Multistakeholder Pledge: Skills-Based Complementary Pathways

Key asks & outcomes

Improved access to family reunification for refugees and build additional complementary pathways (GCR Objective 3 and HLOM Recommendation 16 and 17); Increased economic inclusion and access to livelihoods and expanded access to higher education (GCR Goal 2 and HLOM Recommendation 13 and 14)

These are to be achieved:

• By ensuring that refugees can access documents, ombudsman, complaints and other protection mechanisms.
• By including family unity provisions in the visas refugees use to access pathways.
• By ensuring refugees have access to needed support, facilitation, accompaniment and other resources to help them navigate the often long, complex, and costly immigration process.
• Through encouraging and assisting employers to hire refugees through labour mobility pathways as part of their talent acquisition strategies.

Background

The Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility Pathways, chaired by the Canadian government and the Global Task Force on Education Complementary Pathways, chaired by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and Open Society University Network (OSUN) have called on their members and members of the global communities of practice on labour mobility and education pathways to come together on a pledge committing to refugees’ unhindered access to labour mobility and complementary education pathways opportunities.

Pledge description

The pledge aims to work towards lifting obstacles to ensure refugees are able use of existing migration pathways and exploring where new labour mobility and education complementary pathways opportunities should be created.

To this end the coalition of partners aims to achieve the goal of 200,000 refugees arriving on labour mobility and education pathways in 5 years time.

Linked pledges

• Achieving 15% Enrolment by 2030 to Expanding Refugee Access to Higher Education and Self-Reliance
• Economic inclusion and Social Protection
• Refugee Travel Documents - The 21st Century Nansen Passport
• Supporting Refugee Family Reunification
• Community Sponsorship

Leadership

• Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility
• Global Task Force on Third Country Education Pathways

Members

• Government of Australia
• Government of Canada
• Government of the United States of America
• Government of Belgium
• Fragomen LLC
• International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
• RefugePoint
• Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB)
• IOM
• WUSC
• OSUN
• AUF

Contact details

[email protected]; Anna Gekht, [email protected]; Amanda Stovall, [email protected]

Calendar

• Jun-Sept 2023: Identification and Consultations with States and Key Actors
• Sept-Dec 2023: Pledge development and launch at GRF