Pre-departure Orientation Unit Inaugurated at Ministry of Labour

IOM Egypt, the European Union, and the Ministry of Labour inaugurated on Sunday the Pre-departure Orientation (PDO) at the ministry with the presence of Minister of Labour H.E. Mr. Hassan Shehata, Head of the European Union to Egypt H.E. Ambassador Christian Berger and Mr. Carlos Oliver Cruz, IOM Egypt’s Chief of Mission alongside the programmes’ stakeholders and national partners. 

The Pre-departure Unit is part of the “Towards a Holistic Approach to Labour Migration Governance and Labour Mobility in North Africa” (THAMM) Programme in Egypt, funded by the European Union.

Ambassador Christian Berger said “Today’s inauguration of the Pre-departure Orientation Unit at the Ministry of Labour is an important component of the THAMMprogramme. It contributes to the EU’s efforts in capacity building through skill recognition, talent partnerships, and enhanced cooperation between the EU and Egypt in the field of migration. 

This year is the European Year of Skills linking skills to the labour market and providing the workforce with in-demand skills that are in demand and needed for long-term sustainable growth and competitiveness.”

In his opening remarks at the inauguration ceremony, Carlos Oliver Cruz, IOM Egypt’s Chief of Mission stated that “IOM global experience revealed that availing comprehensive information packages and orientation programmes to migrant workers before their departure enhances their chances of integration at countries of destination, and enable them to contribute to the development of their communities of origin as well as the communities they live in. 

Pre-departure orientation can be provided through many channels; reinforcing it with some technical training before commencing work helps bridge any potential skill gap between the persons’ competencies and employers’ needs.”

The unit supports the implementation of several goals of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration: providing accurate and timely information at all stages of migration, addressing and reducing vulnerabilities in migration, facilitating fair and ethical recruitment and protecting conditions that ensure decent work. 

It also enhances consular protection, assistance, and cooperation throughout the migration cycle, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) concerning decent Jobs and economic growth, reducing inequalities and Partnerships for the Goals.

In January 2022, IOM developed a guide for countries of North Africa to design and deliver PDO programmes. 

The organizations encourage governments and stakeholders to avail comprehensive information and orientation programmes for labor migration in countries of origin to support migrant workers at the country of destination. IOM’s approach to PDO is to avail information across 11 areas of work starting from the migrant workers’ decision to travel to recruitment processes, skills requirements, rights and obligations of workers, health management, financial literacy, travel arrangements to return and reintegration. 

The Ministry is also keen to avail information to migrant workers on how to get access to support channels and grievance mechanisms in case of exploitation, in collaboration with other relevant ministries.

IOM is currently working on the development of a contextualized national PDO guide, tailored to the specific needs of outbound Egyptian migrant workers, and plans to continue working closely with the unit’s staff to capacitate them on designing and delivering PDO-related programmes according to unified standards and quality across the nation.