Migrants face many challenges abroad, but the main difficulties are those linked to skills, qualifications, and readiness for a decent job. Once abroad, migrants are hit by the mismatch and under-utilization of skills, the lack of employment or training opportunities, and the lack of information about training programmes at home.

IOM in Uzbekistan aims to address these issues and to contribute to safe and orderly migration by providing up-to-date skills development and orientation. Since January this year, future migrants have had access to a skills development centre in the Eastern city of Namangan, created with help from IOM’s Development Fund.   

Working alongside the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and the Agency for External Labour Migration under the Ministry, the project has elaborated three training modules that are popular and in demand in the destination countries for migrants, namely: hotel receptionist, housekeeping, and country-specific orientation.

New training venues, fully equipped with all necessary supplies and with newly developed curriculums, is ready to welcome up to 550 trainees per year.

Each training module will last seven weeks, and will use best practices from countries with advanced vocational training experience.

“It’s important to note that All modules are elaborated in a gender-inclusive approach, with course exercises and resource materials serving all people, especially women, who have the interest to work in the occupation of hospitality industry, either at home or abroad”, noted Sanjar Toshbaev, IOM’s Head of Office in Uzbekistan

Apart from the modules in Housekeeping and Hotel Receptionist, a training curriculum is also designed in the same standards for the Country Orientation Program, structuring information about selected destination countries. The curriculum responds to the standards and employers’ expectations in main destination countries for Uzbek labour migrants such as the Russian Federation, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.