Addis Ababa – This week (25/02), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) handed over more than 191,000 USD (~6million birr) worth of equipment to the Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) as part of the organization’s capacity-building support. The domestic work and caregiving training materials, mostly composed of household equipment, are destined for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions. These will be used to provide skills training for potential Ethiopian labour migrants heading mostly to the Middle East.

The provision of the equipment is based on the joint needs assessment conducted by MoLSA, the Federal TVET Agency and IOM Ethiopia.

Ayelech Eshete, MoLSA’s Minister D’état received the equipment which was handed over by IOM Ethiopia’s Migration Management Program Coordinator, Malambo Moonga.

“The Government is paving the way for foreign employment formalities to the Middle East and is working with partner agencies,” the Minister D’état said.

Following the signing of four bilateral agreements with Gulf Countries, over 13,000 Ethiopians were able to migrate through regular means. Minister Ayelech noted that one of the areas the government is working on is the skills development of citizens so that they have a competitive edge as well. IOM’s Malambo Moonga on his part assured that the organization will continue to support the Government of Ethiopia on such capacity-building initiatives. 

The items will be distributed throughout the four Regional States of Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and the Southern Nations and Nationalities and Peoples’, which are known to be prone to irregular migration.

This support is made possible through the generous financial support obtained from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, the EU Trust Fund, and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Sub-Fund of Peace Development Fund.

For more information, please contact Alemayehu Seifeselassie, Tel: +251 11 6611117 (Ext. 1455), Mobile: +251 91 163 9082, Email: salemayehu@iom.int