Practical documents encouraging cross-border mobility by facilitating recognition of qualifications
Procedures for recognition of qualifications for regulated professions can be challenging. Finding the right competent authority can be difficult and extensive documentation may need to be submitted. Because of their complexity, recognition procedures are often accused of being non-transparent, complicated, time-consuming and sometimes even discourage mobility.
On the other hand, well-run recognition procedures are important to facilitate cross-border employment. If a recognition decision is not taken on time, it can lead to job loss or the decision to forgo cross-border work altogether. This is detrimental to cross-border employment, mobility, optimal allocation of resources and hampers the realisation of free movement rights in the EU.
Non-recognition is considered a major border obstacle. To address such obstacles, in 2018, the European Commission launched a call for a number of pilot projects to tackle common border barriers. This call became known as the B-solutions initiative.
One of the selected projects was submitted by the Province of Limburg (NL) as lead applicant and implemented by the Institute for Transnational and Euregional Cross-border Cooperation and Mobility / ITEM and proposed to create roadmaps and fact sheets to increase the transparency of recognition procedures for regulated professions.
This page contains the first roadmaps and factsheets developed as part of the B-solutions project “Roadmap and factsheet for the recognition of qualifications for highly demanded professions”.
A three-step approach was proposed for the development of these documents:
1.Selecting in-demand professions: ultimately, the professions of physiotherapist, second-line nurse and secondary school teacher were selected.
2. Development of roadmaps and factsheets: the documents were developed on the basis of a literature review, interviews and surveys with professionals. literature study, interviews and surveys with the competent authorities for recognition and are intended to inform front-line support services (e.g. cross-border information points and employment services) and citizens on how competent authorities assess qualifications. All roadmaps and factsheets are available in four languages (NL/DE/FR/EN) and can be consulted below.
- Documentation on the approach of the ITEM project team and general findings on the project.
The project “Roadmap and factsheet for the recognition of qualifications for highly demanded professions” is funded by the European Union.
