ILO: Assessment of the capacity and practices of overseas Private Employment Agencies in Ethiopia
August 2022
Over the past decade, Ethiopia has experienced significant levels of economic growth - yet struggles to meet employment demands of its young population. Consequently, each year thousands of Ethiopian citizens migrate in search of employment opportunities abroad. A 2021 survey by the IOM found that in the past 5 years, 839,000 Ethiopians had migrated overseas with 78% between ages of 15-29.
A high percentage of all movement from Ethiopia is irregular–often facilitated by informal recruiters & smugglers. However, over the past decade there has been a surge in the creation and use of overseas private employment agencies (PrEAs), who recruit thousands of workers for employment opportunities abroad. In principle, these agencies have the potential to positively contribute to the creation of a thriving, flexible global labour market. However, in practice, the temporality and flexibility of the employment relationships created by these agencies have resulted in continuous reports of unfair recruitment practices and countless violations of migrant workers’ rights.
In an effort to better regulate overseas PrEAs and provide stronger protection for migrant workers’ rights, the Ethiopian government in May 2021, issued the new Overseas Employment Amendment Proclamation No. 1246-2021.
Samuel Hall was commissioned by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to explore the practices of overseas employment agencies in Ethiopia and assess their capacity to carry out their services to the standards outlined in the new Overseas Employment Proclamation 1246/2021.
Through qualitative and quantitative data collected in Addis Ababa in September 2021, this study presents an assessment of the issues and challenges faced by overseas employment agencies and the bodies governing the sector, as well as highlighting capacity-building opportunities that would better align agencies with the vision for the sector laid out in the proclamation.
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