Eighty skilled Moroccan migrants living in Italy are today meeting
in Turin to take part in a comprehensive training course that will
provide them with the necessary knowledge to successfully invest
their skills and savings in the socio-economic development of
Morocco.

The course, part of IOM's MigRessources programme, aims to
create appropriate conditions in Italy and Morocco for migrants to
invest at home, either through temporary or virtual returns
programmes, targeted investments of remittances or through the
creation of trans-national networks of firms, migrants'
associations and public administrations in both countries.

The trainees, who have been selected on the basis of
applications outlining their entrepreneurial objectives in Morocco,
will receive more than 300 hours of tuition designed to give them
the necessary expertise and support to help them invest some of
their remittances at home.

"This programme offers a unique opportunity for migrants who
wish to invest in Morocco to acquire the financial management
skills, which will help them become effective agents of
development," says IOM's Ugo Melchionda. "Furthermore, this
approach is intended to build support networks for migrants in both
countries through a range of migrants' associations, public
administrations and the private sector."

A similar course was launched last week in Casablanca, Morocco,
for 30 qualified Moroccans who wish to migrate to Italy to acquire
new skills. The course, which will run for several weeks, also
provides practical guidance on how best to access and integrate the
Italian job market with the aim of acquiring skills.

This programme is financed by the Italian Ministry for Foreign
Affairs and carried out by IOM Rome, in cooperation of the Italian
NGO CERFE and by the Rabat-based Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches
Démographiques.

For further information, please contact:

Ugo Melchionda

IOM Italy

Tel: +39 06 44186221

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

or go to "http://www.migrationretours.org" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.migrationretours.org