LABOUR MARKET AND SERVICE SKILLS ASSESSMENT IN SELECTED LOCATIONS - ANNEXES - ETHIOPIA

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LABOUR MARKET AND SERVICE SKILLS ASSESSMENT IN SELECTED LOCATIONS - ANNEXES - ETHIOPIA
LABOUR MARKET AND SERVICE SKILLS ASSESSMENT
          IN SELECTED LOCATIONS
                    ANNEXES - ETHIOPIA

          Prepared by Altai Consulting for IOM | Ethiopia – January 2019

                                                            Funded by the European Union
LABOUR MARKET AND SERVICE SKILLS ASSESSMENT IN SELECTED LOCATIONS - ANNEXES - ETHIOPIA
© IOM
January 2019

Unless specified otherwise, all pictures in this report are credited to Altai Consulting

This document was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed
herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.

The opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the presentation of
material throughout the report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM
concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its
frontiers or boundaries.

IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an
intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in
meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage
social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well‐being of
migrants.

   Labour Market and Service Skills Assessment                                             Altai Consulting
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LABOUR MARKET AND SERVICE SKILLS ASSESSMENT IN SELECTED LOCATIONS - ANNEXES - ETHIOPIA
ANNEXES - TABLE OF CONTENTS
ANNEXES - TABLE OF CONTENTS .........................................................................................3
FIGURES....................................................................................................................................4
1.      METHODOLOGY ..............................................................................................................5
1.1.     Overview ........................................................................................................................5
1.2.     Research Approach .......................................................................................................6
             Research Questions ................................................................................................ 6
1.3.     Fieldwork Implementation ..............................................................................................9
             Team structure......................................................................................................... 9
             Monitoring ................................................................................................................ 9
             Validity Criteria ......................................................................................................... 9
             Codes of Conduct .................................................................................................. 10
1.4.     Quantitative Supply-Side Survey: Returnees................................................................10
             Sampling Frame .................................................................................................... 10
             Outcome ................................................................................................................ 11
1.5.     Quantitative Demand-Side Survey: Businesses ...........................................................12
             Sampling Design .................................................................................................... 12
             Outcome ................................................................................................................ 12
1.6.     Qualitative Interviews ...................................................................................................13
             Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) .............................................................................. 13
             Focus Group Discussions (FGDs).......................................................................... 15
             Paired Interviews (PIs) ........................................................................................... 17
1.7.     Analysis .......................................................................................................................17
             Overview ................................................................................................................ 17
             Reintegration Scores ............................................................................................. 17
             Index of Skills Mismatch ........................................................................................ 21
2.      LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................22
2.1.     Labour Laws and Employment Policies ........................................................................22
2.2.     Policy on Returnees .....................................................................................................23
3.      ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS ON REINTEGRATION SCORES ...........................................25
3.1.     Factors Affecting Reintegration ....................................................................................25
3.2.     Interaction Across Dimensions of Reintegration ...........................................................28
4.      LITERATURE .................................................................................................................30

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LABOUR MARKET AND SERVICE SKILLS ASSESSMENT IN SELECTED LOCATIONS - ANNEXES - ETHIOPIA
FIGURES
Figure 1. Map of study locations............................................................................................................... 6
Figure 2. Reintegration scores by gender ............................................................................................... 25
Figure 3. Reintegration scores by age group .......................................................................................... 26
Figure 4. Reintegration scores by migration route .................................................................................. 27
Figure 5. Reintegration scores by time spent abroad .............................................................................. 27

TABLES
Table 1: Overview of the Research Approach .......................................................................................... 5
Table 2. Research questions.................................................................................................................... 6
Table 3. Distribution of Total Population and Estimated Population of Returnees across Targeted Locations
    in Ethiopia....................................................................................................................................... 11
Table 4. Number of interviewed returnees by location ............................................................................ 11
Table 5. Number of businesses interviewed per location ........................................................................ 12
Table 6. List of key informants interviewed ............................................................................................. 13
Table 7. Calculation of economic reintegration scores ............................................................................ 17
Table 8. Calculation of social reintegration scores .................................................................................. 18
Table 9. Calculation of psychosocial reintegration scores ....................................................................... 18
Table 10. Calculation of composite reintegration scores ......................................................................... 19

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1. METHODOLOGY
1.1. OVERVIEW
With the goal of identifying effective means of reintegrating returnees, a mixed-methods
methodology was used to assess both the demand and supply sides of the Somali labour market.
This research exercise comprised two complimentary approaches:
   1. A quantitative survey of returnees and businesses, and;
   2. A set of qualitative interviews with returnees, businesses, training institutions and members of local
      communities including elders and the youth.
An overview of the methods used for each is presented in Table 1 below.

                              Table 1: Overview of the Research Approach

  Modules                                         Approach & Methodology

                                                  Questionnaire administered to 400 returnees to
  Quantitative Supply-Side Survey                 identify their profiles, education, skills, employment
                                                  status and reintegration challenges.

                                                  Questionnaire administered to 120 businesses to
  Quantitative Demand-Side Survey                 identify their characteristics, challenges, prospects,
                                                  hiring practices and perceptions of returnees.

                                                  34 KIIs to identify key macro-level challenges to the
  Key Informant Interviews (KII)
                                                  reintegration of returnees, as well as policy gaps.

                                                  12 FGDs, comprising 6-8 participants, with TVET
                                                  institutes, businesses, community leaders and
  Focus Group Discussions (FGD)                   youth, to understand the perceptions of returnees
                                                  that different market players have, and to identify the
                                                  challenges that TVETs are facing.

                                                  Open-ended questionnaire administered to 32
  Qualitative Paired Interviews (PIs)             returnees to get qualitative inputs on their migration
                                                  history and reintegration challenges.

