Policy Options to Address Challenges throughout the Migration Life Cycle
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Skill training for migrants is another key element for a successful migration experience when there is a mismatch between the supply of skills that migrants offer and the demand of firms in destination countries. Migrants from the Kyrgyz Republic often lack adequate skills for the jobs most in demand in the Russian Federation or Kazakhstan. Skill mismatches are partly due to occupational mobility upon migration. For example, a large portion of male migrants have an agricultural background but are hired as construction workers in the Russian Federation. Skill mismatches might have been aggravated in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have accelerated a longer-term shift in tasks and skills demanded in host labor markets. In this context, training in the skills required for employment openings in the Russian Federation would benefit all parties involved. However, prior to the crisis, the Kyrgyz Household Integrated Survey of 2018 shows that only 1 percent of prospective migrants took any work-related training courses to improve their chances to find employment overseas. The Ministry of Labor, Social Development and Migration is planning to implement different initiatives within the recently created Fund for Skill Development. One of the aims is to increase skills for migrants by training them in fields and skills that are valuable in the international labor market. Past experiences with predeparture skill upgrading programs highlight the need for a well-endowed program, prior analysis of supply and demand skill gaps, and dynamics in the destination country and at origin to tailor the content of skill trainings (IOM 2011; Global Forum on Migration and Development 2020). Cooperation with receiving countries in understanding skill gaps at destination is, thus, of high value. A particularly promising type of cross-country collaboration on skill formation are global skill partnerships (see box 3.1). There is also a need for increasing the legal and financial literacy and migration preparedness of prospective migrants through orientation courses and training. Prospective migrants tend to come from rural and more disadvantaged backgrounds and usually lack a full understanding of migration opportunities. In many instances, migrants accept employment offers abroad in sectors in which they do not have previous experience. They are often unaware of their full labor rights and benefits given the specificities of legislation in destination countries. Premigration orientation courses for prospective migrants can provide essential
BOX 3.1
Global skill partnerships: A potential tool to enhance migrants’ skills Global skill partnerships (GSPs) are bilateral arrangements between migrant sending and receiving countries by which the country of destination agrees to train people in the country of origin. Among the trainees, some choose to stay and increase human capital in the country of origin while others migrate to the country of destination for a given period of time. With these arrangements, countries of destination attract foreign workers with the skills they need. By training them before migration in the country of origin, costs are lower. In turn, the origin country
also benefits as part of the trainees, stay in the country, increasing the supply of skills. Therefore, GSPs address the potential loss of human capital in the country of origin while preparing potential migrants with demanded skills for work in the host country (Clemens 2015). One important aspect is the early engagement of the private sector to align the training to the skills demanded in the labor market. Several pilots have been successfully implemented in the Australia–Pacific islands corridor and in Germany with Kosovo and Morocco.
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