In the Southern Italian region of Apulia, local companies in the agri-food sector wish to innovate but struggle to recruit specialised technicians due to emigration and an aging workforce. A selection of these companies will participate in a circular labour mobility scheme with Egypt focused on enhancing the skills of young Egyptian workers and students in the fields of green economy, digitalisation and agriculture.
What is NET-Work You?
The scheme is part of activities of the NET-Work You project that launched last Friday in Bari and is funded by the EU through the MPF for more than a three-year period. Implemented by ConfCooperative Puglia and CIHEAM Bari, it will offer a traineeship opportunity to 100 young Egyptians in the region of Apulia, Italy, with a labour mobility scheme that will enhance their skills in green economy, digitalisation and agriculture.
A training programme delivered in both countries will contribute to acquiring professional skills that are in high demand in both countries, thereby increasing the participants’ employment prospects in Europe as well as in Egypt. A post-traineeship phase will offer candidates a channel to harness their experience for the benefit of the development of the agricultural sector in rural regions of Egypt.
Overall, 150 participants are expected, of which two cohorts of 50 Egyptian trainees will be selected to work for three months in Apulian companies. Interest seems to be high, as shared during the opening event by CIHEAM Bari representatives that had received close to 700 applications for the first cohort of applicants launched in summer 2025.
Egypt and Italy: partners supporting regular migration pathways
The project aims to address an immediate gap in suitable workforce for local companies while laying the foundations for a future robust and qualified circular migration pathway between Egypt and Italy. As echoed by several participants during the opening event, this partnership is mutually beneficial for both countries.
The choice of Egypt as a partner for this pilot mobility scheme is strategic, as, in recent times the Egyptian government has actively directed its focus toward the ecological transition through an array of initiatives and significant investments. With 70% of its citizens under the age of 30, the country’s demographic pyramid is almost inverse to Italy’s, with nearly 23% of adults over 65. Also, Italy hosts the largest Egyptian diaspora in Europe with close to 130,000 members, and one of the anchors for one of the larger objectives of the project, which is to create a Mediterranean network, and replicate the NET-Work You mobility model in other EU countries.
Circular migration schemes: part of a toolbox for policymakers
In fact, Apulia is not the only European region grappling with a dual reality: one where public and private investments wish to make way for greener, tech-driven and sustainable companies, but are weighed down by skills mismatches and labour shortages. Under these circumstances, circular migration schemes can be part of a toolbox of policies and strategies to redress labour shortages and labour market imbalances.
Among the main benefits cited during the opening event, circular migration allows sustainable mobility, knowledge transfer, and food security cooperation.
Other recent examples under the labour mobility portfolio of the MPF involving Italy as a destination country include MENTOR 2; Egypt as a country of origin is involved in the recently launched Vocational College. More details are available on the MPF Projects webpage.
Background Information
This project funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund through the Migration Partnership Facility and is implemented by Confcooperative – Unione Regionale della Puglia (Confcooperative Puglia) (Italy) in collaboration with the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies - CIHEAM Bari (Italy).
Read the NET – Work You Info Note for further information about project activities and timelines.
Visit the NET – Work You website and social media channels for more timely updates about the project’s milestones.