Promoting the economic reintegration of returnees through vocational training: lessons from Liberia

ABSTRACT

Through a follow-up study, this article explores the role of vocational training programmes in promoting the economic reintegration of repatriated refugees in Liberia. In 2014, we conducted an initial study on livelihood outcomes of vocational training programmes provided by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization for Liberian returnees. By tracing the trained returnees two years after the completion of training, the article investigates the employment and economic conditions of these former beneficiaries and aims to provide valuable insights into the potential and limitations of vocational training programmes in relation to refugees’ economic reintegration post-repatriation.

KEYWORDS:

• Aid – Monitoring and Evaluation, Development policies
• Conflict and reconstruction – Forced displacement
• Labour and livelihoods – Migration
• sub-Saharan Africa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Naohiko Omata is a Senior Research Officer at the Refugee Studies Centre, Department of International Development, University of Oxford, UK.

Noriko Takahashi is a Project Manager at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna International Centre, Austria.

Notes

1 UNIDO did not engage in the direct provision of financial support in either the EDP or skills training programmes in Liberia.

2 Of course, for Terrance and Georgina there are other potential factors that have enabled them to embark upon their own enterprises, such as access to start-up capital.