South Africa

A regional qualification framework, the SADCQF aims to enhance regional integration in the fields of education and training by promoting regional standards and recognition of qualifications. The SADCQF is a regional mechanism for comparability and recognition of full qualifications, credit transfer, creation of regional standards and facilitation of quality assurance (QA). It consists of a set of agreed principles, practices, procedures and standardised terminology intended to meet the five purposes of the SADCQF:

The Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) is an initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDANEPAD) supported by the German Government and the European Union. SIFA promotes the occupational prospects of young Africans through the support of innovative skills development programmes and close cooperation with the private sector as an integral key stakeholder in the creation of jobs. The initiative consists of two components, a Finance Facility and a Technical Component.

In 2020, the Southern African Development Community adopted the Guidelines on the Portability of Social Security Benefits, through a tripartite process to help SADC countries adopt policies and regulations so that workers in SADC countries can accumulate and access social security benefits across different countries in the region.

This action was submitted through the GFMD Mayors Mechanism Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees.

This action was submitted through the GFMD Mayors Mechanism Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees.

In 2014, the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), initiated a three-and-a-half-year project, co-financed by the EU Thematic Programme on Migration and Asylum. The project assesses the economic contribution of labour migration in developing countries as countries of destination. It seeks to arrive at a reliable and evidence-based understanding of how immigration affects the economies of a number of low- and middle-income countries, focusing on particular on:

Established by the council in February 2009, the JMAC brings together relevant role players to draft and oversee the City of Johannesburg’s strategy for the integration of migrants into all aspects of society in Joburg.

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.

South Africa has come up with Special Permits for undocumented Zimbabweans and Lesotho nationals to regularise their stay. This progressive measure is aimed at recognising the specific vulnerabilities that migrants find themselves in.

In pursuit of building a unified, inclusive and caring South African society, the Department of Home Affairs launched the inaugural Mkhaya Migrants Awards as part of the Africa Day 2015 programme, marked annually on the 25th of May.

The Mkhaya Migrants Awards aim primarily to recognise outstanding migrants residing in the country who immensely make contribution to South Africa’s development in various fields. Secondarily, it also acknowledges South Africans contributing to the development of the African continent through their work in areas of need and strife.