Supporting labour migration and mobility between North Africa and Europe

Project description

Title: Towards a Holistic Approach to Labour Migration Governance and Labour Mobility in North Africa (THAMM)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Co-funded by: European Union (EU)​​​​​​​
Country: Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia​​​​​​​
Partner: International Labour Organization (ILO), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Belgian development agency ENABEL, French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII), Implementing partners in Germany: Federal Employment Agency
Lead executing agency: Egypt: Ministry of State for Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates’ Affairs (MoSEEEA), Morocco: Ministry of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills (MIEPEEC), National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Competencies (ANAPEC), Tunisia: National Agency for Employment and Self-employment (ANETI)
Overall term: 2019 to 2023

A THAMM project participant who is training to be a cook and her colleague work at the stove in a kitchen. © GIZ/Hinrich Franck

Context

The economic situation in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia is tense. This is due in part to high population growth and the fact that many professional qualifications do not meet the needs of the labour markets. This results in a lack of employment prospects for young people in particular. Within this context, migration plays an important role for these three countries, between 9 and 13 per cent of whose population lives abroad.

Fair and safe labour migration creates prospects and contributes to development. Young people can improve their overall employability through training or work experience in Germany. The countries of origin benefit from new job opportunities for their people, the transfer of knowledge from returning migrants and support from the diaspora. As a host country, Germany benefits from the fact that migrants fill vacancies.

Objective

Labour migration institutions in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia promote safe and development-oriented labour migration with Germany.

A group of Tunisian trainees during a welcome event in front of the cathedral in Trier. © GIZ

Approach

The project takes a holistic approach to training and employment for migrants. It does so by operating in four fields of action:

  • It pilots migration for young people from Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia to Germany for vocational training or work. The areas of industry involved are chosen based on the needs of the cooperation countries and Germany.
  • It organises national and international opportunities and channels for dialogue between the labour migration institutions of the cooperation countries. This promotes the exchange of learning experiences and supports networking around the theme of regular labour migration.
  • It develops tools to analyse and promote labour migration so that relevant partner institutions can support safe migration pathways in the long term.
  • It organises study trips and dialogue formats on training and labour migration for institutions from the field of vocational training and skills development, thus improving their competencies in this area.

Last update: August 2022

Representatives of Tunisian partner institutions visit a company in Lübeck that trains project participants. © GIZ/Ingo Boelter

Additional information