Welcome to the CMR Podcast's mini-series about the Horizon Europe project GS4S – Global Strategy for Skills, Migration and Development. In this project – running from 2024 to 2026 - fourteen partners from ten countries seek to better understand global skills shortages in the digital, care, and construction sectors, and foster skills development through innovative analyses. The project proposes multi-level evidence-based policies on labour migration governance and alternative ways to address these shortages in six regions: EU, EEA, Western Balkan, Middle East and Northern Africa, West Africa, and South/South-East Asia. In a mini-series of six podcasts, we will present some GS4S results and discuss their policy implications.
In the fourth episode of the GS4S mini-series, we explore barriers migrants in Europe face when accessing labor market or training opportunities. Prof. Tesseltje de Lange, director of the Centre for Migration Law, is joined by Ferruccio Pastore and Sara Korbi from FIERI, an independent and nonprofit association that has conducted research on migratory phenomena for more than 20 years. Ferruccio and Sara lead qualitative GS4S research on migrant skill waste and have recently published a GS4S comparative report on the topic (see show notes).
Ferruccio Pastore is the director of FIERI since 2009. He was previously deputy director of the Centre of International Policy Studies (CeSPI), a think-tank based in Rome. He is International fellow of the Institut Convergences Migrations in Paris and a member of the Expert Group on Economic Migration (EGEM) of the European Commission. Besides research, he actively participates in the public debate on migration policies at national and international level.
Sara Korbi holds a BA in International and Diplomacy Studies at the University of Trieste and a MA in International Relations at the University of Torino, where she specialized in Migration Studies. She also has practical experience in the field of international protection and international humanitarian law, gained through internships (Territorial Commission for the Recognition of International Protection, Gorizia; Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations, Geneva; UNHCR Representation to the EU, Brussels). She also worked as a legal officer at a reception center for asylum seekers managed by the Italian Red Cross.
Since 2022, after being awarded a Migricerca II scholarship for social research aimed at young people with a migrant background, she has been working steadily with FIERI, focusing in particular on the social and labor market inclusion of migrants.
The Horizon Europe project GS4S was funded by the European Union. We thank Boris Athmer and Dennis Arns from Radboud University for their help with recording, editing and publishing this episode.
Show notes
Horizon Europe GS4S project: www.gs4s.eu
Korbi, S., & Pastore, F. (2025). How to make the most of migrants' skills: hurdles and potential of up-/re-skilling of migrant and refugee workers (Version 1). Global Strategy for Skills, Migration and Development (GS4S). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17630039
Horizon Europe DignityFIRM project: www.dignityfirm.eu
GS4S and DignityFIRM are coordinated by Radboud University. FIERI, guest of this episode, is a partner in both projects.
About the CMR podcast
The CMR podcast series presents interviews with scholars and experts in the practice of migration law (in both Dutch and English). We discuss current developments in European migration law and their impact in European member states as well as countries outside the EU. The talks provide a look behind the scenes of research and scholars' involvement in policy-making. Interesting therefore for other scientists and experts, but especially for politicians and policymakers at European and national level, consultants, interested citizens and, of course, our students.