Return and reintegration of forcibly displaced people and international migrants (completed)

Context

According to the United Nations, at the end of 2018, there were 258 million migrants, of whom 70.8 million had been forcibly displaced. Many of these people are hosted by developing countries. Their chances of taking up employment, enhancing their skills and thus securing a living in the long term within these host countries and communities are limited.

Successful reintegration processes begin before the actual return. Institutions that support migrants are therefore looking for ways to tailor their return preparation offers specifically to the needs of reintegration in the region of origin.

Objective

By providing needs-based training opportunities, the employability of voluntary returnees and the local population in host communities is increased.

Approach

The project supports migrants with the decision to voluntarily return to their home country and with their reintegration process. The main focus here is on South-South migration. The “Skills for Reintegration” project works with targeted pilot measures in The Gambia, Niger, Kyrgyzstan and Mexico. 

Opportunities to gain personal and professional skills
In The Gambia, the project works with the Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) and the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), an EU-funded project for fighting youth unemployment. Here, the partners provide better training opportunities for voluntarily returning Gambians and support the local population. 

In Niger, the project improved together with the German organisations Dominikus-Ringeisen-Werk (DRW) and the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB) the range and the quality of professional training measures for refugees from Mali and for the population in the host communities. Due to the unstable situation in Mali, voluntary return is currently not encouraged. 

In Kyrgyzstan, the project focused on the certification of skills acquired abroad and the advice on setting up a business in order to promote the long-term reintegration of returning migrant workers into the domestic labour market.

Promoting networking among national and international institutions
The “Skills for Reintegration” project fosters cooperation among local, regional and international stakeholders in the various pilot measures. 

In Mexico, in particular, the focus of the measure is on strengthening networks and alliances. For this purpose, the project is supporting the establishment of a network between non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which works on topics such as shaping migration policy and integral support models for effective (re)integration processes. The project also supports dialogue within Mexico between NGOs and academia on the one hand and the Mexican Government on the other, and organizes colloquiums on priority topics. 

Improving the data basis
The project evaluates the needs of the target groups and the labour market in each host country and country of origin. 

Results

• In The Gambia, 2 training courses in the fields of small solar home systems and rural mechanics have been developed and were launched in September 2019. 37 people are currently participating in these state-certified training courses. 22 teachers have already been trained for this purpose. The GTTI site in Mansa Konko has been renovated and the equipment of the administrative and training facilities has been improved.
• In Niger, training courses have been held for 20 teachers, and a total of 99 people have completed state-certified vocational education and training in seven different fields. Of these graduates, 95 percent have already entered the labour market directly.
• In Kyrgyzstan, an information centre has been set up for returning migrant workers. Reintegration models have been developed through the recognition of certificates and skills acquired abroad. 24 returnees received a state-accredited certificate for the professions of chef, stucco, painter and plasterer. In addition, returning migrant workers with entrepreneurial ambitions received advice, were connected with business associations and participated in business training courses. 120 returnees have taken part in entrepreneurial trainings and 51 of them have already successfully set up their own business. An app has been developed to help improve job placement. So far, over 120 companies and around 2000 returning migrants are using the service.
• In Mexico, the network for (re)integration currently comprises 28 NGOs. 156 people from 76 institutions of civil society, government, the private sector, academia and international organisations participated in four dialogue formats. Topics were local strategies for handling migration, new state programmes for migration and the integration of migrants into the labour market. NGOs and state institutions work together to meet the needs of returnees, migrants and forcibly displaced people.