PUNE: Countries in Europe, including Finland, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom, are rolling out the red carpet for Indian technology talent and India-based IT firms, amid protectionist moves by the US to stem the number of specialised category visas issued to Indian software companies.Traditionally, Indian tech firms and engineering talent have looked to the US, the biggest market for technology and tech services.A crackdown on H-1B visas over the past two years has, however, resulted in a sharp spike in rejections and made Indian companies realign their strategies, whether in hiring more people locally or setting up centres elsewhere. Indian companies have also found it hard to source highly skilled labour locally. That has made Europe look more attractive.Finland, for instance, is offering an ecosystem of leading technology firms and 6G connectivity, which has attracted companies such as Tech Mahindra and Wipro in the past few months. It has also put in place regulations within the EU framework, making it easier to attract and retain skilled workers.“There is a shortage of tech talent, especially programmers. India is important and the only country to have a dedicated program manager for the talent pool programme,” said Jukka Holappa, Country Manager India, Business Finland.Similarly, Germany —a hub for skilled tech talent traditionally — has put in place a new immigration law to facilitate more tech workers to come in.Already, a quarter of workers in Germany who have an EU Blue Card (a residence permit) are from India.“The immigration law is built around recognition of degrees and most of the Indian academic degrees are fairly well recognised,” said Isabell Jenninger, head – DUALpro and ProRecognition, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce.In the last few years, there has been a clear shift in how candidates view Europe, said Narcis Milasinovic, CEO, InSource Group, a global HR and IT services firm.“Engagement in EU was for many just a kind of “springboard”, a necessary step in the direction of their final goal… the US. But things changed,” he said.Over the past few months, there has been a move away from insourcing knowledge migrants by large corporations to medium and small size firms, which were traditionally skeptical towards international candidates. This may be another factor why these countries have become more vocal about attracting candidates, especially from India.