Improving Migrants’ Labour Market Integration in Europe from the Outset: A Cooperative Approach to Predeparture Measures
There is a growing consensus on the value of providing immigrants with integration support at the earliest possible moment in the migration process. Integration services provided prior to departure, such as language instruction, training, recognition of foreign credentials, and job skill-matching, can all have positive impacts on the labor market outcomes of immigrants once they reach their destination—and on their capacity to actively contribute to the development of their country of origin. While European policymakers as well as their counterparts in migrant-sending countries have contributed significant political capital and resources to predeparture integration measures over the past decade, these initiatives generally have yet to fully realize their potential as a tool able to durably improve migrants’ labor market integration. This is largely due to the lack of cooperation between origin and destination countries in the design and implementation of such measures.
This Migration Policy Institute policy brief reviews promising examples of predeparture measures for labor market integration that are jointly designed and/or run by origin- and destination-country actors, illustrating their potential to help effectively address some of the most stubborn obstacles to successful integration. A number of these examples involve destination-country employers, and key elements in their success include flexibility and responsiveness to employer demand. Equally important is the buy-in from origin-country actors, which can be supported through a development-sensitive approach in the design of the programs.
KJ