The 3rd Roundtable on Labor Migration: Assessing Labor Market Requirements for Foreign Workers and Policies for Regional Skills Mobility

Purpose

• To better understand labor migration trends, the impact of labor migration, and labor migration management (both skilled and low-skilled migrant workers).
• To promote international cooperation in labor migration markets.

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Background

The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) is organizing, in cooperation with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the International Labour Organization (ILO), a roundtable on labor migration in Asia, in Bangkok, Thailand, 23-25 January 2013.

This roundtable will be a follow-up to the previous series of ADBI-OECD roundtables, which have been held since 2011. The first one, held in January 2011, focused on contemporary trends and the prospects of the labor movement in the post-crisis context in Asia. This inaugural roundtable was attended by policymakers from developing countries in Asia and OECD countries, as well as migration specialists from ADB, ILO, and the International Organization for Migration. ADBI and OECD organized a second roundtable on labor migration in January 2012 to meet the great demand for discussions on this crucial issue. "Managing Migration to Support Inclusive and Sustainable Growth" was the theme for the 2012 roundtable, which focused on the management and social protection of migrant labor (i.e., how to improve integration through social protection and inclusion policies; and the demographic causes and consequences of Asian migration).

The 2013 roundtable will focus on (i) trends and outlook for labor migration, remittances, and labor demand in Asia in 2011-2012, (ii) building a mobility area for skills, (iii) identifying skills needs and matching them through labor migration, (iv) gaining from skills portability and links between education and migration, (v) reintegration and investment by returning labor migrants, and (vi) managing low-skilled migration and promoting work opportunities for labor migrants.

The 2013 roundtable will include the following sessions:

• Session 1: Trends and outlook for labor migration, remittances, and labor demand in Asia in 2011-2012.
• Session 2: Building a mobility area for skills.
• Session 3: Identifying skills needs and matching them through labor migration.
• Session 4: Gaining from skills portability and links between education and migration.
• Session 5: Reintegration and investment by returning labor migrants.
• Session 6: Managing low skilled migration and promoting decent work opportunities for labor migrants.

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Objectives

• Updating the trends and outlook for labor migration in Asia in 2011-2012.
• A better understanding of the international experiences in building a mobility area for skills useful to ASEAN countries in constructing a "free flow of skilled labor" by 2015 as its approved objective.
• Examining both the demand side and supply side of the labor migration market.

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Outputs

• Updating the trends and outlook for labor migration in Asia 2011-2012.
• Comprehensively assessing labor market requirements for foreign workers.
• A better understanding of the international experience in building a mobility area for skills, which will help to create a "free flow of skilled labor" among ASEAN member countries by 2015 as its approved objective.
• Matching skills needs through labor migration and international cooperation.
• Presentation materials and a summary of the proceedings to be uploaded to the ADBI website.

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Participants

• Mid-level and senior officials in charge of migration policy and economic planning from developing member countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
• Government delegations from Brunei Darussalam; Hong Kong, China; Singapore; and Taipei,China.
• The OECD will invite policymakers from its member countries.

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How to Register

By invitation.

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Language

English

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Responsibilities

Selected participants will make country presentations.

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Partners

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the International Labour Organization (ILO).