Research took place in four regions across Ethiopia: Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations,
Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), and Tigray. These locations were identified in
collabouration with IOM and chosen purposively for the following reasons:
   „ Their number of returnees: Oromia, Amhara and SNNPR account for a high proportion of the
     returnees coming back to Ethiopia, while Tigray hosts a smaller number of returnees.
   „ The availability of information: Tigray and Amhara observe a high programme intensity with
     substantial information available, while returnees’ situation in Oromia are less documented.

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„ Sector diversity: All four regions account for different main economic sectors, hence diverse
     labour market implications for returnees.
Within each region, one woreda (administrative division) was chosen as the focal point of the
demand side survey. These woredas were also purposively selected for being areas of high return and
are displayed in the map below (Figure 1).

                                   Figure 1. Map of study locations

1.2. RESEARCH APPROACH

       RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The objective of this project was to identify practical, operational responses to the reintegration
needs of returnees, while enhancing their employability. To achieve those objectives, Altai structured
its research around seven key questions, divided into sub-questions, listed in the table below:

                                     Table 2. Research questions

    Research questions: Sustainable Reintegration of Returnees into the Labour Market

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1) Labour Market Characteristics: What are the main characteristics of the labour market
 in Ethiopia?

     a) Which sectors support the economic growth?
     b) What are the general characteristics of the business environment?
     c) How are recent labour market trends characterized?
     d) How are government institutions steering job creation?

 2) Demand of Labour: What are the challenges and opportunities for returnees?

     a) Which sectors hold the most potential for returnees, both in terms of volume and personal
        evolution?
     b) What are the skills demanded by hiring firms and how they can be obtained?
     c) Can the public sector endorse a role in the reintegration of returnees?
     d) What is the absorption capacity of the agricultural sector in rural areas, and how can we
        expand it?
     e) How can self-employment provide a durable alternative for unemployed returnees, in the
        specific contexts of the targeted locations?
     f)   To what extent are returnees affected by underemployment, and what are the causes?
     g) What is the share of informal employment, and what are the opportunities for returnees
        within informal markets?

 3) Profiles and Socio-Economic Conditions of Returnees: Who are the returnees, what was
    their socio-economic background before leaving, and what is their socio-economic
    situation since they have returned?

     a) What was the returnees’ socio-economic background before leaving? What were the main
        reasons of leaving and the conditions of departure?
     b) What are the main characteristics of their experience abroad? What are the conditions of
        return?
     c) What are the returnees’ socio-economic situations since they have returned? Are
        returnees employed?
     d) What is the level of education of returnees?
     e) How does the migration history affect the returnees’ ability to find a job?

 4) Drivers of Economic Reintegration: To what extent education and skills affect the
 economic reintegration of returnees?

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a) What are the challenges returnees face to access education and trainings?
     b) What are the skills that returnees possess and to what extent are they able to market
        those skills? What productive assets do they possess?
     c) What are the challenges they face for their skills/education to be recognized?
     d) What is the level of the skill mismatch between demand and supply of labour from
        returnees?
     e) What is the level of the expectations mismatch (notably in terms of salary) between supply
        and demand from returnees, and from the youth in general?
     f)   What other market frictions are preventing returnees from accessing the labour market?
     g) What are overall the main drivers of economic reintegration?

 5) Recruitment, Training and Linkages with Businesses: How are hiring processes
 characterized and what is the role and impact of TVET institutions to improve returnees’
 access to the job market?

     a) How do TVET institutions operate? To what extent do they respond to the skills
        mismatch?
     b) What types of eligibility criteria do TVET institutions use? What are their absorption
        capacity?
     c) How are TVET institutions currently linked to businesses? How are they linked to financial
        institutions? Are any partnerships between TVET institutions and the community being
        implemented? If not, what kind of opportunities are there? What model shows the best
        results?
     d) What is the role of the private sector in providing trainings? To what extent young
        employees / returnees are able to benefit from on the job trainings / apprenticeships
        programmes?
     e) What kind of hiring processes are used by firms? What are the different types of formal
        and informal hiring practices, which are most popular, and how can returnees gain access
        to them? Which initiatives could improve hiring processes?
     f)   What type of dissemination strategies employers use to advertise for jobs? Are returnees
          able to access them?

 6) Sustainable Reintegration: How does psychosocial reintegration affect the returnees’
 ability to access the labour market, and how can community-level economic reintegration
 initiatives address this challenge?

     a) How does psychosocial reintegration impact the returnees’ ability to find a job?
     b) Which types of community-level reintegration initiatives are the most effective to promote
        sustainable reintegration of returnees, and how can we improve them?
     c) How can individual approaches and community-level initiatives interact and complement
        each other to produce durable economic reintegration solutions for returnees?

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7) Unlocking Access to the Labour Market: How can we address reintegration challenges
    faced by returnees? How does labour supply can meet labour demand?

        a) What are the key market opportunities returnees and TVET institutions should focus on,
           and what are the key skills they should acquire to access those opportunities?
        b) What financing mechanisms are available / can be developed for delivering of large-scale
           trainings and financing of promising self-employment initiatives?
        c) What synergies among relevant stakeholders should be investigated to enhance
           economic opportunities for returnees?

1.3. FIELDWORK IMPLEMENTATION

       TEAM STRUCTURE
In Ethiopia, was implemented by Altai’s local partner, Laterite. A team of 15 enumerators led by a
fieldwork supervisor was recruited and deployed to implement a phone survey of returnees. A phone survey
was used since returnees were spread throughout the regions. Each enumerator was assigned a target of
8-10 interviews per day. For the business survey, a team of 8 enumerators was deployed in 4 teams (one
per study region) to carry out face-to-face interviews.

