IOM Nepal

IOM Nepal will build on the recommendations and gaps identified on its existing studies on skills profiling and reintegration and conduct an in-depth and extensive macro level study to understand the supply and demand part of the skills. The study will map existing training institutions in Nepal, register the type of trainings provided and market diagnostics on the recruitment of trained personnel by private/public sector in Nepal and the role of private recruitment agencies in this process. This will consider pre and post COVID-19 situations and how the training institutes have realigned to meet the demands of COVID affected markets. It will assess employment trends in skilled, semi-skilled and lower-skilled categories of demands in various destinations, map new and emerging job market in various destination and identify key areas and sectors including green job or the one that promotes green economy that will align with Nepal’s human resources or based on its ongoing skills programme. It will also provide the list of skills areas in which further trainings could be considered for high earning of the Nepali migrant workers and government initiatives at the national level to address social protection needs of the returnee migrant workers.

In recent years, migrants have made a significant contribution to the socio-economic landscape of Nepal. However, as migration and sustainable development is an issue which has not yet been addressed in the curricula of Nepali universities, there exists a gap in academic knowledge and a small number of policymakers with expertise on the matter. As a result, stakeholders such as academicians, policymakers and practitioners have limited exposure on an overarching comprehensive and harmonized approach to migration for development. Migration governance thus remains to be mainstreamed in the policies of all three tiers (federal, provincial and local level) of government. In light of the above, the objective of this project is to support the Government of Nepal in addressing migration issues in a comprehensive manner for the benefit of sustainable development through the acquisition of migration knowledge.The project will seek to do so by engaging the government, civil society actors and members of academia to work collaboratively in the field of migration and improve their understanding on the complexity of migration impacts in Nepal. To that end, the project will: establish and hold two editions of the School on Migration Studies (SMS), which will provide an interactive course for the benefit of the aforementioned stakeholders to strengthen their knowledge on migration and sustainable development, addressing various thematic areas on migration; provide grants for students and young researchers to produce novel and local migration research; and produce recommendations to identify and address knowledge gaps, and assess training needs in the field of migration research.

Building upon the partnership between Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and IOM globally, this project aims to strengthen Nepal's migration governance through enhanced coordination mechanisms, and the promotion of safe, orderly and regular migration practices. The project envisages collaborative efforts among the government, civil society actors, private sector and academia, fostering a deepened understanding of migration impacts and the integration of safe migration practices across sectors. The project will support the government with the development of a comprehensive GCM National Implementation Strateguc Framework. This will involve the establishment of a multistakeholder coordination mechanism and knowledge sharing and management through Migration School. Policy briefs and dialogues on migration and development will be important outputs. The project prioritizes gender mainstreaming, ensuring a gender-responsive approach in capacity-building, policy dialogues, and ethical recruitment practices. It also emphasizes inclusivity by considering the youth and addressing their challenges, promoting environmental sustainability through climate change adaptation, and ensuring benefits extend to those left behind. The emphasis on regular pathways promotes legal and safe migration, contributing to a transparent and secure framework. These cross-cutting considerations enhance the overall effectiveness, inclusivity, and sustainability of migration governance initiatives in Nepal.

The proposed project aims to contribute to the Government of Nepal's priority of enhancing disaster preparedness and response, particularly at the provincial level, through sustainable capacity building and strengthening coordination and information management initiatives.

This project supports the Government of Nepal in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM). IOM aims to support the establishment of a robust legal framework at provincial and municipal levels. Further, this project contributes to strengthening the operational capacity of the National Disaster Management Authority, through trainings to their staff and to elected representatives and government officials, at provincial and municipal levels. Thematics of the trainings will include drafting of DRRM acts and policies, including emergency preparedness.

Nepal witnesses high human mobility in the form of both voluntary and forced migration. The country has extremely high levels of climate risk. Climate change and human mobility is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that cuts across different policy areas, including but not limited to migration, development, climate change and environment, humanitarian assistance and security. The Government of Nepal is keen to address the issue in an integrated and coherent manner to provide solutions for people to move, people on the move and people to stay. The objective of the project is to support the Government of Nepal’s efforts to respond to challenges along the MECC nexus in a human security-centred and gender responsive manner. The project aims to further strengthen the knowledge base to inform government stakeholders and influence policies related to climate change, disasters, gender, and migration. Along with this, the project will support local governments to draft plans, adopting a human security approach, for gender responsive safe, orderly and regular migration and adaptation to climate change. By engaging with different spheres of government and engaging leading civil society organisations (CSOs) and communities, the project will promote participatory, joint approaches to analyse and address drivers that compel people to move and support the Government in taking climate actions and enhancing adaptive capacities of the population by making migration a choice.