Report: STEM Employers Perceptions, Practices, and Needs

Seefar has conducted new research under the SUSTAIN project (Scaling Up #STEM Talent from #Africa in #Europe) to better understand how employers in Germany and Ireland engage with international STEM talent.

The study explores:

• How employers recruit STEM professionals from outside the EU/UK

• What motivates international hiring

• Key barriers and trust challenges in new talent markets

• What support systems could make global recruitment more effective

Across Talent Partnership Countries, the main barrier to international STEM recruitment was not talent quality, but employers’ perceptions of hiring risk. Delays related to visas, relocation, and post-arrival onboarding processes created uncertainty that discouraged wider engagement with labour mobility programmes.

Conversely, employers generally trusted the technical skills of international STEM professionals thanks to their demonstrated contributions to innovation, their ability to fill critical skill gaps, and strong retention and progression outcomes over time.

The research used a mixed-methods approach, combining 30 Key Informant Interviews with employers (15 in Germany and 15 in Ireland), an online survey with 74 employer responses (53 Germany; 21 Ireland), and an employer feedback workshop to validate the relevance of the draft curriculum.

The survey sample was skewed toward larger organisations (55% large enterprises) with strong representation from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) (39%), engineering (14%), and manufacturing (11%) sectors.

🔗 Read the full report:  https://www.sustaineu.org/resources