Manila and Manama – The UN Migration Agency recently launched its introductory training programme for labour recruiters in the Philippines and Bahrain.  The training, which took place in Manila on 21-22 November and Manama on 25-26 November, is the first step for recruiters who are interested in being certified under the International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS). 

IRIS is a global social compliance scheme that is designed to promote ethical international recruitment.  It has been developed by IOM in collaboration with government, civil society and private sector partners. It works by defining and setting a benchmark for ethical recruitment (the IRIS Standard) and by establishing a voluntary certification scheme for recruiters. IRIS was created in response to the growing demand from the private sector and governments for ethical recruitment services. 

The training programme has been designed to increase recruiters’ overall awareness of ethical recruitment and to provide practical information on what recruiters need to demonstrate in their management systems in order to be IRIS-certified. 

In particular, the programme introduces recruiters to the business case for ethical recruitment, reveals what comprises the IRIS Standard and explains in simple terms what management systems look like in practice. 

“It’s fantastic to see both countries of origin and destination participate in this IRIS training,” said Pawel Szalus, IRIS Programme Manager. “For IRIS to achieve its objective and make recruitment fairer for all involved, it is imperative that we work with, and support, both sides of the supply chain. I commend all of the recruiters who participated in the training this week and demonstrated their commitment to ethical recruitment.” 

IOM first launched the IRIS training programme in Nepal in May 2018 and will continue to roll it out to other countries next year.