PALIM reports: welcome policies and integration actors for migrant workers

PALIM (Project Addressing Labour Shortages Through Innovative Labour Migration Models) is a pilot project carried out by the Belgian development agency, Enabel, with support of the European Union and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMDP). The project aims to test a new labour migration model, by linking the development of the ICT sector in Morocco with the labour shortage gaps of well-trained ICT-staff in Flanders. When persons are able to find a qualified job in both their country of origin (Morocco) and the country of destination (Belgium), labour mobility can benefit both parties. To that end, applicants are trained in Morocco as ICT workers, and supported to find a job in one of these two countries.

Within this framework, Geertrui Daem and Evelyne van der Elst carried out two exploratory studies, which aim to support the integration of Moroccan ICT workers in Belgium. The first report analyses welcome policies offered by companies and relocation services to migrant workers upon arrival in Flanders and Brussels. The second report provides a mapping and analysis of actors in Flanders and Brussels, who deal with the integration of migrant workers at a professional, social and personal level. In addition, tailored information was developed to support both employees and employers in the application for a single permit.