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Researchers Corner

A collection of academic papers, research reports, case studies and analytical frameworks designed to support researchers in advancing skills development knowledge.

Researchers Corner

A collection of academic papers, research reports, case studies and analytical frameworks designed to support researchers in advancing skills development knowledge.

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EVIDENCE-BASED RESEARCH DRIVES INNOVATION IN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT.

Access the latest research and contribute to the knowledge base that shapes Africa's skills transformation.

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    Resources for Researchers

    86 resources found

    Skilled to care, forced to work Recognizing the skills profiles of migrant domestic workers in ASEAN amid forced labour and exploitation
    Gender and TransformationHuman Capital DevelopmentGovernance
    2023

    Skilled to care, forced to work Recognizing the skills profiles of migrant domestic workers in ASEAN amid forced labour and exploitation

    This ILO report analyses the skills profiles of migrant domestic workers in ASEAN and how these skills are undervalued, unrecognized and routinely exploited. Drawing on surveys and interviews from Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia and the Philippines, the study documents core skills—childcare, eldercare, housekeeping, cooking, financial management and communication (pp. 16–18)—and contrasts them with low wages, poor working conditions and routine violations. The infographic on page 22 highlights forced-labour risks: excessive working hours, isolation, retention of identity documents, recruitment debt, deception and violence. The study shows that despite being “skilled to care,” workers are structurally prevented from career progression or skill recognition. Recommendations (pp. 38–41) call for stronger skills-recognition systems, ethical recruitment, enforcement of labour rights, social protection portability, and skills-based migration pathways that value domestic work as formal, skilled labour.

    Report/Data| English
    0
    Good Practice
    Labour market assessment Market trends and opportunities in Ethiopia and the Gulf
    Human Capital DevelopmentGovernanceIndustrial, technical and vocational training
    2023

    Labour market assessment Market trends and opportunities in Ethiopia and the Gulf

    This labour-market assessment identifies economic trends, skills needs and migration opportunities linking Ethiopia with key Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) labour markets. It outlines Ethiopia’s demographic pressures, rising youth unemployment and sector growth in construction, manufacturing, logistics, hospitality and domestic work (pages 4–7). The charts on pages 6–8 show persistent skills mismatches, low technical-skills depth and limited formal TVET-to-employment pathways. Gulf demand projections highlight shortages in construction trades, hospitality, care work, logistics, security, cleaning services and ICT support roles. The report analyses recruitment practices, gendered risks in domestic work, weak protection systems and gaps in skills certification and recognition. Recommendations emphasise stronger skills profiling, expanded accredited pre-departure training, better BLMA frameworks, ethical recruitment enforcement and development-oriented mobility pathways.

    Report/Data| English
    0
    Good Practice
    Skills Mobility Partnerships Towards a global approach to skills development and labour mobility
    GovernanceHuman Capital DevelopmentIndustrial, technical and vocational training
    2021

    Skills Mobility Partnerships Towards a global approach to skills development and labour mobility

    This IOM brief introduces Skills Mobility Partnerships (SMPs) as multi-stakeholder, skills-centred mobility arrangements designed to align training, skills recognition and labour migration. Page 1 explains how SMPs address demographic shifts, labour shortages and skills mismatches while avoiding the pitfalls of traditional skilled-migration systems. The brief identifies eight prerequisites for sustainable SMPs, including long-term planning, multi-stakeholder coordination, skills classification, social protection and cost-sharing. It outlines five core components—formalized State cooperation, multi-stakeholder involvement, training, skills recognition and migration pathways. Page 2 illustrates the SMP skills continuum, showing the sequence from training and certification to job search, employment, and stay/return options. Challenges noted include short-term policy vision, weak coordination, employer risk aversion and neglected migrant aspirations.

    Framework/Standard| English
    0
    Good Practice
    Skills Mobility partnerships Exploring Innovative Approaches to Labour Migration
    GovernanceHuman Capital DevelopmentIndustrial, technical and vocational training
    2022

    Skills Mobility partnerships Exploring Innovative Approaches to Labour Migration

    This EMN–OECD Inform reviews how Skills Mobility Partnerships (SMPs) and SMP-like schemes are being designed and implemented across EU Member States and internationally. The introduction (page 1) explains SMPs as multi-stakeholder, skills-centred mobility arrangements combining training, skills recognition, and regulated migration to achieve “quadruple wins” for origin countries, destination countries, employers and migrants. Drawing on contributions from 23 EU Member States, OECD, ETF, ICMPD and CGD, the report documents varied SMP models—including Belgium’s PALIM, Germany’s Triple Win and PAM programmes, Slovakia’s DIGI-Talents, Spain’s GECCO scheme, THAMM in North Africa, and IOM MATCH (pages 4–6). Challenges identified include cost, scalability, employer involvement, fragmented projects and qualification-recognition barriers (pages 9–10). Opportunities highlighted include labour-shortage reduction, human-capital formation, improved TVET quality, circular migration, and mutually beneficial EU–third country partnerships.

