Multi-stakeholder Pledge: Skills-Based Complementary Pathways
Multi-stakeholder 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
Continuing pledge implementation efforts
Overview
- The pledge aims for 200,000 refugees arriving on labour mobility and education pathways within 5 years, with progress toward this goal measured using the global data from the OECD-UNHCR Study Safe Pathways for Refugees.
- Current leadership is through the Global Task Force on Third Country Education and the Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility.
- Link to GCR Objectives 1 – Ease Pressure on Host Countries, 2 - Refugee Self-Reliance and 3 - Third Country Solutions.
- A total of 96 pledges focused on Skills-Based Complementary Pathways from 78 unique entities.
- Regarding thematic pledging areas, there was an even split between education pathways (46) and labour mobility (46). Other overlapping pledging areas (with 6 linkages or more) are noted above and highlight areas for collaboration. States (23) and Civil Society Organisations (20) are the main type of pledging entities.
- From a regional perspective, the majority of submitting entities were from the Americas (35) and Europe (25).
Highlighted pledge updates
Skills-based pathways pledge updates
Target 1: Scale complementary pathways via labour mobility
Belgium continues EU PASSWORLD & Displaced Talent for Europe; Australia maintained Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement Pilot and launched TraintoHire in Malaysia; Canada maintained Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot.
Target 2: Expand education & training pathways linked to employability
Italy’s Progetto Mediterraneo/UNICORE grows cohorts with 2024–25 graduates; Fondazione Finanza Etica provides microcredit; Canada expands WUSC/SRP for educationtoemployment transitions.
Target 3: Strengthen partnerships, coordination, and meaningful participation
New coalitions of actors built to facilitate pathways, including to support implementation of Labour corridors in Italy and to build new pathways for refugees with green economy skills. Yusra Mardini Foundation/IOC/WUSC/UNHCR support sports pathways; Canada, France, Italy advance coordination; AGD focus on Youth/Women/Disabilities; many pledges report meaningful participation.
Challenges
Visa & Administrative Barriers
- Streamlined refugee work/study visas and opening of regular migration legal frameworks to refugees; interministerial coordination. More proactive engagement of Interior/Labour/Education ministries.
Funding & Financial Sustainability
- Multiyear blended finance for mobility and education pathways.
Skills Recognition & Certification
- Technical assistance for qualification recognition and competency frameworks.
Refugee Participation & AGD Inclusion
- Institutionalize consultation with RLOs and women/youth groups; embed participation standards in monitoring.
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 Belgium
- Fragomen LLC
- International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
- RefugePoint
- Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB)
- IOM
- WUSC
- OSUN
- AUF
Contact details
Calendar
- December 2023: launch of the Multi-Stakeholder Pledge on Skills-based pathways at the Global Refugee Forum 2023
- 15-17 December 2025: GRF Progress review