       MONITORING
The use of tablets allowed data to be monitored daily, ensuring quality while allowing adjustments
to be made as needed. A set of quality assurance mechanisms was used throughout the project delivery.
Daily project progress was followed thanks to the upload of questionnaires onto the SurveyCTO server at
the end of every day. The research team used Stata scripts to monitor the quality of the data on an on-
going basis and ensure all relevant feedback was appropriately communicated on a daily basis to the field
teams. This ensured a high quality of research output. The near real-time data inspection enabled Altai
to compare enumerators’ performances and to take immediate corrective actions, e.g. additional guidelines
and training for the enumerators who were seen to underperform. Comparing the completeness of answers
also served to identify suspicious patterns. Fieldwork supervisors also closely monitored enumerators and
were able to closely monitor data collection and ensure that interview guidelines were being followed.

       VALIDITY CRITERIA
All interviews were checked against a set of validity criteria to ensure the quality of the data
collected:

    „ The duration of the interview was be monitored. Interviews that were far shorter than the mean
        duration were subject to further review. If answers were found to be inconsistent, the interview was
        discarded and replaced.
    „ Random sound bites were collected within the questionnaire (through SurveyCTO Random Audio
      Audit feature, which randomly records sound bites during the interview). In order for an interview
      to be deemed valid, these must have included respondent and Enumerator voices. If not, the

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interview was invalidated and discarded. This criterion was be assumed to hold if the specific
        interview did not have to be checked.

        CODES OF CONDUCT
Altai follows international codes of conduct: a) enumerators gained informed consent from each
respondent taking part in the research, b) respondents had the right to withdraw from the research at any
time, c) researchers were transparent as to the subject and purpose of data collection and d) anonymity of
answers was ensured as all data is unidentifiable to third parties.

1.4. QUANTITATIVE SUPPLY-SIDE SURVEY: RETURNEES
The supply-side interviews with returnees looked into the following themes:
    „ Respondent profile: Sex, age, family situation, financial situation, level of education, vulnerability.
    „ Experience of migration: Previous migration experiences, push factors, (intended and final)
      destination, length of stay abroad, types and level of support received, income and employment
      abroad, remittances sent, freedom of movement, extent of social integration.
    „ Conditions of return: Decision to return, willingness to return, type, level and perceived
      appropriateness of reintegration assistance, ability to bring back assets or resources, concerns
      prior to returning.
    „ Current occupation: Income, employment (current status, satisfaction), land and assets
      ownership, ability to meet the family’s needs, coping mechanisms.
    „ Knowledge and perceptions of the job market: Skills and productive assets possessed, skills
      acquired before the migration journey, skills acquired during the migration journey, perceived skills
      needed, expectations, access to job offers, perceived role of informal networks, challenges to find
      a job.
    „ Involvement within the community: Acceptance from community members, involvement in social
      activities, social status, perceptions from friends and family.
    „ Perceptions of respondent’s own reintegration: Access to education, access to skills training,
      safety and security, perception of current and future obstacles, perceptions of re-migration
      alternatives.

        SAMPLING FRAME
Two datasets were used to constitute the sampling frame. The first dataset included data on returnees
from all countries but Saudi Arabia since 2014. The second dataset included all the data available on
returnees specifically from Saudi Arabia. Precisely, the first dataset included more than 13,000 returns
between 2014 and 2017, from the following countries: Yemen, Djibouti, Malawi, Zambia, Sudan, Somalia,
Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt, Libya, Indonesia, Mozambique, Costa Rica, Iraq and Nigeria. The second dataset
included more than 130,000 returnees only from Saudi Arabia, for the year 2013/2014.
The overall sampling frame therefore included data from both sources. However, because of the
different sizes of each dataset, the two sources were not merged to constitute one single dataset. Indeed,
doing so would have substantially over-represent the returnees from Saudi Arabia in the sample, as a large
share of them were documented in the second dataset, while a much smaller share of all other returnees

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were recorded in the first dataset. Instead, Altai’s Research Team decided to split the sampling frame into
the two datasets, with the number of returnees to be selected from each type of provenience (Saudi Arabia
vs all other countries) being unequally shared among the two datasets – 10 per cent of the final sample
was to be drawn from the KSA dataset, and the remaining 90 per cent from the other dataset. This split
was deemed appropriate to include a greater diversity of migration experiences.
The number of sampled returnees within each region was proportional to the share of each region within
the dataset, both for the KSA database and the other countries database. Returnees for which no phone
number was available were excluded from the sampling frame.
The below table summarizes the overall sampling frame:

    Table 3. Distribution of Total Population and Estimated Population of Returnees across Targeted
                                            Locations in Ethiopia

                                                                Share of             Target number
                        Share of            Target number
                                                                returnees from       from “other
    Location            returnees within    from KSA
                                                                “other countries”    countries”
                        the KSA dataset     dataset
                                                                dataset              dataset

    Tigray                    23%                   9                   9%                  32

    Amhara                    43%                   17                 29%                  105

    Oromia                    28%                   11                 42%                  151

    SNNPR                      6%                   3                  20%                  72

    Total                     10%                   40                 90%                  360

        OUTCOME
The target number of interviews was conducted in each of the study locations. The table below
presents the number of returnees interviewed per region.

                          Table 4. Number of interviewed returnees by location

                               Location      # of interviewed returnees

                               Amhara                     122

                               Tigray                      41

                               Oromia                     162

                               SNNPR                       75

                               TOTAL                      400

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1.5. QUANTITATIVE DEMAND-SIDE SURVEY: BUSINESSES
In each region, 30 businesses were interviewed for a total sample of 120 businesses. Data collection
took place in one woreda per region as it would not have been possible to travel to several woredas within
the scope of the project. Time and budgetary constraints similarly limited the sample size within each
surveyed woreda.
The demand-side interviews with firms looked into:
    „ Firm’s characteristics: Sector, type of business, size, annual sales.
    „ Workforce composition: Sex/age composition, education and experience of employees, share of
      returnees, future expected hiring needs, cost of labour, working conditions.
    „ Skills: Skills valued and required, difficulties to find those skills in the pool of candidates, existing
      opportunities for internal / on the job trainings (or intentions to offer them in the future),
      apprenticeships.
    „ Competition: Main competitors, long-term strategy, expected evolution of the sector, expected
      future investments, opportunities for franchises.
    „ Access to Finance: Access to formal financial institutions, knowledge and access to microfinance
      institutions.
    „ Hiring processes: What do recruitment processes look like, what are the selection criteria to hire
      staff, use of formal and informal channels.
    „ Perceptions of returnees: Perceptions of applications from returnees, perceptions of employed
      returnees, integration of returnees within the firm, potential evolution within the firm.

