Labor Migration in Asia Trends Skills Certification and Seasonal Work

TRENDS, SKILLS CERTIFICATION,AND SEASONAL WORK LABOR MIGRATION IN ASIA:TRENDS, SKILLS CERTIFICATION,AND SEASONAL WORK Copyright © 2024 Asian Development Bank Institute, International Labour Organization, and Organisationfor Economic Co-operation and Development. The Work shall be available under the Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License. Print ISBN: 978-4-89974-305-7 OECDISBN: 978-9-26497-439-5 (PDF)DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/9b45c5c4-en ADBIISBN: 978-4-89974-306-4 (PDF)DOI: https://doi.org/10.56506/XLCT8213 ILOISBN: 978-9-22040-778-3 (PDF) This publication was jointly prepared by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Organisationfor Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the International Labour Organization (ILO). For the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and International Labour Organization (ILO) theresponsibility for opinions expressed and arguments employed in signed articles, studies and othercontributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement or officialview by ADBI or ILO or their respective Board of Governors or the governments they represent. For the OECD, this work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. Theopinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of theMember countries of the OECD. Neither ADBI, ILO nor the OECD, guarantees the accuracy of the data included in this publication andaccepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory, city or geographic area, neither ADBI,ILO, nor OECD intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory, city or area.This publication, as well as any data and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of orsovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the nameof any territory, city or area. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement byADBI, ILO, or OECD and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product, or process is not asign of disapproval. The names of geographic areas and territories used in this joint publication follow the practice of ADBI. ADB recognizes “China” as the People’s Republic of China; “Korea” as the Republic of Korea; “Laos” as theLao People's Democratic Republic. Note:In this publication, “$” refers to United States dollars. Asian Development Bank InstituteKasumigaseki Building 8F3-2-5, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-kuTokyo 100-6008, Japanwww.adbi.org Organisation for Economic Co-operationand Development2, rue André Pascal75775 Paris Cedex 16Francewww.oecd.org International Labour OrganizationRegional Office for Asia and the PacificUnited Nations Building, 11th FloorRajdamnern Nok Avenue, P.O. Box 2-349Bangkok 10200, Thailandwww.ilo.org/asia Tables, Figures, and Boxes iv Forewordvi Acknowledgmentsviii List of Contributorsviii 1Trends in Labor Migration in Asia 1.1Introduction1 1.2Changing Trends: Short and Medium Term1 1.3Labor Migration to OECD and Non-OECD Asian Economies9 1.4Labor Migration to Non-Asian OECD Countries15 1.5International Student Mobility to and from Asia21 1.6Remittances to and from Asian Economies26 2Middle-Skilled Labor Migration in the Construction Sector:Migration Pathways and Certifying Skills of Migrant Workersin Singapore and Thailand 2.1Introduction 382.2Frameworks on Skills Recognition for Migrant Workers392.3Labor Migration Frameworks for Medium-skilled Occupations in Singapore and Thailand412.4The Construction Sector in Singapore and Thailand462.5Comparison of the Models572.6Conclusions59 3Migrant Seasonal Workers from Asia and the Pacific:Schemes and Policy Concerns 3.1Introduction623.2The Evolution of Seasonal Working in Asia and the Pacific and the United Kingdom633.4Policy Challenges753.5The Future of Seasonal Work Programs for Migrant Workers78 Annexes 1Economy-Specific Notes2Comparative Tables 108 TABLES, FIGURES,AND BOXES TABLES 1.1Outflows of Workers from Selected Asian Countries, 2012–202331.2Flows of Workers to Gulf Cooperation Council Countries, Main Sending Countries,2023 and % change 2022–202341.3Flows of Workers to ASEAN Countries, by Origin and Destination, 202251.4Singapore Foreign Workforce Numbers, December 2018–June 2023131.5Breakdown Statistics on Applications Approved under the General Employment Policy141.6Share of International Students Enrolled in an OECD Country by Continent of Origin, 2020 and 2021231.7Employment Rates by Region of Origin in Selected OECD Countries in 2021 and 2022252.1Categories and Subtypes of Passes412.2Comparison of S Pass, Work Permit, and Employment Pass422.3List of Occupations Prohibited to Migrant Workers442.4Types of Work Permits for Migrant Workers in Thailand452.5Foreign Worker Situation, Thailand47