Research and Advisory Support

We have multiple mini-research projects:

Responsible recruitment in practice (in partnership with International Manpower Recruitment (IMR)

This research covers ethical recruitment in practice, with insights from 100 candidates from across Nepal who were deployed to Malaysia under the employer pays principle. By delving into practical insights from ethical recruitment drives, the brief showcases the practical sides of ethical recruitment: the benefits, the innovations and the challenges. By doing so, we hope to add practical insights to inform the discourse on ethical recruitment.

Making overseas employment accessible to the poorest

Read our (longish) blog post that showcases two Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives designed and implemented by IMR and MLab to ensure that good overseas employment opportunities reach some of the most marginalized communities in Nepal. https://www.migration-lab.com/blogs/good-migration

While there is a lot of attention on the idea of badhyatmak migration i.e., workers leaving out of compulsion rather than choice in our migration discourse, not enough attention to badhyatmak immobility i.e, workers unable to migrate despite their migration aspirations. This could be due to various reasons such as lack of finances, networks and information. We partner with responsible recruiters to ensure that their ethical recruitment drives reach these communities as well.

Other ongoing research:  a) Youth aspirations to migrate (Dhanusha-based) and b) Migrant return intentions (multiple destination countries)

Note: These small-sized surveys are not representative and only intend to provide an initial snapshot of the current sentiments and issues workers at various stages of migration face.  

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We believe the best way to minimize abuse and help migrant workers maximize the gains of migration is to connect them with good recruiters and employers who put workers' professional and personal well-being at the center.

We provide advisory support to migration stakeholders engaged in promoting responsible recruitment. When a worker lands a responsible employer that treats him/her with dignity and complies with the employment terms, the migration experience can be transformative. We want to be able to attract some of the best employers to Nepal who care about their workers so migration outcomes are not akin to a gamble with uncertain outcomes.

To do so, recruiters in Nepal should also be competitive, adopt strong recruitment standards, and be able to market themselves effectively to their clients. Many recruiters are moving away from traditional recruitment practices in which recruiters undercut competition and engage in a race to the bottom to obtain job demands that adversely impacts migrant workers' welfare.

In a responsible recruitment industry, recruiters' competitiveness is determined by their recruitment standards, licenses, accreditations, marketing skills, past deployment records, client references and ability to conduct ethical recruitment drives well. We partner with ethical recruiters to help them strengthen their recruitment standards, diversify to new sectors and countries to attract reputed companies so their business is sustainable and market their ethical recruitment standards and practices better.  

We also plan to become a trusted resource for potential overseas, well-reputed employers interested in hiring from Nepal by providing research, third part monitoring, training and advisory support.

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