For the first time, representatives of governments, employers‘ and workers’ organisations from 14 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean met to jointly promote inclusive and accessible labour skills certification processes adapted to the needs of migrants and the labour market.

More than 50 representatives of governments, employers‘ and workers’ organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean participated in the meeting ‘Talent on the move towards skills recognition for safe migration’ in Lima, Peru, from 29 to 31 October 2024, co-organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Inter-American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training (Cinterfor).

The event provided an opportunity to exchange good practices and experiences on the certification of labour competencies in the region, a key issue for access to decent work and the socio-economic integration of migrants in the regional labour market.

The participants agreed on guidelines to adopt roadmaps to promote the mutual recognition of the certification of labour competencies (LCC) for migrants, including institutional and technical aspects, and considering the particularities of each national and sub-regional context.

The meeting was a milestone in positioning the CCL as an essential component for safe, orderly and regular migration and the socio-economic integration of migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean. The participating group also included representatives from the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) Vocational Training Network, the South American Conference on Migration (CSM), the Regional Integrated Framework for Protection and Solutions (MIRPS), the Pacific Alliance and the Quito Process, as well as specialists from international organisations.

In order to ensure that cooperation and articulation between the tripartite actors is sustainable, the aim is to encourage inclusive, accessible and adapted to the needs of the regional labour market processes of mutual recognition of the CCL. To this end, the participants defined the creation of the Tripartite Group for the Promotion of Mutual Recognition of the CCL for Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, a governance and management model was established with the aim of promoting tripartite South-South cooperation in this area.

This tripartite group will be technically assisted by the ILO, through the labour migration and human mobility team in Latin America and the Caribbean and Cinterfor.

The regional tripartite meeting Talent in Motion was supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).