Objective 18: Invest in skills development and facilitate mutual recognition of skills, qualifications and competences

‘Safer Migration’ (SaMI) project (Helvetas Nepal, funded by Switzerland) is a joint skill-upgrade initiative to ensure decent work in countries of destination. It provides skill training, including life skills and health, and certification for prospective migrant workers (9000 have benefitted from this programme between 2011 and 2018 of which 22% of women). Collaboration between CSOs, private institutions, the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) and Foreign employment board (FEB)

Norka-Roots training programme for vulnerable women with ‘Trivandrum Social Service Society (TSSS) CSO, provides facilities and training for women from most vulnerable groups via grassroots CSO networks to foster employment in destination countries, and in particular in GCC countries.

The Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) is collaborating with IOM on labour mobility and human development, including employability of youth to enhance the welfare of Egyptian society and migrants.

The successful reintegration of migrant workers once they return to Sri Lanka relies on the workers providing evidence of their expertise and experience acquired overseas. Furthermore, a worker's ability to secure employment is linked with their skills and competencies. Presenting proof of expertise and experience acquired can be difficult for low and semi-skilled returnee migrant workers and workers in Sri Lanka. Although Sri Lanka has an established national skills assessment system, there is no systematic method of recognizing the skills of workers.

The UAE and India have developed the UAE-India Harmonized Framework for Skills Recognition and Certification designed to address the mismatch between workers’ skills and requirements of employers aims to improve skills mix in the UAE labour market and enhance the rate of mobility for certified workers, improving job security and reducing vulnerabilities. Employers in the UAE are incentivized to participate in the programme through reduced work permit fees.

In the context of return migration, Mexico also started to certify labour competencies, such as knowledge, abilities and skills, of Mexican returnees to facilitate their socio-economic reintegration.

Municipalities across the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina hired migrants from Venezuela with professional medical degrees that had not yet been revalidated by the national government. Some 4,500 doctors, nurses, and other health professionals were hired.

Several countries, such as Argentina and Peru, have eased the process of recognition of skills for foreign health workers to broaden the stock of professionals with the relevant skills and help fight the health crisis induced by the pandemic.

No Nation Fashion (NNF) is a celebration of cultures and a testament to the incredible potential of migration. Born in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), NNF is a collaborative effort between migrants and local designers, powered by the support of IOM. NNF mission is to harness the richness of diversity and the potential of migration through fashion and its vision is to promote the inclusion of migrants by actively participating in the creation of more inclusive societies.

IOM formally formulated the model of Skills Mobility Partnerships (SMPs) in 2019. 

SMPs are inter-state agreements concluded between states to promote human capital development and positive labour market outcomes for both country of origin and destination.

They are an innovative mechanism to share the benefits of migration and mobility and to serve the interests of migrants, communities and employers.