For years, we have framed migration flows as a problem to be managed. Numbers to contain, emergencies to address, balances to maintain. It is a narrative we know well, because it is the one that dominates public debate. But what happens if we try to shift our perspective? If, instead of focusing solely on the pressure these movements generate, we begin to look at what they can enable?

This is where a shift in perspective begins, one that is no longer merely cultural, but profoundly economic and industrial. Because as the world accelerates toward the energy transition, a critical issue is becoming increasingly evident: the shortage of skills. There is no shortage of technology, nor of financial resources. What is increasingly lacking are the people capable of designing, building, and managing this change. Indeed, the energy transition is a transformation of work: it requires new professional skills, new knowledge, and the ability to adapt. And it requires swift action, because climate goals are not going away.

In this scenario, two global trends – often considered separately – are beginning to intersect: on the one hand, the growing demand for skills in sectors related to energy and sustainability; on the other, migration flows that span continents and economic systems. These are two trajectories that are rarely viewed together, but which could, in fact, converge.

It is precisely in this space that the work of the Fondazione MAIRE – ETS fits in, with the aim of shifting the debate: no longer viewing migration as a critical issue to be managed, but as a potential lever to address one of the most urgent challenges of our time. The question then changes radically: what role can they play in building the future? In other words, can migration flows become part of the answer to the skills shortage in the energy transition?

The call for proposals

To provide a concrete answer, the Fondazione MAIRE – ETS launched a call for proposals in June 2024 to fund socio-economic studies dedicated specifically to this analysis: a structured effort capable of bringing together data, experiences, and replicable models. The result is a research initiative comprising of eight studies, entrusted to five researchers and three organizations active in the field, with the aim of examining the phenomenon from multiple angles: economic, social, and industrial.

Given the growing demand for labor generated by the energy transition, European estimates suggest that achieving climate neutrality could create millions of new jobs in the coming decades, while globally, the combination of climate mitigation and adaptation is expected to generate up to 8 million new jobs by 2030. Yet this demand faces a clear obstacle: a shortage of qualified workers. In Italy, the need for workers in green jobs is already estimated at over 800,000 today.

At the same time, the data shows that foreign workers are already a significant component of this market. According to some estimates, they account for over a fifth of those employed in sectors linked to the green economy. But this distribution remains highly skewed: while Italian workers tend to hold more skilled roles, migrants are often concentrated in less specialized tasks. A gap that does not necessarily reflect actual skills, but rather a series of structural obstacles: difficulties in recognizing educational credentials, language barriers, a lack of targeted training programs, and ineffective systems for matching supply and demand.

Solutions

Research funded by the Foundation identifies several areas for intervention. The first operational focus is on training: not just technical, but integrated. Programs that combine professional skills, language, digital tools, and knowledge of the work environment. The second concerns support models: mentorship, tutoring, and upskilling and reskilling pathways capable of reducing the time between arrival and actual entry into the workforce. The third, more structural approach concerns the development of career pathways based on the real needs of businesses, including pre-training programs in the countries of origin.

Alongside these general guidelines, research also highlights specific areas where this integration can develop more rapidly. This is the case, for example, with agrivoltaics, an emerging sector that combines agricultural and technological skills, or with industrial districts undergoing green conversion, where the presence of foreign workers is already significant and can become a driver of innovation.

« The experiences analyzed, – explains Ilaria Catastini, General Manager of the Fondazione MAIRE - ETS – show that, when well-designed, these pathways produce a dual effect: on one side, they meet the needs of businesses, on the other, they foster social inclusion, reducing the time and friction involved in integration. In this sense, the message emerging from the research is clear: the relationship between migration flows and the energy transition is not automatic, but it can become so if it is built. It is, in fact, a strategic lever that requires vision, planning, and collaboration among different actors. »

Dialogue between businesses and academia

The research did not stop at the data. With the Trajectories report, the project entered the public debate, opening a platform for discussion among institutions, businesses, and academia. The first summary meeting was held in Rome in October 2025, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. There, the findings from the studies were presented and discussed with institutional representatives (including Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi), international organizations such as UNHCR and IOM (International Organization for Migration), and trade associations. A multi-voiced dialogue that highlighted the complexity of the issue but also identified a shared direction: to develop concrete pathways for integration between the needs of businesses and the available skills.

At the center of the debate lies the perspective of the businesses themselves. This was emphasized by Chairman Fabrizio Di Amato, who brought the issue back to a practical level: « The business world is currently experiencing a unique shortage of certain professional profiles that are no longer available. The energy transition sector needs, and will increasingly need, trained individuals: migrants and refugees can be a key source of talent, especially if integrated into specific job placement programs. Companies must invest in targeted training and inclusion initiatives involving their stakeholders, as part of their sustainability strategies, and to do this, they need guidance. »

Alongside the institutional dialogue, the project has seen further development in the academic world. In January 2026, La Sapienza University of Rome hosted a scientific seminar dedicated specifically to Trajectories, giving a voice to the researchers involved in the studies (Cecilia Fortunato, Antonio Umberto Mosetti, Luigi Campaniello, Carla Ventre, Angelique Witjes, coordinated by Professor Andrea Billi) and the three associations (Talent Beyond Boundaries, NeXt, Nuova Economia per tutti, and Fondazione AVSI - ETS). Here, data and analysis were interwoven with different disciplinary perspectives – from demography to economics, from migration policies to the organization of work – yielding an even more nuanced picture. Without a clear plan that combines training, skills recognition, and support for job placement, there is a risk that these trajectories will remain parallel.

What is needed, therefore, is speed, but also method. Structured pathways are needed, capable of reducing barriers – linguistic, cultural, and bureaucratic – and accompanying people throughout the entire process: from entry to full participation in the world of work. Above all, there needs to be a change in outlook, capable of moving beyond simplified and often polarized interpretations of the migration phenomenon. In this sense, the contribution of the research is not only to have organized the data but to have pointed toward a possible trajectory. A trajectory in which migration patterns and the energy transition no longer move along separate tracks but begin to intersect, generating value.

MAIRE drew inspiration from the Foundation's research to develop a project aimed at identifying, primarily among refugees, individuals with engineering and technical skills to be integrated into its workforce following specialized training. The analysis is ongoing and involves a multi-step process, with the goal of testing the approach to build a specific model for the professional and social integration of these individuals.