Labour migration

Labour migration

Skills recognition of migrant workers

Since 2006, the ILO/Korea Partnership Programme has facilitated better cooperation and service provision to member countries on skills issues. This has included the recognition of migrant workers’ skills through the development of the Regional Model Competency Standards (RMCS) as a tool enabling national skills standards of migrant-sending countries to be understood in terms of the competencies required by employers in receiving countries. The RMCS for manufacturing has been reviewed and endorsed in Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. Most of the Regional Skills Network member countries have taken initiatives in adopting the RMCS, but they still need strong institutional support to adapt and implement the standards.

Although member countries are firmly committed towards benchmarking and adapting their standards to the RMCS, awareness of the RMCS and its advantages among various social partners remains quite low. In response to repeated requests from member countries, the Programme will introduce promotional materials on RMCS and guidelines on skills recognition for migrant workers within both sending and receiving countries and among social partners and progressively push for their use to fulfil migration agreements.

To boost that process, the Programme plans follow-up workshops with training for sending countries on how the RMCS can be adopted. In addition, the Programme is organizing a regional workshop to share the promotion materials and expedite collaboration among network members in applying the guidelines and standards. These activities will help address challenges confronting both the sending and receiving countries, help overcome skills mismatches and other economic concerns (such as labour shortages and particularly in receiving countries) and provide new employment avenues for migrant workers abroad.

Labour migration management

Labour migration has always been a complex management challenge for both sending and receiving governments in the region. The ILO/Korea Partnership Programme works to improve labour migration policies and governance in the region through the strengthening of migration management mechanisms. Since 2007, the Programme has focused on building national capacity to manage migration flows through fellowship training and study programmes, by documenting the living and working conditions of migrant workers and by providing forums for policy dialogue between sending and receiving countries, especially under the Korean Employment Permit System. In collaboration with Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea), the Programme has helped improve participation in the Employment Permit System in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam.

In 2011–2012, the Programme will broaden the scale and scope of institution building beyond the EPS to include migration management and development. A series of interventions will thus focus on the links between migration and development and the gains that labour migration can bring to countries of destination and origin. These interventions will target improving financial services for migrant workers and improving the return and reintegration processes. The Programme will also encourage policy dialogue and exchange of lessons learned and good practices between sending and receiving countries through regional workshops and in close cooperation and collaboration with ASEAN.