    Framework/Standard| English
    0
    Good Practice
    The role of social partners in skills development, recognition and matching for migrant workers: A contribution to the Global Skills Partnership
    Human Capital DevelopmentGovernanceGender and Transformation
    2020

    The role of social partners in skills development, recognition and matching for migrant workers: A contribution to the Global Skills Partnership

    This ILO workshop paper examines how employers’ and workers’ organisations shape skills development, skills recognition and job matching for migrant workers at national, regional and global levels. Drawing on examples from Tunisia, Bangladesh, Nepal, the ASEAN region, Europe and Africa, the paper shows how social partners contribute to labour-migration governance, sector skills bodies, National Qualifications Frameworks, recognition of prior learning, bilateral labour migration agreements (BLMAs) and mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) (pages 5–22). Boxes 1–8 illustrate good practices, including gender-sensitive BLMA design, worker training initiatives in construction and care work, tripartite skills funds, and sector skills councils. The paper highlights challenges such as limited policy coherence, weak social dialogue in BLMA negotiations, under-resourced NQFs, and inadequate financing for recognition processes. It concludes with recommendations for strengthening tripartite engagement through the Global Skills Partnership.

    Framework/Standard| English
    0
    Good Practice
    Global human mobility and knowledge transfer: Highly skilled return migrants as agents of transnational learning
    Human Capital DevelopmentEntrepreneurship and informal sector formalisationGovernance
    2023

    Global human mobility and knowledge transfer: Highly skilled return migrants as agents of transnational learning

    This peer-reviewed study investigates how highly skilled Ethiopian return migrants act as agents of knowledge transfer between developed and developing-country contexts. Drawing on interviews with 22 postgraduate-educated returnees from the United States, Europe and Japan, the article argues that knowledge transfer is not a one-way flow from host to home countries but a “relevance discovery process” (pp. 311–314). Returnees primarily transferred non-technical organisational knowledge—work discipline, problem-solving, quality management (e.g., Kaizen), leadership, time management—rather than specialist expertise. They enacted knowledge transfer through “engagement, alignment and imagination”: creating organisational spaces for new practices (e.g., engineering consultancy, SME training), brokering partnerships, adapting foreign practices to local constraints, and initiating future-oriented reforms such as Kaizen institutes and infrastructure capacity building (pp. 323–327). The study highlights how “aspirational learning” motivates returnees to envision and build better institutional futures in Ethiopia.

    Report/Data| English
    0
    Good Practice
    How to facilitate the recognition of skills of migrant workers
    GovernanceHuman Capital DevelopmentIndustrial, technical and vocational training
    2020

    How to facilitate the recognition of skills of migrant workers

    This ILO training resource provides practical guidance for employment service providers, assessors and migration officials on how to support migrant workers through recognition of prior learning (RPL) and skills-assessment processes. It explains the purpose of skills recognition, the competencies involved, and the roles of institutions across the assessment chain. Pages 3–6 present a step-by-step workflow showing how counsellors help migrants document evidence, prepare portfolios, undergo assessment, address skills gaps and receive certification. The guide includes visual tools such as the competency-card examples, self-assessment templates and the decision-making flowchart for assessment pathways. Key challenges highlighted include inconsistent national qualification systems, weak coordination, and financial and informational barriers for migrants. The resource promotes gender-responsive and fair RPL systems to support safe, regular migration and better labour-market matching.

