Promoting Migrant Employability: Peer Exchange Group Synthesis Report

This report captures the discussion from the peer exchange group (PEG) on promoting employability that took place virtually on January 26th. It was the first of a series of private sector engagement-focused peer exchanges being held this year within the framework of the Global Programme on “Making Migration Work for Sustainable Development” funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented jointly by IOM and UNDP. It brought together almost 90 representatives from UN agencies, local and national governments, the private sector and civil society from the 11 programme countries. The event was co-led by the Municipal Government of the Canton Manta in Ecuador. 

The report is structured into three main parts.  

1. First, a case study of the employability training sessions and campaign that have taken place in Manta and Santo Domingo (Ecuador) through Fundación Esquel. The case study offers insights into implementation, challenges and solutions of the training and campaign that may be a useful source of information for practitioners aiming to implement similar activities.  

2. Second, a summary of results of an interactive brainstorming session on the challenges faced from the perspective of different partners and stakeholders (government, private sector, civil society and UN agencies) when promoting migrant employability. This overview of challenges can be used to inform multi-stakeholder approaches in this field. 

3. Third, a list of existing practices to promote migrant employability from 11 countries (Bangladesh, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, Serbia, Senegal and Tunisia) also identified as part of the brainstorming session with participants. This collection can serve as inspiration for other initiatives to improve migrants’ employment.