Economic Development in Africa Report 2018: Migration for Structural Transformation
English
Information is gathered from other international organizations that promote skills development and the transition from education and training to work. The Interagency Group on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (IAG-TVET) was established in 2009 to share research findings, coordinate joint research endeavours, and improve collaboration among organizations working at the international and national levels.
Migrant workers
According to the ILO global estimates on migrant workers, there were around 164 million migrant workers in 2017.
Migrant workers contribute to growth and development in their countries of destination, while countries of origin greatly benefit from their remittances and the skills acquired during their migration experience. Yet, many migrant workers face challenges in accessing quality training and decent jobs including under-utilization of skills, a lack of employment or training opportunities, lack of information, and exploitation of low-skilled workers.
To address these challenges, countries need to strengthen skills anticipation systems to inform migration policies, increase access to education and training, and establish bilateral or multilateral recognition of qualifications and skills.
Research papers
Working papers, reports, and other publications from international organizations, academic institutions and bilateral agencies. Research findings to stimulate informed debate on skills, employment and productivity issues.
This year, 2018, offers the international community a historic opportunity to realize the first global compact for migration, an intergovernmentally negotiated agreement in preparation under the auspices of the United Nations. UNCTAD’s contribution to this historic process is the Economic Development in Africa Report 2018: Migration for Structural Transformation.
Migration benefits both origin and destination countries across Africa. The report argues that African migration can play a key role in the structural transformation of the continent’s economies. Well-managed migration also provides an important means for helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, both in Africa and beyond.
The report adopts an innovative, human-centred narrative that explores how migrants contribute to structural transformation and identifies opportunities for absorption of extra labour in different sectors across the continent. African migrants include from highly skilled to low-skilled persons, who migrate through legal channels and otherwise.
These migrants not only fill skills gaps in destination countries, but also contribute to development in their origin countries. Children remaining in the origin country of a migrant parent are also often more educated than their peers, thanks to their parent’s migration. The connections that migrants create between their origin and their destination countries have led to thriving diaspora communities. They have also opened up new trade and investment opportunities that can help both destination countries and origin countries to diversify their economies and move into productive activities of greater added value.
Contrary to some perceptions, most migration in Africa today is taking place within the continent. This report argues that this intra-African migration is an essential ingredient for deeper regional and continental integration. At the same time, the broad patterns of extra-continental migration out of Africa confirm the positive contribution of migrants to the structural transformation of origin countries.
This report offers new and innovative analytical perspectives, relevant for both long-term policymaking and for the design of demand-driven technical cooperation projects, with a shorter time frame and will help Governments and other stakeholders in reaching informed decisions on appropriate migration policies in the context of Africa’s regional integration process.
Labour market information
Labour migration
Low skilled workers
Migrant workers
Skills indicators
Africa
