Returning Ukrainian labour migrants receiving vocational training from IOM (2010)

IOM's approach to international labour migration and integration is to foster the synergies between labour migration and development and promote legal avenues of labour migration as an alternative to irregular migration. IOM aims to facilitate the development of policies and programmes that are in the interest of migrants, the society and the Ukrainian Government, and which provide effective protection for labour migrants' and their families' rights.

IOM promotes the concept of circular migration as it can respond to short-term requirements for labour, while at the same time maximizing the development impact of migration in Ukraine. IOM continues to assist the Ukrainian Government in its efforts to put into place transparent, equitable recruitment schemes ensuring that migrant workers are placed in decent working conditions in particular within the framework of bilateral arrangements.

IOM’s specific areas of focus include information dissemination on labour migration, database set-up and registration of potential migrant workers, matching skills with demand, selection and pre-departure orientation, transit and post-arrival assistance, complementary orientation, job placement, and return and reintegration in Ukraine. IOM’s major achievements include the activation of the Portugal-Ukraine Bilateral Agreement and creation of an operational mechanism for the implementation of labour migration programmes between Ukraine and EU countries.