Blue Card, Green Card or Red Card?

In ‘The War for Talent’ the European Union now introduces the Blue Card, the Blue Card as counterpart for the (according to Europeans) infamous American Green Card.

European economy is in a desperate need for talent, preferably: Top Talent. Top Talent in the form of immigrants. It’s not that there is a shortage in immigrants, far from it. Each day hundreds of immigrants enter the European Union on the borders of Spain and Italy. But they’re from Africa and they are not really graded as ‘Top Talent’….. So together with the Americans we’re on the chase for top talent coming from Asia. Can the Blue Card help?

I doubt it but lets find out and in the mean time it would be a good idea to also introduce a Red Card. A Red Card that stops European Top Talent to achieve a Green Card. After all: in the Netherlands alone last year 132.000 emigrants left the country, amongst them were a considerable number of Top Talent leaving for the US.

So introducing a Red Card that prohibits European Top Talent from leaving European economy.

A Blue Card as a means to make it easier for Top Talent coming from Asia, probably India and China (nb: Indonesia and Australia could be the next to offer ’solutions’…..), to apply for a job in Europe and to settle themselves in one of Europe’s prestige’s capitals. Be it, however, that it is very expensive to live there but that’s beside the point (is it?). Europe as being The Alternative for not immigrating to the US!

Can it be so easy? Can a European Blue Card be the key to success for Europe and its economy? An economy that is in a desperate need for Talent. Talent not only needed to grow and to prosper, no we are already reaching the point that talent, even People, are needed to simply keep wheels rolling….. Is that an interesting offer for immigrants?

Be it a Blue or Red card, the question should be: can Europe be a serious alternative for people who are looking to exploit their talent, to exploit it in a way that they are able to reach the limits of what they are capable of? Visit the US and within a week you’re aware of the fact that the US, still, is the country of seemingly endless possibilities. OK social security in the EU is much better then it is in the US. But as a ‘Top Talent’ that’s not the first thing you’re looking for, is it? Top Talent has so much confidence that they doubt they will ever need or make use of social security. They’ll trust upon their own achievements.

The Best Strategy for European companies is perhaps to open up premises in Silicon Valley CA. So when a Top Talented Asian, after requiring that long hoped for Green Card, applies for a job with your subsidiary she’ll soon find out that, in fact, she’s not working for an American company but for a European one…. ‘But what the heck, I’m finally in America, the land of countless opportunities!’.

Even beter: in 25 years from now, after a splendid career, a pensioned former IT manager (by the way: a man that left Europe 30 years ago and in his youth was admired as a Top Talent) then living in San Mateo CA receives his first pension check. As soon as he opens the envelop he only then realizes that all these years he wasn’t working for an American company but for a European one! Even ‘better’: it appears to be an affiliate from his former European employer. ‘So that’s why at that time, when applying, they weren’t interested in the history of my career…..’

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27/08/07 een 'nagekomen bericht'. Buiten de EU is er (toch) al veel behoefte aan the blue card. Zo ontvang ik vandaag een email uit Zuid Afrika van Miss Belinda SInden: 'Is the Blue Card already in use? Where can I apply?'.......

Ik heb haar geantwoord nog 'even' geduld te hebben.....