Academy on Labour Migration

Academy on Labour Migration

Academy on Labour Migration

10–21 July 2023
The course is available in English, Français
Key features
LEARN DIFFERENTLY

Innovative training methodologies and integrated use of digital learning technology

FLEXIBLE PATH

Learning begins at own pace, continues through high-quality, engaging “real time” sessions and ends with an individual assignment

CERTIFICATE OF ACHIVEMENT

Successful candidates will obtain an ITCILO Certificate of Achievement

HIGH - LEVEL RESOURCES

Learn from ITCILO trainers, ILO and global migration specialists

Introduction to the course

Today there are an estimated 281 million international migrants around the world, the majority of whom are migrant workers. Globalization, demographic shifts, conflicts, income inequalities and climate change will encourage ever more people to cross borders in search of employment and security. Yet, the migration process entails complex challenges in terms of governance, migrant workers' protection, migration and development linkages, and international cooperation. The Academy on Labour Migration (LMA) offers participants a unique opportunity to benefit from a diversified training package, exploring fair and effective labour migration governance, linkages between migration and sustainable development, and instruments and mechanisms for protecting the rights of migrant workers, refugees, and their respective families, including in situations of crisis. Participants will tailor-make their own learning experience by choosing from several elective courses proposed, and will benefit from an innovative and dynamic learning environment.

Who attends this course?

The LMA is geared towards the following groups: - Policy-planners and officials from various governmental institutions and agencies involved in labour migration; - Representatives of workers' and employers' organizations handling labour migration matters; - Staff of NGOs and civil society organizations, and activists working with migrant workers at the grass-roots level; - Representatives of diaspora and migrants' associations; - Staff of international development agencies and regional economic communities; - Researchers and academics working on labour migration issues; - Journalists and media workers.

What will I be able to do?

The LMA aims at providing advanced knowledge and enhancing the capacity of key migration actors to better understand labour migration challenges and opportunities in a changing political, economic and social context.

It covers a wide range of labour migration cross-cutting themes, such as the protection of men and women migrant workers, fair and effective labour migration governance, crisis-induced migration and displacement and linkages between migration and sustainable development. At the end of the LMA, participants will be able to:

  • Understand and address key issues and policies regarding labour migration and mobility at the global and regional level, including from a gender perspective;
  • Promote migration-development linkages and rights-based approaches to labour migration policies and programmes at national, regional and international levels;
  • Recognize the pivotal role of social dialogue and key world-of-work actors (representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations) in the development of labour migration policy, and in resolving critical issues relating to labour migration;
  • Analyse and use International Labour Standards and ILO and United Nations supervisory mechanisms and procedures for protecting migrant workers’ human rights, including labour rights;
  • Explore and apply the “Decent Work” approach for migrants and refugees.
What topics does this course cover?

The LMA’s content will draw upon the ILO Agenda on Fair Migration and other key outcomes, such as the Conclusions of the International Labour Conference general discussion on labour migration held in June 2017, the Conclusions of the Tripartite Technical Meeting on Labour Migration held in November 2013, the ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration 2006, and the 2004 International Labour Conference plan of action for migrant workers. The Guiding Principles on Access of Refugees and other Forcibly Displaced Persons to the Labour Market, adopted by the Tripartite Technical Meeting in July 2016 and the Principles and Operational Guidelines on Fair Recruitment, adopted by the Tripartite Meeting of Experts in September 2016, are also important and relevant sources.

 

COURSE STRUCTURE

Plenary sessions

Plenary sessions will address the key issues, current trends and important debates at the heart of labour migration today. They serve as an introduction to the main topics covered by the Academy, which will be explored and discussed in more detail during the elective courses.

Elective courses

Elective courses are organized into four thematic areas. Click on each of them to find out more.

