In a packed online webinar across Cairo and European capitals, more than 80 government officials, employers, and skills experts gathered to examine a question that matters to millions of workers: what do tourism and hospitality employers actually need, and where are the gaps?
The International Labour Organization, working through the European Union-funded "Towards a Holistic Approach to Labour Mobility" (THAMM Plus) programme, has just completed the first comparative study of its kind—a Skills Needs Assessment and Skills Mismatch Study spanning Egypt, Germany, and Italy. The research is part of the EU–Egypt Talent Partnership, an effort to create clearer pathways for workers moving between Egypt and Europe while meeting real labour market demand.
What the study reveals is both straightforward and complex. Across all three countries, the tourism and hospitality sector faces labour shortages, but the reasons differ. The researchers—including Laura Schmid of the ILO, international experts Andrea Salvini and Georg Bolits, and Egyptian national consultant Sandra Farid—uncovered not just gaps in skills supply, but structural differences in how each country recruits, trains, and organizes work. Regional disparities matter. Employer capacity varies. The very systems through which people find jobs and learn trade-specific skills look different from Cairo to Milan to Berlin.
Sophie Vanhaeverbeke, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Egypt, and Karim Abouelenein, Egypt's Minister Plenipotentiary for Migration and Human Trafficking Affairs, opened the discussion by framing tourism and hospitality as strategically vital for both regions. The sector offers employment opportunities for Egyptians seeking skills development and mobility, while addressing genuine labour shortages across EU Member States.
The webinar itself was a validation exercise. More than 80 participants—government institutions, social partners, private sector representatives, training providers, and development partners—were invited not simply to listen but to stress-test the findings. Did the preliminary analysis ring true? What reforms are already underway? Where does the research miss the mark? This kind of structured dialogue, facilitated by Farah El Batrawi (ILO THAMM Plus National Coordinator) and Miriam Boudraa (Regional Project Manager), builds trust between institutions that don't always communicate directly.
The significance lies in what comes next. The preliminary findings are now grounding a National Technical Forum process—one designed to move from shared evidence to concrete action. Rather than guessing at what workers need or what employers will hire, the three countries now have a baseline. They can identify where skills training actually prepares people for available jobs. They can design mobility pathways that work in practice, not just in policy documents.
For Egypt, this matters particularly. Young people entering tourism and hospitality represent a major pathway to employment and international experience. For Europe, consistent labour shortages in service sectors have long created barriers to growth. By aligning skills supply with real demand, and by respecting both fair working conditions and employer needs, the research creates space for mobility that benefits all sides.
The next phases of the process will translate these findings into action—whether that means adjusting training curricula, reforming recruitment systems, or creating formal bilateral agreements. For now, the webinar represented something deceptively simple: different countries, armed with shared evidence, actually listening to each other.