        SAMPLING DESIGN
To achieve a sample of both formal and informal businesses, a purposive sampling strategy was
used. Through triangulation of information of various stakeholders, including the local chamber of
commerce, a diverse list of businesses was created in each location. This ensured that the goal of including
businesses of different sizes across various sectors was met. Firms fully owned by the government were
not eligible to be interviewed.

The respondents were either the business owner or a top manager, to ensure that accurate information on
future prospects within their sector, as well as on potential developments of the firm and expected future
hiring needs, was collected.

        OUTCOME
The fieldwork for the demand-side survey was carried out simultaneously with the supply-side survey. The
target number of interviews was met in all study locations.

                          Table 5. Number of businesses interviewed per location

                                  Location     # of interviewed businesses

                                  Amhara                     30

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Oromia                     30

                                  SNNPR                      30

                                  Tigray                     30

                                  OVERALL                    120

1.6. QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS

          KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS (KIIS)
To complement the quantitative survey, Key Informant Interviews were conducted with local
stakeholders. KIIs were used to gather more macro-level data on the current challenges faced by
returnees, as well as with operational challenges faced by project implementing agencies. Below is the list
of the 34 key informants that were interviewed.

                                  Table 6. List of key informants interviewed

 Position                                            Organization                                Location

                                                     Addis Ababa Technique and Vocational
 Head of TVET Strategy Department                                                                Addis Ababa
                                                     Training Office

                                                     Amhara Credit and Saving Institution
 Branch Manager                                                                                  Amhara
                                                     (ACSI)

 Head of Office                                      Bedeno Woreda Labour and Social Affairs     Oromia

 Manager                                             Bedeno Woreda TVET Office                   Oromia

                                                     Bedeno Woreda Urban Job Opportunity
 Office Manager                                                                                  Oromia
                                                     Creation and Food Security Office

 Chief Accountant                                    Dedebit Micro Finance                       Tigray

 Senior Intervention Manager                         Enterprise Partners                         Addis Ababa

 Chief executive                                     Ethiopian Diaspora Association              Addis Ababa

 Expert                                              Ethiopian Investment Commission             Addis Ababa

 Team Leader in Small and Medium Enterprise          Federal Micro and Small Industries
                                                                                                 Addis Ababa
 Development                                         Development Agency

 Senior Expert                                       Federal Microfinance Institution            Addis Ababa

                                                     Federal Ministry of Labour and Social
 Expert                                                                                          Addis Ababa
                                                     Affairs

                                                     Federal Technique and Vocational
 TVET Quality Assurance Officer                                                                  Addis Ababa
                                                     Education and Training Agency

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Federal Urban job Creation and Food
Enterprise Development Expert                                                                  Addis Ababa
                                                   Security Agency

Vice Head of Office                                Habru TVET Office                           Amhara

                                                   Habru Woreda Job Opportunity Creation
Market Needs and Post Training Engagement Expert                                               Amhara
                                                   and Food Security Office

Team Leader                                        Habru Woreda Labour and Social Affairs      Amhara

                                                   Habru Woreda TVET Office: Case Team
Expert                                                                                         Amhara
                                                   of Job Creation Office

Vice Dean                                          Hossaena Poly Technique College             SNNPR

Team Leader                                        Industrial Park Development Cooperation     Addis Ababa

Chief Technical Officer                            International Labour Organization           Addis Ababa

                                                   Limu Wereda Youth and Sport Bureau,
Team Leader                                        Rural    Job/Employment Opportunity         SNNPR
                                                   Creation Division

Head of Office                                     Limu Woreda Labour and Social Affairs       SNNPR

                                                   Limu Woreda Urban Job Opportunity
Head of Enterprise Development                                                                 SNNPR
                                                   Creation and Food Security Office

Deputy Head of Office                              Mehoni Woreda Labour and Social Affairs     Tigray

Director                                           Mekoni Skill Development Centre             Tigray

                                                   Mekoni Woreda Job Opportunity Creation
Office Manager                                                                                 Tigray
                                                   and Food Security Office

Rural Job Creation and Food Security Expert        Ministry of Agriculture                     Addis Ababa

Team Leader                                        Ministry of Economy                         Addis Ababa

                                                   Ministry of      Housing      and   Urban
Expert                                                                                         Addis Ababa
                                                   Development

Expert within the Department of Youth Awareness,
                                                   Ministry of Youth and Sport                 Addis Ababa
Creation and Movement

Office Manager                                     OMO Microfinance Institution                SNNPR

                                                   Oromia Credit       and    Saving   Share
Office Manager                                                                                 Oromia
                                                   Company

Social Development Expert/ Senior Economist/
                                                   World Bank Group                            Addis Ababa
Microfinance and access to markets expert

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FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS (FGDS)

Overview
Focus Group Discussions were used to:
         (i) Collect updated information on the perceptions different market players have of returnees,
         including businesses and community elders,
         (ii) Assess the access of the youth in general to the labour market, and
         (iii) Father inputs on the performance of training platforms and their linkages to hiring businesses.
The FGDs allowed the perspectives of three different groups of stakeholders to be heard:
    „ FGD Type 1: Private companies of different sizes
    „ FGD Type 2: Representatives of TVET institutes, and returnees who went through such
      programmes.
    „ FGD Type 3: Community elders and youth representatives within communities comprising a high
      proportion of returnees.
Participants were identified in consultation with implementing partners, with Altai’s local network and with
the help of Key Informants. Each FGD comprised of 6-8 respondents and lasted around two hours. They
were recorded and later transcribed to English.
One FGD of each type was conducted in each of the main study locations for a total of 12 FGDs.

