Member States

The Shortage Occupation List is a strict list of jobs for migrant workers.

Introduced in the new Immigration regulations in June 2014, the Critical skills work visa and permit saw a refreshingly forward thinking approach by the Department of Home Affairs to attracting much needed skills to South Africa and improving the visa and permit application process.

The Caribbean Association of Training Agencies (CANTA) was created to establish and govern a Regional Training and Certification System to harmonize national TVET systems and develop regional standards in training and establish a system for assessment, certification and recognition of skills. All certification in the region comes under the CARICOM Vocational Qualification (CVQ) framework.

The Bologna Process is a collective effort of public authorities, universities, teachers, and students, together with stakeholder associations, employers, quality assurance agencies, international organisations, and institutions, including the European Commission.

The main focus is:

Indonesia has entered into bilateral agreement with several countries to improve the competences of Indonesian human resources through training programs, the development of competence standard and sharing of information related to labor market. More specifically, it has established cooperation with the Government of Japan on the placement of Indonesian health workers in Japan

The ASEAN University Network is tasked to promote higher education, increase linkages between universities and encourage credit transfers in ASEAN+3 countries. In realization of this vital mission, the “ASEAN +3 Higher Education Policy Dialogue” was successfully convened in Phuket, Thailand in March 2009 with full support by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, the Office of Higher Education Commission, Thailand and the AUN Secretariat. 

The German Federal Employment Agency carries out an analysis of shortages of skilled workers twice a year. This analyis is based unpon several indicators, such as the number of unemployment persons in relation to the number of vacancies, duration of vacancies and profession-specific unemployment rates.

In March 2017, the federal government in Canada launched a pilot project to address labour shortages in certain industries in Nova Scotia.

With an unemployment rate of 8%, there is paradoxically an acute labour shortage in certain industries in the region, including Nova Scotia fish plants.

Indonesia recently launched Productive Migrant Village program, which aims at expediting reintegration process and preventing non-procedural migration.

In support of evidence-based policy making, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Department has been also undertaking a research project toward identifying the typologies of returning migrants, the main objectives of which is to put OFWs and their divergent aspirations and circumstances back at the heart of the government's reintegration program, with improved program design and planning and budgeting framework.