ARMENIA - IOM Hands Over Migrant Resource Centre to Government Authorities - The Ministry of Labour and Social Issues (MLSI) of the Republic of Armenia (RA) and its State Employment Service (SESA), formally took over operation of a Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) this week in the Armenia capital, Yerevan, with support from IOM and the Italian government.

From 2006 through 2008, IOM operated the MRC as a mobile service providing in-person and phone consultations to inform, orient, and train labour migrants in preparation for employment and stay abroad.

The IOM service, which operated in Yerevan and three other regions of the country, also established a client database used to identify migration trends and to prepare guides on the major destination countries for Armenian migrants.

The newly inaugurated MRC, housed in the Erebuni-Nubarashen District Employment Centre, is part of a pilot project connecting migrant labour to state employment services and opportunities. The SESA was selected to administer the programme given its 51 employment centres throughout Armenia.

In addition to its traditional role of preparing migrants for employment abroad, the new MRC will also provide services for the reintegration of returning migrants. According to the MLSI, any additional centres established by SESA will be based on the IOM MRC model.

"The transfer of MRC operations represents an expansion of services for Armenian migrants while ensuring the sustainability of these services by building up national capacities," notes IOM Armenia Chief of Mission Ilona Ter-Minasyan.

Armenia is primarily a labour migrant producing country due to limited job opportunities nationally. Data from the most recent survey in the country shows that from 2005 to 2006 between 3 percent and 3.8 percent of Armenia’s population (96,000 to 122,000 people), went to work abroad with approximately 90 percent of these going to the Russian Federation.

As part of the transition of MRC operations to the State Employment Service, IOM and the Italian Embassy in Yerevan provided the Centre with updated computer and office equipment with IOM also providing job training to MRC staff.

IOM will continue to provide technical assistance and support to the new MRC, including for the production of country guides containing information on immigration legislation, procedures for obtaining visas, employment opportunities, and web-based migrant resources. IOM will also provide assistance to the Armenian government on bilateral labour agreements with other states.

For more information contact Kristina Galstyan, IOM Armenia, Tel: +374 10 585692, Ext. 112, E-mail: kgalstyan@iom.int