Harnessing talents for vibrant rural areas
Approximately 30% of Europe’s regions suffer from rapidly shrinking labour force, low share of higher education and youth exodus. Rural areas, more than other regions, suffer from departure of youth, ageing and population decline as reported in the Demographic Report on the Impacts of Demographic Change published in early 2023. All these trends widen the urban-rural divide and territorial disparities in Europe.
To tackle this issue, the European Commission has recently launched the Talent Booster Mechanism to train, retain and attract people, especially in rural areas. This Mechanism was presented on 17 January as part of the European Commission’s Communication on Harnessing Talent in Europe’s Regions.
Through this new mechanism, the European Commission will launch a pilot regions to retain and boost talents in their region over the course of 2023. In addition, other initiatives such as the “Smart adaptations of regions to demographic transition” or a “Technical Support Instrument” will be launched.
Find out more on the official EU website!
Background
Both the Communication and Report builds on recent initiatives also launched by the European Commission, notably the recent consultation on “Brain drain- mitigating challenges associated with population decline” (2022) and the Demography Report of 2020. The current Talent Booster Mechanism also inscribes in 2023 European Year of Skills.
Published by Carla Lostrangio