Consultant – Skills Gap Analysis in Key Economic Sectors to establish diaspora skills matching Schemes in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the UN Migration Agency. With 174 member states it is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. Established in 1951 and now active in over 400 field locations worldwide, IOM works with partners, government and civil society to:

1. Assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration and mobility
2. Advance understanding of migration issues
3. Encourage social and economic development through migration; and
4. Uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants and mobile populations.

IOM is committed to a diverse and inclusive environment. Internal and External candidates are eligible to apply to this vacancy. IOM’s Regional Office for the East and Horn of Africa supports and monitors the following countries: Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Through a team of specialists, the Regional Office supports the development, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of projects and initiatives undertaken by country offices and regional programmes.

Purpose of the Consultancy:

To provide expertise in conducting a gap analysis in key economic sectors that require diaspora Skills/Knowledge/Investment transfer in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya to identify supply and demand needs and establish matching/skills sharing scheme in close cooperation with government stakeholders.

The consultant will also provide expertise to initiate inter-state dialogue through the RMFM TWG on Consular/Labour Attaché/Diaspora and will support the development of SOPs/framework on establishing matching/skills sharing scheme for harnessing the diaspora resources to curb unemployment among the youth and for the countries’ sustainable economic growth.

Specific Objective of the Consultancy

• Identify skills/knowledge gaps and investment opportunities in selected priority sectors (To be decided by the countries), focusing on education and skill development required for the sector.
• Assessment of previous diaspora return programs within the selected priority sector and lessons learned and best practices outside of the region.
• Analysis of relevant legal, institutional and policy frameworks to identify the gaps, challenges, and opportunities for diaspora engagement and investment in selected priority sectors as well as proposed interventions to facilitate diaspora engagement and investment.
• Propose appropriate interventions/strategies to effectively address the identified skills/knowledge gaps and promote investment and engagement opportunities through the contribution of members of the diaspora.
• Develop a roadmap and recommendations for the short, medium, and long-term to inform knowledge/skills transfer programs in the selected countries.
• To contribute to evidence base and regional discussions at the Regional Ministerial Forum on Migration (RMFM) around diaspora engagement and harmonization across the region.

Background

Diasporas in many cases play an important role in the economic development of their countries of origin. Beyond sending remittances, they promote trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), create businesses, and spur entrepreneurship, and transfer new knowledge and skills. For many countries, the diaspora acts as a brain trust, connecting critical components of the public and private sectors to expertise not available within the country and compensating to some degree for the departure of highly skilled emigrants.

Policymakers in the EHOA more and more are recognizing that an engaged diaspora can be an asset — or even a counterweight to the emigration of skilled and talented migrants. There are indications that EHOA MS are working towards establishing frameworks to institute skills and knowledge-transfer initiatives for a temporary (and occasionally permanent) return of skilled diaspora members to their countries of origin to teach and train. For example, medical professionals who have received advanced training and practiced abroad are able to bring new training, skills, equipment, and know-how both clinically and in hospital administration to their countries of origin — resources that these health institutions would not have been able to access had the diaspora remained abroad. Second and later- generation diaspora members also volunteer their services and help fund medical services and innovations in their parents’ homeland. In an IOM-managed project known as Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA), the Ghana health project reached 21,000 health workers and students who took part in training and education programs provided by over 100 Ghanaian diaspora health professionals resident in Europe. In a similar project, FINNSOM Health Northern Somalia, medical professionals of Somali origin from Finland volunteered for 58 assignments to 20 host institutions in Somaliland and Puntland (with a special focus on female health professionals to address women’s health needs). Both projects were demand-driven, with local institutions and health authorities identifying the needs in their areas. Ethiopia has initiated an extremely ambitious project to build 13 new hospitals that will rely heavily on returned medical professionals in the diaspora to train new staff.

Though there is no concrete data on the diaspora contribution in the region, it is believed that the potential wealth and knowledge existing in the EHOA Diaspora is enormous. The region has a significant number of its population living in the US and major European countries as well as in Africa and Asia countries. This untapped resource necessitates the design of a sound strategy that ensures the diaspora community’s active participation in economic activities in their home countries. As engaging diasporas has been proven to strengthen the socioeconomic development of their home countries through capacity-building, skills transfer and partnerships, the MS of EHOA have now more than ever before recognized the need for a structured mechanism to create long-term, sustainable partnership programmes with the diaspora. As an initial step, some member states such as Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, etc. have conducted diaspora mapping in selected destination countries to understand the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of diasporas, their attitudes, and possible areas of interest for collaboration. IOM, a leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration, have been providing support in formulating and implementing the diaspora mapping exercises in these countries. With EHOA’s growing population and high levels of youth unemployment, there is a need for sustainable investment, which is why diaspora engagement is critical. Diaspora skill and investment in sectors that can enhance food supply, health-care services and educational solutions within local communities will add greater value to origin countries’ economic growth and poverty reduction.

As a practical step in implementing exiting diaspora policies and contributing to the success of IOM diaspora mapping projects, IOM has planned to assess the skills/knowledge gaps and investment opportunities in selected priority sectors key to the countries’ development strategy in ETHIOPIA, UGANDA, and KENYA. The gap analysis will serve to match the skills/knowledge gaps and investment opportunities identified with the diaspora resources pronounced through the diaspora mappings.

