A recent IOM study in Tunisia, titled "International Labor Market and Identification of Opportunities for Tunisian Jobseekers," highlights an increase in graduates and women among Tunisians leaving the country, fueling fears of a brain drain at home.

Part of the THAMM program (Toward a Holistic Approach to Labor Migration Governance and Labor Mobility in North Africa), aimed at facilitating regular and legal migration channels, the study analyzes the international labor market and identifies job opportunities for skilled Tunisians.

It reveals seven destination countries offering good opportunities for Tunisian migrants: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

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The search for employment is the first reason that pushes people to migrate

Tunisian migrants with a tertiary migration who left their country before 2000 represent 17.3 percent of the total, while Tunisian migrants with the same qualifications who left the country between 2010 and 2020 are 47.4 percent. The principal reasons for their departure are related to the search for employment (45 percent), family reunification (32 percent), and education (11.5 percent).

Even if the reasons for migrating vary according to the destination, finding employment remains the main reason, together with family reunification, for the strong push to migrate to Europe.

The study also found that over 67 percent of those interviewed plan to leave Tunisia to find work. Of these, 34 percent believe they will leave through individual channels, and 32 percent through the National Employment and Self Employment Agency(ANETI).

A total of 17% of those interviewed said they had to face numerous challenges, such as the fees by private unlicensed agencies, and the lack of competencies and experience required abroad.

In terms of the type of support they would like to receive to facilitate the migration procedures, 53 percent of those interviewed noted they would benefit from training courses, and courses to help those who recently graduated enter the job market, to acquire the needed experience to find adequate employment abroad, the study found.

In terms of job preferences, only 3.8 percent of those interviewed said they would be willing to accept any job in Tunisia, independently of the conditions, while 11.3 percent said they wanted to work abroad.

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France, Italy, and Germany host three-fourths of all Tunisian migrants

According to the study, "the last migration wave" followed the Covid-19 pandemic and the socio-economic crisis in Tunisia. This trend persists, with one in five Tunisians aged 15 or older expressing a desire to migrate for better living, working, and studying opportunities (International Inquiry on Migration Tunisia-HIMS, 2020-2021).

Over the past five years, North America, the Maghreb, and the Middle East have attracted more Tunisian migrants, with a notable increase in female migration, now comprising 31 percent of all migrants, particularly among highly educated women.

Most Tunisian migrants reside in Europe, with France (52.5 percent), Italy (14.1 percent), and Germany (8.2 percent) hosting three-fourths of them. North America attracts 4 percent (2.5 percent to Canada and 1.5 percent to the United States), while 11.4 percent work in Arab countries.

North America attracts 4 percent of these migrants (2.5 percent go to Canada, and 1.5 percent go to the United States), while 11.4 percent of Tunisian laborers abroad are employed in Arab countries.

Also read: One in 5 would like to leave -- study on migration in Tunisia

Recommendations

To improve the level of integration of Tunisians in the international job markets, the study recommends the elaboration of a new strategy to promote the development of competencies and employability at the international level of migrant workers.

Furthermore, the report calls for the creation of information systems on the job market, improved cooperation between firms and Universities, the creation of online platforms to match up potential qualified migrant workers, and the development of policies and programs to promote competencies and entrepreneurship.

In the long term, this study aims to support the Tunisian government solve its unemployment problems, to fill the gap between the education programs and professional training, and the needs of the labor market in these target countries, in addition to supporting an improved system to inform people who are looking for employment at international level.