Strengthening Labor Market Integration of Immigrants in Europe: Innovative Ways to Prepare Migrants Before Departure

Protracted periods of unemployment, underemployment, or inactivity in the first years after migration have long-term negative consequences on migrants’ socioeconomic integration at destination and on their capacity to contribute to origin-country development. An increasing number of governments of migrant-sending and -receiving countries have come to recognize the integration benefits that early intervention in the migration process brings. As such, predeparture programs have become widespread. However, efforts to promote integration prior to the migration journey are often carried out unilaterally, which limits their reach and constrains their potential to durably support labor market integration. How have more collaborative approaches, based on joint cooperation between sending and receiving countries, overcome these limitations?

This event, co-organized by MPI Europe and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation), brings together senior policymakers from sending and receiving countries and a leading migration and development expert to discuss how to move into a new era of predeparture measures. Drawing on existing success stories and pilot projects, the discussion will address such questions as:

• How useful have existing predeparture measures been in facilitating migrants’ labor market insertion in receiving countries?
• Which concrete examples of structural cooperation on labor market integration between origin and EU destination country—involving vocational work, work-placement initiatives, and mutual recognition—can be looked to for inspiration and lessons learned?  
• Which private-sector practices are used to support the successful integration of migrant employees abroad and what can policymakers learn from these experiences?