Skills Without Borders: Training and Certification for Migrant Workers

Migrant workers face particular challenges in making their skills visible across global contexts, impacting the utilization of human capital and migrants’ ability to increase their standard of living and earnings. The mission of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME) is to advise the government of Mexico on the formulation of policies for Mexican communities abroad. Building on the 2010-11 Capstone project that evaluated IME’s programs to train and certify middle-skilled migrant workers in the United States, this year’s team provided IME a comparative analysis of global programs and practices pursuing skills training and certification. To help inform the development of a transnational policy, the team examined the institutional structures and partnerships of skills training and certification programs through two case studies set in the European Union and the Asian-Pacific region.