IOM promotes employment connection system for migrants in Mexico

 
Mexico
7 August, 2019

 

164 million people in the world today are migrant workers, generating 9% of global GDP. These people play an important role in the labor market and contribute to the economies and societies of both their countries of origin and destination. They promote development by creating new businesses and strengthen ties between their country of origin and their country of destination through the transfer of technology and skills.

Mexico is a country of origin, transit, and destination for migrants. It is a country that benefits significantly from international remittances, and simultaneously has an economy with a growing labor market (in which the automotive industry alone created 16,000 jobs in the past year) which could be stimulated by including migrants in the workforce.

One of the current challenges for matching migrants with jobs is that the majority of vacancies are concentrated in Puebla, Mexico, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León, Sonora, and Baja California, northern and central states which are not migrants’ first points of entry.  In this context, IOM supported the creation of the Labor Connection Mechanism (MECAL) as a tool to coordinate public, private, and civil society organizations, with the goal of facilitating the insertion of migrants into the Mexican labor market.

MECAL proposes a comprehensive process, beginning with facilitating migratory regularization and work permits, followed by promoting outreach spaces such as job fairs to advertise the available options. Relocating people to areas near their new jobs and helping to cover basic food and housing needs during the first month of employment are also being considered. Additional proposals include continual monitoring to ensure migrants’ wellbeing and options for training and inclusion in the financial system.

In a period of seven months, MECAL has held 7 job fairs and placed 616 people in new jobs.  Approximately 300 companies have been taught about the rights of the migrant population and requirements for obtaining work visas.

“Migrants generate almost 7 trillion dollars per year. They are people who want to settle in a place that offers them economic security and the possibility of supporting their families. This makes them trustworthy, stable workers, who, if we provide them with the appropriate conditions, will be able to contribute to their new communities for a long time,” explained Virginia Negro, Technical Specialist on Labor Migration for IOM Mexico.

MECAL is an initiative that connects public institutions such as the National Migration Institute, INAMI, the National Employment Service, and local governments with private companies, chambers of commerce, credit institutions, and civil society organizations that work with the migrant population or defend human rights. This initiative is operating within the framework of the Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica - The Caribbean, financed by the Department of State of the United States. Currently, the technical needs are being evaluated for expanding MECAL to other countries in the region.

For more information, contact Gustavo Gutiérrez, National Coordinator of the Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica-The Caribbean, email: gugutierrez@iom.int, or phone +52 55 5536 39 Ext. 103