ABSTRACT
Migration Skill Corridors (MSCs) are frameworks that may enable the ethical development, exchange and recognition of skills between origin and destination countries. They offer a strategic approach to global labour market needs but vary in their historical roots, economic function and policy design. This chapter introduces a typology of five corridor types: (1) post-colonial, (2) post-‘guest worker’, (3) highly skilled, (4) medium-skilled and sector-based and (5) humanitarian. This typology serves as an analytical tool for assessing established and emerging migration pathways, helping policymakers identify how corridors evolve and how they can be strategically shaped to meet current and future labour market needs. MSCs are dynamic, and different types can coexist. As Europe faces demographic decline and growing skills shortages, and many origin countries struggle with youth underemployment, MSCs offer a framework for fair and sustainable mobility. Drawing on the Link4Skills project, this chapter applies the typology to real-world cases and provides policy recommendations.