FGDs with businesses and public-sector actors
The objective of the first type of FGDs was to understand the businesses’ point of view regarding returnees,
identify where in the recruitment processes help is needed to assist returnees, and gather enough
information to anticipate future developments in each location of interest. Specifically, the discussions
looked into:
    „ Background of the company/public department: Main characteristics, size of the structure in
      terms of human resources, future prospects.
    „ Sector environment and opportunities: Which sectors are especially growing in each location
      of interest, how do respondents perceive development in the near future.
    „ Perceptions of job applications from returnees: How differently do respondents perceive
      applications of returnees from other applications, and how do they assess them.
    „ Required skills: What are the main skills required by respondents, which ones are the most
      difficult to find, which skills they have found with the returnees they worked with, existing
      opportunities for internal / on the job trainings (or intentions to offer them in the future),
      apprenticeships, evolution within the company.
    „ Employment methods, recruitment processes and challenges to recruit: How do the
      respondents advertise for positions, according to what criteria do they hire new staff, what does
      the recruitment process look like, and what is the role of informal networks in this process.
    „ Employment of returnees: How many respondents employ returnees, what are the countries of
      provenience of the returnees they hire and which countries of provenience (if any) are valued the
      most / the least by businesses, what do they assess as the main assets and weaknesses of
      returnees and what do they think will help increase their level of employment.
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„ Linkages with TVET institutes: How well are respondents linked to TVET institutes, and how
      satisfied are they with the skills taught.

FGDs with TVET institutes and trained returnees
The objective of the second type of FGDs was to understand in detail what are the strengths and
weaknesses of TVET institutes and to identify the level of satisfaction of returnees with regards to the types
of trainings offered. Specifically, the discussions looked into:
    „ Background of the TVET institute: Main characteristics, size of the structure in terms of human
      resources, number of beneficiaries.
    „ Content of the trainings: Which skills are taught, what kind of sectors they are targeting, how
      long each type of training lasts before completion, what are the costs of enrolment if applicable.
    „ Linkages with businesses and self-employment programmes: How well are the respondents
      linked to businesses and/or self-employment programmes / agribusiness activities, are there any
      firms offering apprenticeships programmes and how well are the TVETs linked to those.
    „ Satisfaction of returnees: How satisfied are the returnees with the trainings, what skills are they
      the most satisfied with, what skills are they the least satisfied with, what kind of trainings would
      they like to be offered.
    „ Impact: Employment opportunities for the trained returnees and perceptions of their impact.
    „ Future prospects: How can we improve training programmes to enable all returnees to access
      the labour market.

FGDs with community elders and youth representatives
The objective of the third type of FGDs was to understand the perceptions of the community with regards
to returnees. Specifically, the discussions looked into:
    „ Background on migration within the community: Are many people migrating, for what purpose,
      what is especially pushing young people to move, where do they usually leave for, and how
      successful are those experiences.
    „ Background on return patterns within the community: How substantial are the return flows,
      what are the push factors of return, and what is the impact of those returns on the community.
    „ Welcoming returnees: What is the general perception of the community regarding returnees, how
      do they personally feel about them.
    „ Interactions between returnees and the community: Are returnees involved in social activities
      and if so, in what way (do they work together, or develop joint income generating activities
      together).
    „ Re-migration: Do they observe a phenomenon of re-migration within the community, if so to what
      extent (and to where), and for what reasons.
    „ Perceptions of assistance projects to returnees: How do they feel about current projects aiming
      at providing help to returnees, and in what way would they want the community involved in those
      projects.

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PAIRED INTERVIEWS (PIS)
In each of the main study locations, 4 paired interviews were conducted to better understand the
experience of returnees (16 total – 32 returnees). Whereas FGDs assessed the dynamics of labour
market eco-systems and social linkages in the community, PIs used a semi-structured approach to better
understand the situation of returnees. Because of the sensitivity of their experience, PIs allowed returnees
to engage more intimately in a conversation, in a way that could not have been possible in larger groups,
while providing an added value compared to quantitative interviews with detailed, subjective inputs from
returnees regarding their challenges and perceptions.
Participants in PIs were drawn from the same sample of returnees that participated in the
quantitative survey. Participants were purposively selected from those that consented to a PI to ensure a
diversity of experiences was represented. This included both men and women, returnees from different
countries, and returnees with varying levels of reintegration. The PIs followed semi-structured, open-ended
questions, and specifically looked into the respondent’s profile, migration experience, current work situation,
perceptions of own reintegration, as well as their perceptions of reintegration projects when relevant.

1.7. ANALYSIS

        OVERVIEW
Due to the mixed-methods approach used, both quantitative and qualitative analytical methods
were used. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods including
regressions, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and chi square tests. Statistical analysis was performed using
the Stata software. Qualitative analysis comprised of thematic content analysis and triangulation between
sources. This allowed trends to be identified and quantitative findings to be contextualized.

        REINTEGRATION SCORES
Additionally, reintegration was quantitatively evaluated using reintegration indices developed by
Samuel Hall and IOM (2017). A separate score was computed for the economic, social, and psychosocial
components of reintegration. A composite reintegration score was also generated. Additionally, past
integration scores were calculated using a simplified method due to fewer available components. All scores
and components had a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 1, with a higher score indicating a
higher level of integration. In cases where the returnee answered ‘don’t know’ or ‘refuse to answer’ a value
of 0.5 was awarded. Cases with more that 7 such answers were excluded from the analysis. The following
four tables describe how these scores were calculated.

