THE recent report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stated that countries had to increase their cooperation and information sharing, so as to enable them to deal more effectively with the inflows of migrants. The Ready to Help? Improving Resilience of Integration Systems for Refugees and other Vulnerable Migrants report finds that increase in the refugee population in OECD countries rose to about 6 million in the present day, from about 2 million in mid-2013. The report stated this to have a highly concentrated impact in geographical & demographic terms, as well as on the types of services placed under pressure.

While recent refugees are expected to increase the working-age population of European countries by 0.3% by the end of 2020, they face higher hurdles than other immigrant groups in integrating into the labour market, due to lower education levels and slow transition to employment. In some countries, the effect of the refugee inflow will be more apparent: in Austria, Greece and Sweden, recent refugees will increase the labour force by 0.5% and in Germany, by 0.8%. In Turkey, Syrian refugees already represent about 3% of the working-age population.

Launching the report at the Policy Dialogue on the Integration of Refugees and other Vulnerable Migrants, the Deputy Secretary General of the OECD, Mr Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, stated that integration is as great a challenge if not greater than the challenges linked to initial reception of refugees and other vulnerable migrants. Hence he stated that ensuring better integration requires an up-front investment.

Building on the recommendations of the Global Compact on Refugees and OECD work, the report identifies a number of policies to improve integration. These include -

1. Increasing international co-operation and collaboration. Countries were caught off-guard by the recent humanitarian refugee crisis, without an effective framework for sharing and using information to capture early signals of impending surges in demand, but also without an agreed mechanism for collaboration and mutual aid. Co-ordination with humanitarian, development and peace actors in developing countries hosting refugees – 85% of the world's refugees are in developing countries – is also essential;

2. Stepping up efforts to help refugees and vulnerable migrants find and stay in work. This includes improving transparency and simplicity in pathways to access the labour market; mainstream employment support; skills recognition; and language support;

3. Working more closely with a wide variety of stakeholders involved in the integration of migrants, including civil society, the private sector, social partners, and government bodies at the sub-national level. In particular, employers have a key role to play, while coordination of national and local governments is necessary to improve buy-in, especially when people requesting protection are dispersed by central authorities to sub-national regions;

4. Putting in place a clear long-term integration strategy, including provisions for return to origin countries when warranted; and

5. A crisis plan is also needed to identify partners, channels of communication and responsibilities in the face of large inflows of people seeking protection.

The Ready to Help? Improving Resilience of Integration Systems for Refugees and other Vulnerable Migrants addresses 22 key policy questions regarding how OECD countries can be better prepared. It is the result of joint work across different parts of the Organisation and examines recent experience, lays out areas of focus for policy-makers, points to concrete evidence and examples, and summarises the latest research.