ILO to engage FG on certifying migrants for seamless employment

International Labour Organisation (ILO) is to engage the Federal Government, workers’ unions and social partners on making skilled migrants acquire Trade Test certification for seamless employment in their countries of destination.

ILO Project Coordinator, Celestine Okeke, who spoke at a communication and visibility programme in Lagos, noted that the move would facilitate their reintegration and employment.

He reiterated that Trade Test, recognised globally for skill certification, would assist migrants get jobs easily.

His words: “When a person migrates out of the country safely, he can find a job. It is when he finds a job that he can contribute to the economy of the country he is going and return.”

Okeke advised Nigerians, who wish to migrate, to go through the Migration Resource Centre (MRC) for proper information on skills required by their host countries.

He noted that labour migration was a way of encouraging people to shun irregular routines.

“At the irregular routine, you find people, who are not too educated, who don’t have degrees going abroad to work, and those that have degrees, find it difficult to readily fit into the system. Having a Trade Test certificate will make them get jobs easily overseas,” Okeke clarified.

Programme Director, Patriotic Citizen Initiatives, Osita Osemene, said ILO, which supports labour migration in Nigeria, does not just want reintegration, but reintegration that is holistic and encompassing.

He said it is about bringing all stakeholders to achieve a sustainable approach, adding that everyone identifies their areas of strength and works towards achieving same goal.

Assistant Director at the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mary Ndirapaya, canvassed a regulatory body, where the informal and formal sectors could play a major role in encouraging those that wish to further their education to go for the National Board Technical Certification.

She said a lot of organisations are coming up with different certifications, even as she agreed that a single institution could not do the skills training alone due to the nation’s large population.

A government agent, Dr. Tiza Shaakaa, explained that Trade Test is a qualification in the informal sector.