What really motivates people to move countries for work — and what makes them stay? New research by C Studios explores how internationally mobile professionals evaluate jobs, skills, and locations across Europe.
The competition for talent in Europe is intensifying. As labour shortages persist and skills gaps widen, cities, regions, and employers are under growing pressure to align talent attraction strategies with what professionals actually value — not only at work, but in the places they choose to live.
Based on a survey of 650 people who relocated internationally for work in the past three years, the 2025 edition of What Talent Wants offers a clear look at their motivations, challenges, and decision-making, from job search to arrival and beyond.
Career meets lifestyle
Career advancement is still a top reason why people relocate, but a safe, secure lifestyle carries equal weight. Respondents ranked healthcare, safety, cost of living, and housing availability as key factors in deciding where to live and work.
Sixty-three percent had a job lined up before moving, while 23% moved with a remote role (86% total), a clear sign of a desire for stability and flexibility. But even with a job secured, people won’t move unless the broader living experience stacks up.
This emphasis on lifestyle is consistent across countries and age groups. Whether people are in their 20s or 40s, and whether they work in tech or not, practical lifestyle factors carry as much weight as the job itself.
Talent finds jobs by searching for occupations and skills
When looking for what’s next, workers don’t search by industry first. Instead, talent prefers to search by role and skill. This challenges the traditional way cities and regions market themselves. Talent attraction efforts that promote “key industries” risk misaligning with audience preferences.
Half of workers look for jobs by specific occupation, followed by four in 10 searching by required skills. Queries by sector ranks third, followed by location and company brand.
This data suggests that highlighting the roles available, the skills in demand, and how someone’s career could grow is a more successful way to meet demand.
Training matters more than ever
One of the most decisive findings is this: 97% of respondents are willing to retrain to grow their careers, and 76% would move countries to access free training. That’s up from last year’s already-high numbers.
In short, people want to keep growing. When evaluating job opportunities, talent indicated that advancement opportunities at the company they were considering wasn’t far behind salary and work/life balance as a leading factor in the decision.
Aside from ensuring that existing credentials and qualifications can be carried over should they meet certain criteria, governments and employers that offer clear upskilling paths through public programs, employer partnerships, or subsidised learning can gain a real advantage.
Relocation is a family decision
Only one in four of our random survey respondents moved alone, with the rest doing so with a partner, children, or both. And those family needs shape where they end up.
Among those with children, school quality and availability were the top priorities, followed by healthcare and safety. For those with partners, the biggest concern was the career trajectory for the partner, such as job opportunities, support resources and recognition of credentials.
To be effective, talent attraction strategies must look beyond the individual worker. They need to consider the full family experience like schooling and healthcare to job support for partners.
Arrival is just the start
For those who do relocate, challenges begin as soon as they arrive. Housing access is the top issue, followed by social integration and language barriers.
These obstacles strongly correlate with retention risk, which has bubbled up as a major concern across most locations with high concentrations of internationals. In fact, nearly half of respondents are already considering moving again.
Interestingly, the prevalence of hybrid and remote work may not be helping. The desire to work remotely grew from last year (27% prefer fully remote roles, up from 23% in 2024). This tension between a lack of “fitting in” and a desire for more remote work where social interaction is reduced is troubling.
What this means for talent attraction
The findings point to five takeaways for place brands, employers, and economic development teams:
- Invest in place, not just promotion. Messaging matters, but so does substance. Talent is paying close attention to real-world factors like housing, healthcare, and safety.
- Think like talent, not like government. Job seekers look for roles and skills, not always sectors. Align messaging and campaigns with how people search.
- Support families, not just individuals. Talent moves with partners and kids. That means thinking about school quality, partner employment, and family services.
- Remove friction. Simplify visas, make housing easier to access, and streamline services. Every barrier increases the risk that talent leaves, or never comes at all.
- Foster belonging. Build community, support networks, and chances to connect in-person. The deeper the roots that someone plants, the more likely they are to stay where they are and flourish in their new environment.
As labour shortages persist across Europe, attracting international talent is one of several important pathways to closing skills gaps and sustaining economic growth. But success depends on understanding what today’s workforce values and creating places where they can build meaningful careers and lives.
Explore further via c-studios.com or download the full report (pdf) on What Talent Wants.
This update on talent attraction trends in Europe is from Steve Duncan, Managing Director of C Studios with HQ in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
C Studios is part of TPBO’s Who’s Who of leading agencies with a track record in succesfully supporting place brand teams around the world. See here who else features.
