Background

More people than ever before are affected by forced displacement - by the end of 2019, the number of people who have been forced to flee from their homes as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations reached 79.5 million. Among them, nearly 26 million are refugees.

Providing refugees with an opportunity to work and earn a living is one of the most effective ways to help them rebuild their lives, enable them to contribute to their host communities, and prepare them for what solution ultimately becomes available – whether it be a return home, or integration in their countries of asylum or in a third country.

Until recently, the vast majority of livelihoods programmes for refugees have focused primarily on skills development, not necessarily informed by market demand and dynamics. These interventions have led to little impact and have proven to be economically unsustainable in many cases and particularly when implemented on a large scale. Humanitarian and development actors are therefore increasingly recognising that livelihood interventions for refugees need to be based on a solid understanding of market trends and demand, and identify ways to develop markets for both, refugees and host communities.

Overview of the course

This training course supports practitioners working with refugee communities in the design of livelihood interventions based on a solid understanding of market trends and demand. The training has been developed by the ILO and the UNHCR as a response to a lack of a specialised training on market-based livelihood interventions for refugees. It is based on the “Making markets work for the poor” (M4P) approach and disseminates tools and good practices learnt from ILO-UNHCR collaboration as well as from ILO projects implementing the approach in different countries.

The training combines expert input with applied learning methodologies. Participants will be exposed to group-based learning methods, including expert presentations, mapping exercises and case studies, to ensure a high-quality learning experience. The faculty includes M4P experts who bring real-life programming expertise to the course and learning specialists who will facilitate a learner-centred training programme.

Learn more about the course, check out the website for course fees and details, and be sure to apply.

SEEP members receive financial support, check out the Member Space for details!