The European Union’s Talent Booster Mechanism (TBM) is already demonstrating success in addressing talent development challenges across 11 pilot regions
Pillar 1 of the TBM, which took place from early 2024 to mid-2025, focused on helping regions identified as being in a “talent development trap” to understand their local challenges better and explore practical solutions.
This initial phase of the TBM is expected to support regional authorities in creating more effective talent policies through a three-step process: diagnostic analysis, targeted implementation, and long-term strategic planning.
Diverse regions, shared challenges
The 11 regions participating in the TBM, Łódzkie (Poland), Peloponnese (Greece), Dél-Dunántúl (Hungary), Kontinentalna Hrvatska (Croatia), Alentejo (Portugal), Puglia (Italy), Sachsen-Anhalt (Germany), Vest (Romania), Yugoiztochen (Bulgaria), Moravia-Silesia (Czechia), and Champagne-Ardenne (France), represent a broad cross-section of the EU. Despite their diversity, regions face the same challenges in attracting, developing, and retaining talent.
Through the exercise, four core dimensions were identified as vital to building effective talent strategies: Jobs and Skills, Regional Attractiveness and Quality of Life, Competitiveness and Innovation, and Governance and Talent Management.
The findings show that the success of the TBM requires more than just creating jobs. A key lesson across regions was the importance of improving quality of life, boosting regional attractiveness, and creating a sense of belonging. Better alignment between education systems and labour market needs, along with robust monitoring of talent flows, emerged as essential components.
Several regions began developing or refining tools for the TBM, such as talent monitoring systems and targeted re-attraction strategies, to better understand and respond to demographic and economic shifts.
Better innovation and governance
Regions also placed a new emphasis on building stronger innovation ecosystems. Encouraging research, supporting local startups, and attracting a broader group of stakeholders in research and innovation (R&I) have become critical elements of each region’s strategic outlook.
Effective governance proved key to long-term success. Improved coordination between regional, national, and EU-level actors, combined with better use of data through monitoring tools, helped participating regions identify clearer pathways for action.
Progress across regions
Early outcomes from Pillar 1 of the TBM are already clear. In January 2025, Puglia (Italy) collaborated with Champagne-Ardenne (France) and other partners to discuss coordinated policies for tackling talent shortages. Meanwhile, in June, Portugal’s Alentejo region launched the Alentejo Talent Observatory, developed with TBM support, as a key tool for strategic human resource planning. This initiative complements the region’s new smart specialisation platform, PlaQuaR.
Bulgaria’s Yugoiztochen region recently unveiled its Strategic Roadmap, outlining future priorities to enhance talent development. The roadmap was discussed in July with the Monitoring Committee of the “Development of Regions” Programme in Kyustendil.
In Saxony-Anhalt (Germany), successful budget negotiations have resulted in funding for a new Regional Coordination Centre for Social Innovation. This centre is expected to align closely with the strategic framework developed during TBM support.
