Key Points:
- European nations face severe labor shortages due to aging populations and low birth rates.
- Uzbekistan prepares its citizens for overseas jobs by offering language and vocational training.
- Migrant workers sent nearly $19 billion back to Uzbekistan in 2025 to support their families.
- Government partnerships aim to protect vulnerable migrants from fake job offers and criminal recruiters.
European countries face a growing crisis as their local workforces shrink. To find real solutions, politicians, business owners, and international organizations recently met at the Tashkent International Migration Forum. The attendees discussed how Europe’s aging population forces governments to rethink their migration rules completely. They also explored how Central Asian countries are now stepping up to supply trained workers through safe, regulated systems.
Across Europe, low birth rates leave major gaps in the job market. Farms, construction sites, hospitals, and service businesses struggle to find enough local staff to keep their doors open. Arthur Erken, a regional director for the International Organization for Migration, pointed out that European economies already feel the harsh impact of this demographic decline. He noted that Europe absolutely needs foreign workers to offset low fertility rates and an aging population.
The global movement of people provides a clear answer to this problem. As of 2024, roughly 304 million people lived outside their country of birth. This massive figure nearly doubles the global migrant population recorded back in 1990. As demand for labor grows, European leaders want to tap into this mobile workforce. However, they want to use legal recruitment systems and official agreements to reduce illegal border crossings and fill open jobs safely.
Greta Metka Barbo Skerbinc, director general of the Employment Service of Slovenia, called labor migration an absolute economic necessity for Europe. She explained that European nations must create pathways for legitimate migrants and distinguish them from illegal economic travelers. She warned that if countries fail to bring in legal workers, their local economies will simply stop growing.
Central Asian nations see this European demand as a huge opportunity. These countries actively build state-managed migration systems that focus heavily on training and overseas employment. Uzbekistan stands out as a major player in this new system. The country reports that more than 1.2 million of its citizens currently work abroad. In 2025, these workers sent nearly $19 billion back home. This massive flow of cash plays a vital economic role in Uzbekistan, funding daily household needs, new homes, and small business investments.
Uzbekistan authorities want to make their workers as attractive as possible to foreign bosses. They invest heavily in language education, vocational training, and formal partnerships with international employers. Elyor Toshtemirov, deputy director of the Migration Agency in Uzbekistan, said his office established labor agreements with more than 40 different countries.
Toshtemirov explained that his agency prepares citizens to work as medium and high-skilled professionals. The official system includes pre-departure preparation, professional job training, language classes, legal employment contracts, and support for workers upon their eventual return home. By handling these steps, the government ensures workers have the exact skills European companies need.
Italian farming groups already take advantage of this organized system. They work directly with Uzbek authorities to run specific recruitment and training programs. Luca Brondelli di Brondello, vice president of Confagricoltura in Italy, emphasized the importance of preparing workers before they leave their home country. He said that teaching workers the Italian language and basic culture in Uzbekistan gives them a strong foundation, so they can start working more easily once they arrive in Italy.
Protecting the workers remains a top priority for both European and Central Asian officials. When people use illegal migration routes, they face terrible risks like labor exploitation and recruitment fraud. State-managed programs aim to eliminate these dangers. Konstantin Obolensky, the Swiss ambassador to Uzbekistan, said Switzerland supports local programs that help people migrate in an orderly and safe manner.
Obolensky warned that many hopeful migrants still fall victim to fake job offers and cruel recruitment schemes. He noted that criminals often expose desperate people to false promises and fake invitations. In many tragic cases, victims pay massive amounts of money to criminals who pretend to be real employers.
The Tashkent forum made one thing very clear. Europe desperately needs skilled workers to keep its businesses running, and Central Asia has eager citizens ready to fill those roles. By expanding legal migration systems, providing proper job training, and cooperating across borders, these countries can protect vulnerable people while keeping the European economy moving forward.