Scope and Purpose of the Mapping:

Better Regional Migration Management (BRMM), Labour Mobility and Regional Integration for Safe, Orderly and Humane Labour Migration in East And Horn Of Africa is a program funded by to Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to enhance labour migration governance and protection of migrant workers and their family members’ human, social and labour rights through intra and inter-regional cooperation on a whole of government and whole of society approach, to support regional integration and facilitate mobility for transformative inclusive and sustainable economic growth as well as youth and women empowerment. More specifically, the programme is expected to strengthen national and regional Labour migration governance in accordance with the global and regional frameworks; increase national and cross-border cooperation on labour mobility; promote ethical recruitment and protection of migrant workers’ rights; and enhance avenues for safe, regular, and humane labour migration and mobility pathways through FMPs/CMPs and BLMAs. A robust communication and visibility strategy and action plan will support the aims of the programme.

The programme works at two levels: the regional and national levels. At the regional level, IOM proposes to work with both RECs and their Member States through the Regional Ministerial Forum on Migration (RMFM) and its four Technical Working Groups (TWGs). At the national level, the program will support Member States in enhancing their capacities in policy and practice leading to greater impact and faster results, engaging local government and non-government partners, from the diaspora, private sector, and civil society. The program II phase will run for 3 years, from 1 July 2022 to 31 March 2025. It is under the scope of this program that the LMI Unit of the IOM Regional Office for East & Horn of Africa is looking to recruit an experienced consultant to conduct a GAP ANALYSIS IN KEY ECONOMIC SECTORS THAT REQUIRE DIASPORA SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/INVESTMENT TRANSFER TO IDENTIFY SUPPLY AND DEMAND NEEDS AND ESTABLISH MATCHING/SKILLS SHARING SCHEME IN ETHIOPIA, UGANDA, AND KENYA. The gap analysis will provide the targeted countries and IOM the needed evidence bases to concretely identify strategic skills/knowledge gaps within the priority sectors and match the identified gaps and opportunities with mapped diaspora resources. The gap analysis is expected to be conducted with close support from IOM EHOA RO and IOM country offices, the Diaspora Engagement Affairs Directorate, MoFA, Federal and Regional Diaspora Coordination offices, MOST, MoH, MoE, MOLS, diaspora association, etc. Priority sectors and ministries to involve in the gap analysis will be identified during the inception period in close collaboration with key stakeholders.

The study will contribute to the evidence base needed in the region to identify skill gaps in key priority economic sectors and match these needs with exiting diaspora resources. The study will also contribute towards effective implementation of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular migration (GCM), Sustainable Development Goals (targets 8.8 and 10.7), African Union`s Vision 2063 and Regional Ministerial Forum on Migration (RMFM) Objectives and other relevant regional cooperation and development frameworks. It will feed into BRMM PHASE II Output 4.3 Returning migrant workers and member of their families’ vulnerabilities, protection needs, and social, economic, labour, and human rights are better met through enhanced, return and reintegration in the East and Horn of Africa; and Activity: 4.3.4 Conduct gap analysis in key economic sectors that require diaspora skills/knowledge/investment transfer to identify supply and demand needs in close cooperation with government stakeholders and establish matching/skills sharing scheme (MFA, MOL, MoPD etc) (EHOA RO to lead in collaboration with Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya)

RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

Under the overall supervision of the Senior Regional Policy and Programme Coordinator and the direct supervision of the Senior Regional Specialist on Labour Mobility and Social Inclusion and in close collaboration with BRMM Regional Program Management Officer, BRMM Country Focal Persons in the selected countries, and HQ LMI focal persons, the consultant will have the responsibility for the following duties:

• Drafting the inception report of the study including research questions, guiding questions for desk review, stakeholder interviews, and the planning of the overall activities of the gap analysis.
• Conducting data collection and collation and analysis of data collected.
• Develop both country specific comprehensive reports and one regional summary GAP ANALYSIS IN KEY ECONOMIC SECTORS THAT REQUIRE DIASPORA SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/INVESTMENT TRANSFER TO IDENTIFY SUPPLY AND DEMAND NEEDS AND ESTABLISH MATCHING/SKILLS SHARING SCHEME IN ETHIOPIA, UGANDA, AND KENYA.
• Provide preliminary recommendation/guidance for each country and the region to enhance MATCHING/SKILLS SHARING SCHEME IN ETHIOPIA, UGANDA, AND KENYA.
• Develop a short, medium, and long-term based roadmap to inform knowledge/skills transfer programs in the selected countries.
• Country level consultation workshop to present preliminary findings and present the draft road map and collect key stakeholders’ feedback.
• Country specific comprehensive final report and one regional summary gap analysis report incorporating stakeholders’ and IOM and feedback.
• Support to initiate inter-state dialogue through the RMFM TWG on Consular/Labour Attaché/Diaspora and the development of regional SOPs/framework for harnessing the diaspora resources to curb unemployment among the youth and for sustainable economic growth.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Master’s degree in social sciences, law, international relations, or migration studies.
• Minimum of ten years’ relevant professional work experience, preferably in data analysis, social assessment and analytical report writing and in programming, with at least three years spent in designing and conducting diaspora related research and assessments including primary research and policy analysis (submission of proof is highly appreciated).
• Excellent knowledge of labour migration issues in EHOA, Africa and at least 5-year experience in conducting research and mapping on migration related issues.
• Knowledge of contemporary developments in diaspora engagement and migration, and global processes such as GCM and SDGs.
• Good knowledge of the UN system and organizational mandates as well as interagency cooperation platforms on migration.

SKILLS

• Excellent ability in writing reports suitable for publishing.
• Excellent command in English.

LANGUAGES

Required: Fluency in English is mandatory. Working Knowledge of any EAHOA languages and/or other UN official language is advantageous.