A group of 20 counsellors from the Migrant Service Centres (MSCs)
in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo under UNSCR 1244, today
completed a four-day IOM regional training course in Tirana on
providing migration information services.

Migrant Service Centres (MSCs) were established in the western
Balkans by IOM in 2008, in cooperation with National Employment
Service and provide information, advice and referral to potential
migrants, returnees and immigrants, on legal channels of migration
within and outside the region.

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Link alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"> "http://www.migrantservicecentres.org/" target="_blank" title=
"">Migrant Service Centres

Information provided by MSC counsellors include details on entry
requirements, visas, residence and work permits, social security
and health systems, labour market gaps, study opportunities and
scholarships as well as international migration law. The MSCs also
assist returning migrants with information on their countries of
return. Currently 51 MSCs are operational in the region.

The training aims to build the capacity of MSC counsellors to
source and provide efficient, up-to-date and relevant information
to their clients in both individual and group settings including
providing pre-departure cultural orientation to potential
migrants.

The training was organised as part of a MIDWEB (Migration for
Development of the Western Balkans) project to not only ensure
efficient dissemination of information on legal channels for
migration among potential labour migrants but also to provide
opportunities for return of skills and human capital in order to
help in the development of countries of origin.

Temporary placement opportunities for 60 qualified professionals
who come from the Western Balkans and who live permanently in
Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the
United Kingdom are offered through the programme. The selected
participants can go back to their countries of origin for a short
period of time to share their skills and expertise and contribute
to the development of their country of origin.

The project is managed by IOM in partnership with the Migration,
Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI), the German Federal
Office for Migration and Refugees and the Vienna Institute for
International Economic Studies (wiiw) and funded by the European
Commission IPA 2009 Multi-beneficiary Programme 2.

For more information go to:

"http://www.migrantservicecentres.org/" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.migrantservicecentres.org/

or contact:

Magdalena Majkowska-Tomkin

IOM Budapest

Tel: + 36 1 472 25 19

E-mail: "mailto:mmajkowska@iom.int">mmajkowska@iom.int