IOM Ecuador is this week hosting a three-day training session for
20 representatives from the public and private sectors involved in
labour migration management.

The training for trainers, led by IOM labour migration
specialists, is bringing together participants from Latin American
countries wanting to increase their technical capacity in the field
of labour migration management.

"Labour migration has become a constant in the vast majority of
countries in the region and has therefore reached a prominent place
on governments' agendas.  IOM's expertise in the
implementation of safe and legal labour migration programmes will
contribute to increase the capacity of governments and the private
sector," said Rogelio Bernal, IOM Chief of Mission in Ecuador.

According to IOM's World Migration Report 2008, between 2005 and
2050 the population aged 20-64 years in Latin America and the
Caribbean is expected to rise by 45 per cent from 303 million to
441 million, and without emigration could reach 467 million. 
Over the next four decades, the developing world can easily be the
source of as many people of working age as are needed in developed
countries with decreasing populations of working age.

The Central Bank of Ecuador estimates that some two million
Ecuadorians are currently living abroad.  According to the
2001 Census, 84.5 per cent of Ecuadorians who left the country
between 1996 and 2001 indicated that they migrated in search of
jobs. 

The ten-volume Training Modules for Labour Migration in Latin
America include international and regional legal frameworks,
mechanisms for international, regional and bilateral cooperation to
facilitate labour migration, policy options for destination
countries looking to integrate migrants already in the country and
to reduce irregular migration and its risks.

Ecuador is part of a regional initiative, which also includes El
Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Nicaragua, seeking to enhance
existing capacities in the countries of origin, transit and
destination for the benefit of all involved – migrants, their
families and the countries.

For more information, please contact:

Ana Maria Guzman

IOM Ecuador

Tel: + 593.2.244.4929

E-mail: "mailto:aguzman@iom.int">aguzman@iom.int