Labour migration, by its very nature, is interwoven with overall labour market policies and specific policy areas such as workers’ rights, skills development and skills recognition, job creation, education and vocational training and social protection. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) advocates for labour migration to be addressed as a labour issue by labour authorities in collaboration with social partners – employers’ and workers’ organizations – and other relevant actors. It is this social dialogue between authorities and social partners which is crucial to the elaboration and implementation of credible, viable and sustainable labour migration policies and practices. However, in many countries of both origin and destination, non-governmental actors most directly involved with the labour market are not fully recognized or incorporated in the process of migration policy development.

It is essential to recognize how labour migration affects labour markets and how the participation of social partners can help incorporate a social dimension into labour migration policies. Social partners can provide early information on labour market needs and should also be consulted on labour migration admission policies, e.g. in the establishment of quotas, shortage occupation lists, etc. 

Labour migration and free circulation of labour are increasingly featuring on the agenda of regional integration processes. Indeed, experience has shown that regional agreements on labour migration often have a more immediate impact on how people move, and under what conditions, than international conventions or treaties. This underscores the need for regional policy approaches and coordination for the harmonisation of labour policies, including on policy issues such as recognition of professional qualifications, social security coverage and portability of benefits. The inclusion of mechanisms for social dialogue is consequently essential also at the sub-regional and regional levels.

Lack of labour protection for migrant workers undermines protection generally for all workers. The many international labour standards adopted over the years by the International Labour Conference of the ILO are important for safeguarding the dignity and rights of migrant workers. In principle, all international labour standards, unless otherwise stated, are applicable to migrant workers.

From its very inception, the ILO also resolved to protect "the interests of workers employed in countries other than their own" (ILO Constitution, 1919, Preamble, recital 2), and has pioneered the development of specific international standards for the governance of labour migration and protection of  migrant workers. it has adopted two Conventions, in 1949 and 1975, which are accompanied by non-binding Recommendations.

The human desire to seek decent employment and livelihoods is at the core of the migration-development nexus. As more people cross borders to work in the coming years, fair and effective migration policies that protect the rights of migrant workers and reduce the costs of labour migration will be essential for achieving economic growth and enhancing development outcomes for migrant workers and their families, and for countries of origin and destination. The ILO works with governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations to improve labour migration policies that can achieve more equitable development with a focus on the needs of working men and women who generate the benefits towards development and who support their families and communities in countries of origin and destination.

Other important targets relating to labour migration are found in SDG 10 on reducing inequality within and among countries: “facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies” (target 10.7) and “by 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent” (target 10.c).

Globally, more than 100 million people are forcibly displaced by a number of drivers, which include (but are not limited) to conflict, violence and human rights violations, as well as natural disasters and climate change. Overwhelmingly, forced displacement affects emerging economies either as origin, transit or host countries.

Refugees generally face significant additional barriers to accessing the formal labour market, including legal and administrative restrictions, language barriers, discrimination, and practical difficulties in obtaining recognition of the skills and qualifications acquired in their home countries. As a result, they are often relegated to informal-economy jobs characterized by lack of social protection, low wages and poor working conditions, exploitation along with little opportunity for formal skills development or benefiting from business development services.

Despite these challenges, refugees and other forcibly displaced persons have important social and economic contributions to make. They bring skills, know-how and talent, and can make up for labour market shortages in host and transit countries. Refugee workers can also offset the consequences of changing demographics, such as population ageing and the resulting decline in the workforce.

Why should I join?

The LMA is the ILO flagship capacity building activity in the field of labour migration. 

Participants may choose from elective courses that explore different thematic areas. Enjoy a highly participatory learning environment and share practical advice on relevant topics.

Language requirements

The Academy will be offered in English and French. All weekly plenary forum as well as some elective courses will be offered with simultaneous translation while most of the elective courses will be conducted in either English or French.

This course qualifies for the ITCILO Diploma for Labour Migration Experts and Practitioners.

Take the Academy on Labour Migration, three courses out of all eligible courses within a five year period, and complete a capstone project to become part of a global cadre of practitioners and experts with a recognised set of skills in labour migration policy.

Prove your skills with a Diploma

This course is part of one Diploma programme:

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