                           Table 7. Calculation of economic reintegration scores

 Component                                    Weight (Current)                      Weight (Past)

 Satisfaction with economic
                                                     0.15                                 0.38
 situation

 Food security                                       0.12                                  –

 Ability to borrow money                             0.08                                  –

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Frequency of borrowing                                        0.10                                          –

    Debt to spending ratio                                        0.08                                          –

    Perceived access to
                                                                  0.13                                        0.34
    employment and training

    Employed (Y/N)                                                0.10                                          –

    Ownership of productive
                                                                  0.11                                        0.28
    assets

    Currently searching for a job
                                                                  0.13                                          –
    (Y/N)

                                     Table 8. Calculation of social reintegration scores

    Component                                            Weight (Current)                              Weight (Past)

    Access to housing                                             0.10                                        0.16

    Perceived standard of
                                                                  0.12                                          –
    housing

    Access to education                                           0.11                                        0.18

    Children enrolled in school                                   0.07                                          –

    Access to justice and law
                                                                  0.12                                        0.20
    enforcement

    Ownership of ID                                               0.05                                          –

    Access to public services1                                    0.08                                        0.13

    Access to healthcare                                          0.20                                        0.33

    Quality of healthcare                                         0.15                                          –

                                 Table 9. Calculation of psychosocial reintegration scores

    Component                                            Weight (Current)                              Weight (Past)

    Participation in social
                                                                  0.12                                        0.37
    activities

1   Simple average of access to documentation (excluded for past), safe drinking water, healthcare, justice, education, and housing.

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Ability to rely on personal
                                                  0.05                                 0.16
network

Sense of community
                                                  0.15                                 0.47
belonging

Sense of physical security                        0.10                                  –

Conflict with family / domestic
                                                  0.12                                  –
tensions

Feeling of discrimination in
                                                  0.11                                  –
community

Feeling of negative emotions                      0.10                                  –

Desire to receive
                                                  0.10                                  –
psychological support

Need to re-migrate                                0.15                                  –

                         Table 10. Calculation of composite reintegration scores

Component                                  Weight (Current)                        Weight (Past)

Satisfaction with economic
                                                  0.05                                 0.11
situation

Food security                                     0.08                                  –

Ability to borrow money                           0.02                                  –

Frequency of borrowing                            0.02                                  –

Debt to spending ratio                            0.04                                  –

Perceived access to
                                                  0.03                                 0.07
employment and training

Employed (Y/N)                                    0.03                                  –

Ownership of productive
                                                  0.03                                 0.07
assets

Currently searching for a job
                                                  0.03                                  –
(Y/N)

Access to housing                                 0.03                                 0.07

Perceived standard of
                                                  0.03                                  –
housing

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Access to education                                           0.03                                        0.07

    Children enrolled in school                                   0.02                                          –

    Access to justice and law
                                                                  0.04                                        0.10
    enforcement

    Ownership of ID                                               0.05                                          –

    Access to public services2                                    0.04                                        0.10

    Access to healthcare                                          0.06                                        0.14

    Quality of healthcare                                         0.03                                          –

    Participation in social
                                                                  0.04                                        0.10
    activities

    Ability to rely on personal
                                                                  0.03                                        0.07
    network

    Sense of community
                                                                  0.04                                        0.10
    belonging

    Sense of physical security                                    0.05                                          –

    Conflict with family / domestic
                                                                  0.01                                          –
    tensions

    Feeling of negative emotions                                  0.04                                          –

    Desire to receive
                                                                  0.03                                          –
    psychological support

    Need to re-migrate                                            0.10                                          –

Due to the way the scores are constructed, several limits must be acknowledged and kept in mind
when interpreting the findings of the study:
„ The scores cannot be analyzed in an absolute manner; a threshold of reintegration can only be
  arbitrary. Each score must be interpreted either i) to compare reintegration levels among returnees, ii)
  to compare reintegration levels of returnees at different points in time, or iii) to compare reintegration
  levels of returnees against a control group of non-returnees.
„ As for any index, the weights chosen (through a principal component analysis method) are likely to
  under-represent key variables and over-represent less important variables.

2   Simple average of access to documentation (excluded for past), safe drinking water, healthcare, justice, education, and housing.

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„ The psychological reintegration index suffers from the difficulty for researchers to measure an
  individual’s psychological reintegration. The variables chosen to constitute the index (participation in
  social activities, feeling of negative emotions, etc.) do not have the pretention to be exhaustive: several
  key psychological factors are unfortunately unobservable or hardly measurable within the constraints
  of a quantitative survey. This for instance explains why the psychosocial reintegration scores of the
  returnees interviewed in the survey were relatively high while a high proportion of them are requesting
  psychological support.

        INDEX OF SKILLS MISMATCH
An index of skills mismatch was created to compare the skills of returnees to the needs of businesses.
This was done by combining the supply side and demand side quantitative questionnaires. From the
demand side, the proportion of businesses finding the skill useful and the proportion of businesses finding
the skills rare were equally weighted. From this value, the proportion of returnees having the skill was
subtracted. The end result is an index value for each skill ranging from -1 to +1. A negative value indicates
an oversupplied skill (supply greater than demand), while a positive value indicates an undersupplied skill
(supply does not meet demand). The exact formula is provided below:

                   [(0.5*Proportion of businesses finding the skill useful) + (0.5*Proportion of businesses finding the skill rare)]

