ICMPD Training Institute on Migration Capacity Partnership opened in Malta

Hon. Evarist Bartolo said: “Our aim is to move away from imposing our agenda on our counterparts. We firmly believe that the Institute will foster an organisational environment that values development, dialogue and multilateral cooperation, while also leveraging technology resources and tools to improve efficiency.

In doing so, the MCP Med also responds to the Maltese agenda and extends the values we seek to promote nationally, to a wider regional and global sphere. I am convinced that it has the potential to bring us closer together as true partners and to have a lasting impact that can improve the situation in our common home, the Mediterranean.”

Minister for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement Byron Camilleri congratulated ICMPD for consolidating their presence in Malta through the opening of new premises. "These objectives are fully consistent with the Government’s belief that strategies on migration will not be successful without the contribution of countries of origin and transit," stated Hon. Camilleri.

Michael Spindelegger, Director General of ICMPD, said: “Five years after the launch of the Regional Coordination office for the Mediterranean in Malta, ICMPD has grown to be a reliable and recognized partner for governments and international organizations in the region to improve migration governance, policy and capacity. The establishment of the new Regional Office represents a milestone for the work of ICMPD and its mission to make migration and mobility of people orderly, safe and regular, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies. “

The Training Institute on Migration Capacity Partnership for the Mediterranean (MCP Med TI)

Funded by Malta, Denmark, Austria and the European Union, the new training institute will offer partner governments in the Mediterranean region with certified training on relevant aspects of migration. Specific objectives will include:

• To provide access to quality, cost-effective training designed to transfer the methods, tools and approaches to respond effectively and proactively to the emerging migration priorities both at the national and regional level;
• To promote and foster an organisational environment that values development, dialogue, joint initiatives and multilateral cooperation;
• To leverage technology resources and tools to improve and enhance workflow efficiency.

This initiative is set at the nexus of two key European and regional strategic endeavours, namely vocational education and migration governance, addressing specific identified needs in the Mediterranean. Over the last decade, governments have invested and benefited from a consistent improvement in migration competences, experience and specialisation, raising expectations for skills and qualifications of migration professionals at all levels. MCP Med TI represents an ambitious endeavour to address this call for increased efficiency and quality of training in the migration sector.  A whole-of-governance approach solicits functionally linking modern European Union VET policies and approaches with effective external assistance capacity-development in real terms, increasing access to quality educational opportunities that will directly improve the application and sustainability of professional migration governance. In this regard, mutual expectations between cooperating parties require a new approach to ensure self-assessment capacities, better matching between training needs and offers, greater ownership over the curricula notably from EU Southern Partner Countries, and increasing joint commitment towards Capacity Partnership in the framework of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.

Hon. Evarist Bartolo said: “As a former Minister of Education I can confirm that training is a key tenet of well-functioning governance systems, as are partnerships in the area of migration. Moving towards a mutual acknowledgement of partners’ respective realities, priorities and respective goals for migration management in their geographical areas, will be central to shaping revitalised partnerships that create win-win situations for all involved.”

Michael Spindelegger, Director General of ICMPD, said: “The MCP Med TI shall become a state-of-the-art, migration governance training institute developing original training material to supplement sourced pre-approved courseware, thus establishing an evolving library of custom-made, quality assured learning products effectively addressing its partners’ needs, drawing on experience from experts from involved partner states and associated institutions.”