Erbil, Iraq: ICMPD was delighted to hold their third training session in Iraq for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA) on 16-17 February in Erbil.
Thirteen officials from MOLSA who are based in Baghdad and Erbil, representing offices such as employment, inspection and administration, and foreign relations, participated in the 3rd training.
The sessions covered several thematic areas and focused on capacity building for Iraqi ministry officials. Key themes discussed were skills training and development, matching, certification and accreditation.
The meeting was opened by Raed Jabbar Bahedh Al-Lami Director General for Vocational Training at the Iraqi Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Golda Roma from ICMPD then led a session reviewing the future of work: pre, during and post COVID-19.
This was followed by Timothy Mizen (Senior Project Officer, UNESCO) and Hayder Al Haboobi (Project Officer,BRIDGE project) speaking about innovations in training programmes and their applicability in Iraq.
The training also included sessions led by Bernhard Perchinig from ICMPD on current skills partnerships in the Budapest Process region on joint skills development and vocational education programmes. Glen Hodgson from Free Trade Europa also held a workshop on the Gig economy and its impact on skills development, decent work and migrant protection. This session also looked at skills for improved productivity, employment growth and development.
The workshop concluded that skills development and training needs to be prioritised in Iraq, in addition to a national qualification framework which can act as a first step towards mutual recognition. At the same time, Budapest Process meetings should be leveraged as well as public private partnerships. The work of the Migrant Resource Centres and the new ICMPD free online courses covering pre and post arrival orientation sessions were also highlighted as sources of valuable information and support.