    INDEX =                                                               –

                                                        Proportion of returnees with the skill

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2. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
2.1. LABOUR LAWS AND EMPLOYMENT POLICIES
Labour laws are generally enacted through federal legislation. The most important law in this context
is the 2003 version of the Labour Proclamation. In addition, labour is regulated by collective agreements,
work statutes and some government ordinances, for instance in the field of occupational health and safety
(ILO, 2003).
    „ Labour rights in the Constitution: The general principles of Ethiopian labour rights are anchored
      in several articles of the Ethiopian Constitution. Among those, Article 16 provides for principles
      such as the right to security of the person, Article 18 (2) prohibits inhumane treatment and declares
      the abolishment of slavery and servitude, and Article 18 (3) and (4) legislates against forced and
      compulsory labour (ILO, 2003).
    „ Labour Proclamation (2003): The labour law in Ethiopia was established in 1963, with a first
      version of the Labour Proclamation. The Labour Proclamation was amended in 1975 and 1993,
      with the current version written in 2003. The 2003 Labour Proclamation represents an important
      tool for unions and employers to participate in all labour matters (ILO, 2003).
    „ Minimum wage: Ethiopia does not have a consistent minimum wage mechanism. According to
      ILO (2017), “currently, there is no consistent minimum wage mechanism in Ethiopia, however some
      public sector institutions and enterprises have set their own minimum wages”. The public sector,
      which generally pays higher wages, has a monthly minimum wage of 420 birr ($21); employees in
      the banking and insurance sector receive a minimum monthly wage of 336 birr ($18). In addition,
      the ILO “Minimum Wage Fixing Convention” has not as yet been ratified by Ethiopia (ILO, 2017).
Additionally, several frameworks and directives set out the government’s policies on job creation
and are important in structuring and orientating the government efforts in its economic
development:
    „ Second Growth and Transformation Plan (2016-2020): The Growth Plan II sets the government
      priorities - the agricultural sector will remain a priority, and there is a greater emphasis on light
      manufacturing. These sectors are given
                                                          “There is a strategy in rural job creation to give
      emphasis for job creation through loan
                                                          the priority to three vulnerable sub-groups of
      programmes or waged-employment with
                                                          the youth: disabled people, HIV carriers and
      greater linkages with industries.
                                                          returnees. […] Offices of rural job creation
    „ National Employment Policy and Strategy             established at ‘Woreda’ level provide them with
      (2017): The strategy sets priorities and            information regarding job opportunities and
      measures to be taken in order to foster             facilitate training and financial opportunities to
      employment in the country. While not directly       help them establish small and medium
      targeted at returnees, these initiatives can        enterprises.”
      benefit them, as described by the quote on the
                                                                         — KII with Ministry of Agriculture
      right.

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„ Business and Employment Creation Strategy
     (2016): The framework outlines a number of initiatives       “People that have a starting capital of
     aimed at fostering employment through the creation           between 100,000 and 1.5 million birr
     and expansion of Small and Medium Enterprises                are eligible to get the financial benefit
     (SMEs) (see quote on the right).                             from this initiative. Lease financing is
   „ Youth Policy (2004), and subsequent Ethiopian                also provided by the Development
     Youth Change and Development Strategy (2017):                Bank of Ethiopia – for instance, the
     The national Youth Policy was created and put into           bank purchases machineries and the
     effect in 2004 with the aim of enhancing the economic        SME will be given time to repay the
     and political participation of the youth, notably through    loan. Besides the financial support
     the creation of employment opportunities. Four               available for enterprise creation,
     packages of employment creation were formulated: the         there is also a technological support
     rural, urban, pastoral and semi-pastoral employment          available for them.”
     creation packages. Based on the result of the                    — KII with Ministry of Economy
     evaluation of the four packages, another strategy was
     created in 2017, the Ethiopian Youth Change and Development Strategy, and a resulting package,
     the youth package, was established. The package allocated 10 million birr as a revolving fund (the
     Ethiopian Youth Revolving Fund) aimed at assisting the youth through the creation of SMEs. It also
     gives attention to social change in enhancing the creation of job opportunities. One of these
     initiatives is to change the work habits and societal attitude about work and entrepreneurship in
     general and in particular in pastoral and semi pastoral areas. As substantiated during a KII with the
     Ministry of Youth, the implementation of the package is challenged by a number of factors, including
     a lack of coordination among stakeholders.

2.2. POLICY ON RETURNEES
Until recently, Ethiopia had no comprehensive migration policy or any reintegration policy or
strategy. However, migration and return migration increased and the support for the reintegration of
returnees became a new area of concern. It was notably the massive forced repatriation of irregular
Ethiopian migrants from Saudi Arabia between 2013 and 2014 that prompted the development of a
response to support returnees. Indeed, following a decision of the Saudi government to deport irregular
migrants, 163,018 Ethiopian migrant workers were expelled between November 2013 and March 2014
(Human Rights Watch, 2015), and this unplanned return of large numbers of Ethiopians created an
emergency situation of an unprecedented magnitude.
While national policies on migration, and specifically return, are still limited as the country lacks a
comprehensive framework strategy on the issue (Kuschminder and Guay, 2017a), migration is
however addressed in three key government proclamations and directives:
   „     Proclamation No. 909 on Human Trafficking (2015): This proclamation acknowledges the
         dangers faced by migrants and criminalizes human trafficking and smuggling. It also calls for the
         establishment of a fund to provide rehabilitation and reintegration assistance to victims of
         trafficking and vulnerable migrants. The proclamation is currently under review by the government
         to better align it with the situation in Ethiopia and international conventions and protocols.
   „     Proclamation No. 923 on Overseas Employment (2016): This proclamation was enacted in
         response to high levels of abuse and violence perpetrated against overseas Ethiopians,
         especially female migrant domestic workers in the Middle East, and aims to protect Ethiopian
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workers moving abroad. With migration having been banned between 2013 and 2018, this
         proclamation should now take effect. By ensuring that Ethiopians migrate to countries with an
         exchange agreement, and by imposing certain restrictions on workers moving abroad (including
         setting minimum age of 18, a minimum education level of 8th grade, and contractual obligations
         for employers abroad), the government aims to reduce the vulnerability of Ethiopians moving
         abroad. Among other responsibilities, a national coordinating committee is to support “organs
         engaged in counselling and reintegration activities of returnees”. Details on these activities are
         not provided in the proclamation.
   „     Directive on National Reintegration (2018): A directive on national reintegration was adopted
         in September 2018 with the aim of providing assistance to returnees, with a focus on their
         economic reintegration. The directive dictates what happens after the returnees’ reception, and
         what services, opportunities, and jobs are available to them.
Based on these proclamations and other policies, several government agencies are active in
supporting returnees. A task force was notably created under the directive on National Reintegration and
was given the responsibility of assisting migrants and developing a policy framework. The task force
comprises of representatives from the Ministry of
                                                          “Through the task force, legal, economic and
Labour and Social Affairs, the Office of Justice, the
                                                          social issues of returnees are addressed.”
Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Development, so as to provide a more organized                     — KII with Ministry of Housing
and coordinated response to the challenges of
returnees. Additionally, the Urban Job Creation and Food Security Agency is responsible for all
programmes and activities related to the economic reintegration of returnees.

