The European Green Deal and the EU’s Digital Decade have firmly placed the green and digital transformations among the political priorities of the European Commission. However, without tailored policy measures in place, and given the current shortages in the EU labour market, these transitions may prove difficult to realise. 

A Science-for-Policy Brief by the European Commission Knowledge Centre for Migration and Demography (KCMD) outlines the extent to which migrants from non-EU countries contribute to the EU twin transition through employment in related occupations. It also looks into their educational achievements, age, reasons for migrating and regions of origin. The analysis relies on Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey microdata for the period 2011-2021. 

The overall share of non-EU migrants among the employed EU workforce is relatively low (4.4%) and even more so in occupations relevant for the twin transition. However, their higher participation in occupations experiencing persistent labour shortages indicates an important contribution to filling skills gaps and labour needs. 

The largest share of migrants employed in the EU originates from non-EU European countries. The four largest EU economies (Germany, Italy, Spain and France) host the majority of them, indicating substantial differences between Member States.

The analysis reveals that migrants in digital occupations are mainly highly educated, young people, who have recently migrated to Europe for further education and training or following a job offer. This seems to suggest a good level of attractiveness of the EU digital sector. Skills gaps in green occupations are filled by migrants whose reasons for migration are more diverse, as are their education levels. 

The findings of the report highlight the importance of both migration and tailored labour market policies and programmes to fully harness the potential of migrants in the EU green and digital sectors. These include measures to maintain the EU’s attractiveness in the global race for talent but also to guarantee that this happens in ways that are fair and just, both for the EU and the origin countries. 

These results are relevant for existing and future mobility schemes, for integration measures, as well as for broader policies on green and digital labour markets.