The Youth Employability and Retention Program

The Youth Employability and Retention Program (YERP) is a three year program (2010-2012) supported through the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund financed by the Spanish Government to enhance national ownership in Bosnia and Herzegovina of the Millenium Development Goals under the UN reform framework. Four UN agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, and UNV) and IOM in partnership with government authorities, the private sector and civil society are jointly implementing the program with the main aim to improve the employability of BiH youth, while providing new entry points to the labour market. YERP interventions will address inter-related issues in education (UNICEF), the labour market (UNDP), volunteerism (UNV), and youth labour migration (UNFPA and IOM).

The specific Joint Programme objectives are to contribute to the:

1. Increasing capacities of the education system and local communities to improve youth employability (UNICEF, UNV);
2. Enhancing capacities of the Public Employment Services and Civil Society to develop and deliver an integrated package of youth employability measures (UNDP, UNV);
3. Maximizing positive impact of youth migration whilst minimizing impact of irregular migrations (UNFPA, IOM).

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) as part of the YERP seeks to maximize the positive impact of youth migration and minimize the negative impact of irregular migration.  IOM will develop internal and external migration support to optimise the potential of migration as an individual employment-seeking strategy that can alleviate local labour market pressures. Implementing partners include Labor Ministries and Agencies at the state and entity levels, Public Employment Service offices across the country, and individual firms and civil society organizations from the community level to the Diaspora.

Background on Migration
The unemployment rate of 58.5% for 15- to 24-year-olds in Bosnia and Herzegovina (almost four times higher that the average among EU countries), barriers to job market entry, particularly for returnees in a minority situation and youth without formally documented work experience, and greater demand for labour and higher wages in neighbouring countries have created strong outward migration pressure. Current migration, unlike in the past, is mostly motivated by economic considerations. As a result of the changing demographic trends toward an on-average older populace in some European countries, there is an increasing need for both skilled and low-skilled labour to fill gaps in affected labour markets. BiH youth have a strong interest in labour participation outside the country: a 2008 CCYI/GTZ survey indicated that 73% of 18 to 30 year-old respondents would leave the country if given the chance.

Well-managed migration has the potential to increase the skills and technical competencies of the labour force, and to bring increased wealth from remittances and foreign direct investment. The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina is working to develop capacities to initiate and manage migration so as to protect workers from exploitative recruitment and employment practices including abuse and human trafficking, and to optimize the benefits of organized labour migration, including the development of new markets, increasing remittance flows, and enhanced development impacts. Its experience with migration management is limited: currently Bosnia and Herzegovina has only three bilateral agreements on labour migration in development (with Serbia, Slovenia and Qatar) though individual municipalities have developed somewhat ad hoc temporary migration protocols with neighbours in the region.  A second issue is the lack of information for potential migrants on safe work opportunities abroad, which was partly remedied by the regional AENEAS project implemented by IOM, which establish Migrant Service Centers at the entity level.  The services that the MSCs provide – information on visa requirements, client profiling, and data collection on migrants - are not yet available at the cantonal or municipal level. 

IOM’s Role in the YERP
IOM will design and implement a pilot circular/temporary migration scheme for both skilled and unskilled youth. IOM will work through its worldwide network of missions and with the Diaspora Sector of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees to identify work and internship opportunities abroad and match foreign labour demand with local labour supply, facilitating negotiations with the main labour migration countries of BiH nationals and potentially paving the way for formal labor migration agreements in the future. Agreements between BiH and host countries will be negotiated to ensure long-term, fair, transparent, and equitable employment opportunities for BiH youth labour migrants. IOM will undertake a customer satisfaction survey to measure the success of the circular migration scheme.

IOM will provide training to Youth Employment Resource Centers on assistance to potential and returning migrants, and migrants selected for organised schemes.  The YERP will establish 17 Youth Employment Resource Centers (CISO by their local language acronym).  Each CISO will be staffed with three youth counselors who will receive extensive training (organized by UNDP) in providing career counseling and guidance services. IOM will focus on building CISO staff capacity to provide young people with information on foreign employment opportunities and counsel them on the pitfalls of irregular migration. CISO youth counsellors will be trained to provide support to outbound youth through pre-departure orientations and to act as a point of contact for potential returnees.  IOM will work together with UNDP to support returning migrants by providing employment assistance and referral. 

IOM will work with CISOs, schools, and local media to reach out to potential youth migrants. This activity will build on IOM’s decade-long expertise and successful results in the implementation of various information campaigns targeting youth, women, returnees, and other vulnerable groups in BiH. The aim is to Increase awareness amongst BiH youth, their families and the general public regarding the dangers of irregular migration and the benefits of regular migration.  Posters, leaflets, and public service announcements will be developed as well as television programs. Targeted outreach will also be accomplished in synergy with UNICEF, in the implementation of awareness raising campaigns in schools.