Labor Migration, Skills, and Student Mobility in Asia

Abstract

This report is a summary of the major policy issues raised at discussions among experts and practitioners from various international organizations and several Asian countries at the Third Roundtable on Labor Migration: Assessing Labor Market Requirements for Foreign Workers and Policies for Regional Skills Mobility, which was co-organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the International Labour Organization in Bangkok from 23 to 25 January 2013. The report highlights the trends and outlook for labor migration in Asia and assesses the labor market requirements for foreign workers. It also focuses on building a mobility area for skills to help create a "free flow of skilled labor" among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, gaining from skills portability and links between education and migration, as well as managing low-skilled migration and promoting decent work opportunities for labor migrants