Perspectives for Returnees through Social and Professional Integration

The project

The Theory of Change for the project posits that if local actors successfully create or adapt social reintegration services (such as soft skills enhancement, psychosocial support, vocational training, community engagement, leadership, and participation) and economic reintegration services (such as skills certification, up- and reskilling, financial education, coaching, business model incubation, and business acceleration), it will enable the target population to achieve a better quality of life in two dimensions: 

1. Socially, this is achieved through migration-sensitive communities, empowerment, and participation in community structures.
2. Economically, it is achieved through employment, entrepreneurship development, and income improvement.

The successful reintegration of returned migrants is anticipated with the support of strengthened local actors, particularly at the municipal level, public-private-civil society partnerships, and sensitised communities/families, thereby reducing barriers to sustainable socio-labour reintegration.

Moreover, this approach contributes to the reduction of irregular migration, social discrimination, and enhances the quality of life for returned migrants, their families, and their communities. The project will divide this change into macro-activities by 

1. enhancing the technical, administrative, and financial capacities of support institutions for socio-labour reintegration (prioritising sectors such as tourism and constructions); 
2. improving and developing innovative, replicable support methodologies that can demonstrate expected outcomes;
3. promoting coordinated efforts at the local level with a focus on active participation of the Central American diaspora in local investment processes; 
4. facilitating effective access for returned migrants to differentiated services; and 
5. creating a conducive environment for private sector and community structures to participate in the reintegration of returned migrants.

Project goals

The project aims to achieve three main outcomes:  

1. It seeks to enhance the system for the reintegration of returned migrants by strengthening local reintegration service providers (such as municipalities and training centers), thereby increasing their reach and quality in terms of relevance, methodological appropriateness, and timing.
2. Returned migrants from selected municipalities will benefit from high-quality social (e.g., soft skills development, psychosocial support, basic training, community integration, leadership, and community participation) and economic (e.g., skills certification, reskilling, upskilling, financial education, labour intermediation/coaching, business incubation, and acceleration) reintegration services, enabling sustainable labour reintegration.
3. It aims to foster a community and business environment conducive to the social reintegration of returned migrants. By expanding and adapting the service offerings to the needs of returned migrants and the labour market by local actors, the project intends to improve the quality of life for its target population through migration-sensitive communities, empowerment, participation in community structures, employment, entrepreneurship development, and income improvement.

Partnerships between the public, private, and civil society sectors, along with sensitised communities/families, will address barriers to sustainable socio-labour reintegration of returned migrants.

Project partner

Central American Integration System (SICA)