The Government of Canada and ILO expand their partnership to strengthen institutional capacities in the governance of labour migration in Latin America

Two new projects seek to strengthen the work of Ministries of Labor, Foreign Affairs, migration institutes, public employment services and vocational training institutions, as well as employers' and workers' organizations to integrate migrants and refugees

News | 16 August 2022

(San José/Lima, 16.08.2022).
- As part of the Government of Canada's commitment to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and its efforts to address irregular migration and forced displacement in Latin America, two new projects will be implemented to expand on the partnership established between Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and ILO, and improve the socio-economic integration of refugees and migrants in the region.

The projects seek to strengthen the actions of the Ministries of Labour, Foreign Affairs, migration institutes, public employment services and vocational training institutions, as well as employers' and workers' organizations, to integrate refugees and migrants in host countries.

“Promoting fair recruitment and addressing the labour aspect of migration and forced displacement is essential to achieve successful socioeconomic integration of refugees and migrants. This is how IRCC and ILO understand it, and these projects pave the way for a path that both institutions have travelled together for some time," said Francesco Carella, regional specialist in Labour Migration and Human Mobility at ILO.

Achieving regional or binational skills certification schemes that allow the recognition of skills of refugees and migrants and facilitating their access to professional training are some of the expected results in both projects.

“As champion of the Global Compact for Migration, Canada is proud to partner with the International Labour Organization in its efforts to promote the socio-economic integration of refugees and migrants in labour markets across Latin America. Today’s celebration is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to building a resilient, diverse and equitable future for all, including for the world’s most vulnerable”, mentioned the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

Between 2022 and 2024, the project "Fair Recruitment in Central America: strengthening institutional capacities for the socioeconomic integration of migrants and refugees" will focus its activities in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras, while also working on regional forums to support coordination on socio-economic integration with the rest of the countries in the region.

With a duration of about two years, the project "Supporting the socio-economic integration of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Colombia and Panama" will contribute to the implementation of the Regional Socioeconomic Integration Strategy for Persons from Venezuela and their Host Communities in Latin America. Among other lines of action, the project will support regional efforts to create a functional network of interconnected public employment services, which ILO has been supporting since 2020, within the framework of the Quito Process.

A long-lasting partnership
These projects come to strengthen the joint action of the Canadian Government, through IRCC, with ILO on labour migration, building on the results of the project "Supporting the employability and labour market integration of Venezuelans in Latin America”, which began in 2021 and was recently completed, and focused on the member countries of the Quito Process.