skills partnerships which involve training of the migrant workers, whereas the second disclosed commonalities and specificities of the training and employment of the war refugees from Ukraine in Lithuania and Poland.