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3. ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS                                                             ON              REINTEGRATION
SCORES
3.1. FACTORS AFFECTING REINTEGRATION
In addition to those presented in Section 4.3 of the main report, the impact of various factors on
reintegration scores was also analyzed. This section presents the results of this analysis.

Gender
Figure 2 below highlights gender differences in reintegration scores. The economic and psychosocial
components are significantly higher for men3 while the social component is significantly higher for women4.
These differences appear to cancel out as the composite reintegration score does not significantly differ
between genders. The higher economic reintegration among men is due to the fact that they are more likely
to be employed. Since the sample was not fully representative of the population of returnees, further work
would be needed to determine to what extent and why reintegration outcomes vary between men and
women.

                                                 Figure 2. Reintegration scores by gender

                       1
                     0,9
                     0,8
                     0,7
                     0,6
                     0,5
                     0,4
                     0,3
                     0,2
                     0,1
                       0
                                Economic             Social reintegration    Psychosocial            Composite
                               reintegration                                 reintegration          reintegration

                                                                Male    Female

Age
As seen in Figure 3 below, there is a slight increase in reintegration scores among older returnees.
Linear regressions revealed a significant impact of age on the economic, social, and composite

3   Economic: t (398) = 2.01, 2 tailed p < 0.05; Psychosocial: t (398) = 3.23, 2 tailed p < 0.01
4   Social: t (398) = -2.18, 2 tailed p < 0.05

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reintegration scores5. This trend is most noticeable for the economic component of reintegration and may
be related to the fact that older returnees are likely to have more work experience. However, in all cases
the magnitude of the trend was very small.

                                        Figure 3. Reintegration scores by age group

                     1
                   0,9
                   0,8
                   0,7
                   0,6
                   0,5
                   0,4
                   0,3
                   0,2
                   0,1
                     0
                              under 25                 25-34                   35-44                    45+

                                      Economic reintegration                Social reintegration
                                      Psychosocial reintegration            Composite reintegration

Country of Return
Although returnees faced different challenges depending on which country they migrated to, there
is no clear trend between the migration route used and reintegration outcomes. As seen in Figure 4,
the reintegration scores do not vary significantly between migration routes. The only significant difference
was in the psychosocial score6 as those returning from the east (usually Yemen and Saudi Arabia) or from
routes other than the three main ones score slightly higher. Given that the sampling frame was derived from
two databases, one of which exclusively contained returnees from Saudi Arabia, there is a possibility that
sampling bias influenced these outcomes. In any case, the findings presented in the main report suggest
that reintegration outcomes are likely to be influenced by the varying conditions faced by returnees arriving
from different countries.

5Economic (F1, 398 = 13.85, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.03); Social (F1, 398 = 8.27, p < 0.01, R2 = 0.02); Composite (F1, 398 = 8.01, p < 0.05, R2 =
0.02)
6   One-way ANOVA (F3,396 = 3.22, p < 0.05)

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Figure 4. Reintegration scores by migration route

                1
              0,9
              0,8
              0,7
              0,6
              0,5
              0,4
              0,3
              0,2
              0,1
                0
                       Economic          Social reintegration      Psychosocial            Composite
                      reintegration                                reintegration          reintegration
                        Northern route       Eastern route      Southern route       Other route

Time Spent Abroad
There is no clear trend between reintegration scores and how long returnees lived abroad before
returning to Ethiopia. The fact that no significant trends were observed can be seen in Figure 5. The dip
observed beyond 5 years should be considered with caution as only 15 returnees were abroad between 5
and 10 years, while only 7 were for more than 10 years. Qualitatively, it is likely that there is some relation
between reintegration and duration of migration experience. For instance, a short migration experience
could mean that an unanticipated issue precipitated an early return and that less time was spent benefiting
from potentially positive aspects of migration such as gaining education or work experience. For those that
were away for many years, it is more likely that they had established a life abroad and were integrated with
the local community. Coupled with the fact that their personal network in Ethiopia may have weakened over
time, reintegration back into Ethiopian society may be more challenging. On the other hand, these
individuals may be older and have more work experience that they can leverage to find better jobs upon
returning.

                              Figure 5. Reintegration scores by time spent abroad

                1
              0,9
              0,8
              0,7
              0,6
              0,5
              0,4
              0,3
              0,2
              0,1
                0
                     1 to 6     6 months      1 to 2      2 to 3        3 to 5     5 to 10     More than
                     months     to 1 year     years       years         years       years      10 years

                                Economic reintegration             Social reintegration
                                Psychosocial reintegration         Composite reintegration

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