In the fifth episode of the GS4S mini-series, we explore how Multinational enterprises (MNEs) and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Europe address their skill shortages, drawing from the GS4S business survey. Prof. Ayse Saka-Helmhout, the Chair of the Strategy and International Business section at the University of Radboud, leads GS4S work on business strategies for addressing skill shortages. She is joined by two project members from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Dr. Mariana Alvarado Chavez and Dr. Sandra Lavenex.

In this episode of the CMR Podcast’s GS4S mini-series, we examine why many migrants in Europe struggle to use their skills in the labour market. Tesseltje de Lange speaks with Ferruccio Pastore and Sara Korbi (FIERI) about “skill waste”, barriers to training and employment, and what policymakers can do to unlock migrants’ potential in sectors facing acute labour shortages.

In the third episode of the GS4S mini-series, we explore global mobility schemes. Prof. Tesseltje de Lange, director of the Centre for Migration Law, is joined by two migration experts: Kate Hooper, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), and Pablo Acosta, Lead Economist for Social Protection and Global Lead for Migration at the World Bank Group. At MPI, Kate leads global work on labor migration. Her research focuses on legal migration pathways, fair and ethical recruitment, the implications of remote work and other nontraditional working arrangements for immigrant selection systems, labor market integration, and complementary pathways for displaced populations. Kate is also the primary point person for the Transatlantic Council on Migration, MPI’s flagship international initiative. Kate has recently co-authored a GS4S working paper on mobility schemes, exploring the role they can play in addressing skills shortages in Europe. Pablo joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2008 and has worked as an economist in three regions: Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and East Asia and the Pacific. His main areas of expertise are social protection, labor policy, migration, and skills development. Pablo is a co-author of the 2025 report ‘’Global Skill Partnerships for Migration: preparing tomorrow’s workers for home and abroad.’’ 

In the second episode of the GS4S mini-series, Colleen Boland and Ksenija Ivanović have a conversation with Tommaso Frattini, a labor economist specializing in economics of migration at the Associazione Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano, one of partner organizations at GS4S.

Frattini coordinates the Migration Research area at the Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano. He is also Professor of Economics at the University of Milan, co-director of the Global Migration Information Hub at Rockwool Foundation Berlin, and a Research Fellow at CEPR, Dondena and Institute of Labor Economics in Berlin.

In this episode, Frattini discusses the overeducation of tertiary-educated migrants (coming from both EU Member States and third countries) in European labour markets and explores the immigrant-native gap in overeducation levels. Frattini elaborates on policy implications of this research, and in particularly the importance of improved procedures for recognition of foreign qualifications, better facilitation of language learning and other types of integration measures to improve labor market entry.

In the first episode of the GS4S mini-series, Colleen Boland and Ksenija Ivanović have a conversation with Mahdi Ghodsi, an Economist at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), one of the partner organizations at GS4S.

Ghodsi has extensive experience in applied econometrics, macroeconomic modelling, and data science, with a particular focus on global markets, trade policy, trade regulations, financial and labour market analysis, migration policy, economics of sanctions, and Iran’s economy. Recently, he led GS4S research on the role of skills shortages in shaping migration aspirations in the Western Balkans. 

In this episode, Ghodsi discusses the relevance and key findings of the GS4S research. He reflects on challenges encountered during the process, and how these were overcome to result in novel indicators of skills shortages. The episode also digs deeper into the policy implications of skills-oriented migration from the Western Balkans to the European Union.

Radboud University presents its third CMR Podcast in which assistant professors of Sociology of Law and Migration Law Karen Geertsema and Ricky van Oers have a conversation with Professor of Human Rights Jasper Krommendijk. They discuss the topic of his recent oration ‘The effectiveness of human rights in a multilevel legal order under threat?’

Human rights and the rule of law have been under pressure in recent years. On the one hand, human rights courts and monitoring bodies are increasingly challenged by populist politicians. On the other hand, there is also criticism from academic quarters: they would, for instance, fail to address socio-economic inequality and reason too much top-down. Reason for concern? Yes. Reason for pessimism? No. This is the main thrust of Krommendijk’s inaugural lecture.

Download the episode here.