Perspectives for Returnees through Social and Professional Integration

This programme aims to improve the social and occupational integration of migrants who have returned to their home countries and individuals vulnerable to irregular migration.
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Zacatecoluca, El Salvador
13.5122393
-88.8694951
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La Libertad, El Salvador
13.6817661
-89.3606298
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La Uníon, El Salvado
13.3323464
-87.8500644
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San Salvador, El Salvador
13.6929403
-89.2181911
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Usulutlán, El Salvador
13.3453114
-88.4428112
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Tegucigalpa, Honduras
14.065049
-87.1715002
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 Danlí, Honduras
14.0410953
-86.5703554
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Choluteca, Honduras
13.3011727
-87.19285049999999
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San Pedro Sula, Honduras
15.5395503
-88.1291387
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La Ceiba, Honduras
15.770288
-86.7919009
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Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
14.8446068
-91.5231866
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Ciudad de Guatemala
14.6349149
-90.5068824
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Palestina de los Altos
14.9341057
-91.69429389999999
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Coatepeque , Guatemala
14.7038002
-91.8659809
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San Marcos, Guatemala
14.9609782
-91.80745859999999
Project duration
2023 - 2027
Financed by
  • Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau - KfW

The Northern Triangle of Central America—Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras—faces severe challenges such as environmental crises, violence, and economic instability, driving significant migration. Programmes like this one, aimed at social and occupational integration for returnees, are crucial. These initiatives support the reintegration of migrants and aim to tackle the root causes of migration by improving economic opportunities and safety. Addressing these challenges head-on is essential for creating stable, prosperous communities and reducing the reliance on remittances.

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)

Expected results

Over the next four years the project aims to:

  • Provide reintegration services to 8500 returned migrants in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras through skill development and entrepreneurial support.
  • Work with 2000 young people at risk of irregular migration through providing skills development, initial training, upskilling and other services such as business incubation and acceleration.
  • Strengthen the migrants reintegration system in the 16 selected territories in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras by working with local partners such as vocational institutes, municipalities and other private sector partners in their communities as well as create awareness of the importance of their role in transforming the community to prevent irregular migration.

News

Guatemala
Migration
02.04.2024
Swisscontact at the forefront of preventing Irregular Migration and Supporting Returned Migrants.
Swisscontact leads social and labor integration of returned migrants in Guatemala, we offer sustainable solutions to irregular migration. Skills development, psychosocial support, coaching, certification and much more for a promising future.