By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Last week, IOM launched the second in a series of trainings on migration data collection and analysis at Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The 10-day training on Building Labour Market and Demographic Scenarios for Egypt and the European Union is being attended by 12 CAPMAS representatives and aims at enhancing the Government of Egypt’s capacities to develop evidence-based policies on labour migration.
It builds on the knowledge gained from the first training on “Labour Market Forecasting” delivered by IOM Egypt in November 2016, equipping participants with the skills to better analyse labour market dynamics in Egypt and abroad.
The training will conclude with finalization of a report analysing the labour market in Egypt and potential countries of destination for labour mobility. This report is also intended to inform policymakers in Egypt about those destination countries with regular labour migration opportunities.
“This training is providing us with the economical and statistical tools to analyse the labour market in Egypt and in select countries in the European Union to forecast future needs, demographically and economically.
“This will enable us to identify potential opportunities for labour mobility of Egyptians abroad and support evidence-based planning in Egypt,” explained Madiha Soliman, Senior Researcher at CAPMAS.
Between 2010 and 2100 Europe’s population is projected to decline by more than 100 million (13.7 percent). According to Eurostat calculations, the region’s old age/dependency ratio – the percentage of non-working over 65-year-olds dependent on those of active working age – will nearly double to 1.9 workers per retiree by 2060, from 3.7 in 2012. This indicates an “increasing burden to provide for social expenditure related to population aging (for example, for pensions, healthcare and institutional care),” according to a recent report.
Conversely, countries in the Middle East and North Africa experience high youth unemployment as a result of booming fertility rates. In Egypt, every year approximately 550,000 new Egyptian workers join an already-saturated labour market, many of whom join the ranks of the 3.6 million unemployed. The demographic transitions in these countries could be addressed by promoting a common understanding on how labour market needs on both sides of the Mediterranean can be aligned in order to plan and manage successful labour migration for the benefit of all.
Accordingly, the training responds to the challenges mentioned above and is reflective of the Egyptian Government’s priorities, as outlined in the National Strategy on Combating Irregular Migration for 2016-2026 and the Action Plan on Institutional Strengthening in the Area of Labour Migration, to provide regular migration channels for Egyptians, specifically through monitoring and analysing local and international labour markets to identify current and future opportunities for labour mobility of Egyptians as a means to curb irregular migration.
This intervention is part of the “Developing Capacities for Forecasting and Planning Migration across the Mediterranean” project funded by IOM’s Development Fund and implemented by IOM Egypt.
