ITEM carries out research into diploma recognition in border regions

Applying for a job across the border is often difficult as diplomas are not always recognised abroad. The project "Increasing transparency in the recognition of diplomas for highly demanded professions" is going to address this obstacle. In order to implement this, the Province of Limburg is entrusting the  Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross-border cooperation and Mobility / ITEM.

Almost a third of the population in Europe lives in a border region. These regions and their inhabitants experience disadvantages from living in such a border region because professional qualifications are not recognised everywhere. As a result, it discourages them from applying for a job in a nearby foreign country. This is mainly due to fragmented legislation and the vast number of organisations involved with diploma recognition. To reduce the obstacles that are experienced in the border area, the European Union launched a call for pilot projects in early 2018 (budget € 400,000 for 20 projects). The project "Increasing transparency in the recognition of diplomas for highly demanded professions" is one of the granted pilot projects. This project also involves the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), the Euroregions and partners of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Flanders and the Benelux. The Province of Limburg is the lead partner of this project and has been granted 20,000 euros to launch this project.