Labor insertion policies of returning Colombian migrants between 2012 and 2018

Abstract

The article aims to analyze if the linkages between migration policies and labor related measures for returnees in Colombia since the approval of the Law of Return, 2012. In order to do so, the authors use a documentary analysis methodology derived from a desk review of labor market information, employment and migration policies. This process considers aspects related to the design of differentiated programs for the returnee population and the existence or development of monitoring mechanisms. The article considers the context of emigration and return in Colombia, the labor profile of Colombian migrants in host countries, as well as the recent dynamics of the labor market in Colombia, discussing some structural factors such as unemployment and informality and the need to consider these aspects in the interventions created for the socioeconomic integration of returnees. The authors list and analyze the main activities on issues of employability and entrepreneurship as presented by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Labor in their management reports to demonstrate the existence and extent of inter-institutional coordination mechanisms. The article concludes with the need to collect and disseminate information on the evidence of the labor insertion of returnees in order to collect and propose technical inputs from different actors that could be included in the programs or policies aimed at doing so.