"Rethinking Refugee Resettlement: A Proposal for Global Skills Partnerships," by Michelle Schatz

This is one of a series of posts written by students in the UA Master's in Development Practice (MDP) Program based on work conducted through their summer field practicums and other research and advocacy activities. 

This policy brief was written by MDP student Michelle Schatz. 

"The wealthiest countries show increasing demand for certain skilled services such as basic health care. This is in part due to populations in wealthy countries aging faster than the populations of skilled workers, creating a deficit in basic health care providers.

Simultaneously, the global refugee crisis is also growing at an extremely fast pace, where  millions of eligible workers are stuck in protracted situations. Creating GSPs could be a  possible solution to both issues, benefiting refugees and countries of destination.

GSPs focus on certain skills that are in high demand in advanced economies. Prospective migrants are the trained in their country of origin for these skills. In the case of resettlement, refugees would be trained in camps prior to departure to the country of destination. Although there is an upfront cost for education and training, there are many models that explore flexible and adaptable pathways of repayment. An alternative is needed. Now that the refugee resource infrastructure in the United States has been collapsed, communities will not be able to cope with higher refugee admittances in the future."