    Toolkit/Guide| English
    0
    Good Practice
    Webinar Summary-Skills Partnership for demand driven labour migration webinar
    GovernanceHuman Capital DevelopmentIndustrial, technical and vocational training
    2024

    Webinar Summary-Skills Partnership for demand driven labour migration webinar

    This concept note outlines the focus and structure of an ILO–GIZ–AUDA-NEPAD webinar on demand-driven skills partnerships for labour migration. It explains the growing relevance of skills partnerships as cooperative systems linking skills development in countries of origin with labour-market shortages in destination countries (pp. 2–3). Key elements highlighted include demand-led training, recognition and portability of skills, pre-departure preparation, cultural and language training, and mechanisms for return and reintegration. The note describes opportunities for Africa to leverage skills partnerships for economic growth, brain gain and regional labour mobility, while recognising challenges such as limited data, weak coordination and funding constraints. Pages 5–6 outline the webinar programme, featuring Kenya’s skills-migration initiatives and lessons from the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme.

    Framework/Standard| English
    0
    Good Practice
    Forecasting and meeting future demand for migrant labor
    Industrial, technical and vocational trainingGovernanceHuman Capital Development
    2021

    Forecasting and meeting future demand for migrant labor

    This ILO brief explains how countries can anticipate and meet future labour-market needs by integrating labour-market forecasting, skills diagnostics and well-governed migration pathways. The document highlights demographic shifts, ageing populations, skills shortages and technological change as key drivers of migrant-labour demand (page 1). It outlines a three-pillar approach: identifying current and future shortages using labour-market information systems; improving training and skills development in origin countries; and facilitating safe, regular and mutually beneficial migration channels (page 2). Examples from Europe, the Gulf and East Africa illustrate the need for coordinated forecasting systems, improved recognition of qualifications, stronger public employment services and multi-stakeholder skills-mobility partnerships.

    Framework/Standard| English
    0
    Good Practice
    An assessment of labour migration and mobility governance in the IGAD region
    GovernanceHuman Capital DevelopmentGender and Transformation
    2022

    An assessment of labour migration and mobility governance in the IGAD region

    This assessment provides a comprehensive analysis of labour migration and mobility governance across the eight IGAD Member States—Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. It benchmarks national legislation, policies, institutional coordination, bilateral labour agreements, social protection, recruitment regulation and data systems against regional and international labour-migration standards (pages 12–34). Scorecards on pages 15–18 show significant variation in compliance, with Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda demonstrating comparatively stronger governance systems, while conflict-affected states face acute capacity constraints. The report identifies challenges such as weak inter-ministerial coordination, gaps in skills recognition, limited protection for migrant workers, informal recruitment pathways and inadequate labour-market information. Recommendations include strengthening IGAD’s Mutual Recognition of Qualifications initiative, harmonising BLMA frameworks, investing in skills partnerships, expanding social protection portability and enhancing regional data collection.

    Framework/Standard| English
    0
    Good Practice
    Middle East and North Africa Regional Strategy 2020–2024
    GovernanceHuman Capital DevelopmentGender and Transformation
    2020

    Middle East and North Africa Regional Strategy 2020–2024

    This IOM regional strategy sets out priorities for migration governance across the Middle East and North Africa for 2020–2024, structured around three pillars: Resilience, Mobility and Governance (pages 3–4). It analyses the political, institutional and migration landscape of the region, including conflict-driven displacement, labour migration, mixed migration, climate-related mobility and the socioeconomic effects of COVID-19 (pages 11–16). The strategy emphasises rights-based, gender- and youth-responsive approaches, strengthened data systems, regional cooperation, durable solutions for displaced populations, and safe, orderly mobility pathways. It outlines programming areas such as humanitarian response, health, protection, labour mobility, border management, climate adaptation and evidence-based policymaking (pages 17–24).

    Framework/Standard| English
    0
    Good Practice
    Skilled labour emigration in South Africa: Exploring the long-term implications
    GovernanceHuman Capital DevelopmentEntrepreneurship and informal sector formalisation
    2021

    Skilled labour emigration in South Africa: Exploring the long-term implications

    This SA-TIED policy brief analyses long-term economic impacts of skilled emigration on South Africa using a recursive dynamic CGE model with scenarios covering 2020–2040. It shows that losing skilled workers without offsetting measures reduces productivity (-1.5%), GDP (-1.2%) and revenue (-0.4%) while increasing unemployment (page 1). The brief examines three scenarios: emigration alone, emigration with remittances, and emigration with skills-support subsidies. Remittances mitigate negative effects only in the medium-to-long term, while subsidies raise skilled labour productivity but increase wage inequality (page 1–2). Recommendations include easing remittance flows, improving migration data systems, retaining skilled workers, encouraging diaspora engagement and expanding semi-skilled job creation in manufacturing.

    Report/Data| English
    0
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