Bishkek– Private Employment Agencies in the Kyrgyz Republic will benefit from a new initiative that aims to help them improve the quality of their services and comply with international standards, ISO 9001. The initiative is a joint effort of the International Organization for Migration, the Centre for Employment of Citizens Abroad of the Ministry of Labour, Social Development and Migration of the Kyrgyz Republic and the State Agency for Standardization and Metrology under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and is fully aligned with the Concept of Migration Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2021-2030.

The initiative is part of the regional Programme for Facilitating Regulated Labour Migration in Central Asia (Phase 1), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The main objective of the programme is to contribute to the improvement of labour migration management to protect the rights of migrant workers and their families, and to develop an organized and safe employment system. The project will be implemented until 2026 and includes such countries as Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan and Republic of Uzbekistan.

On 1 August, 50 licensed agencies attended an introductory meeting, where they discussed topics such as the benefits of implementing a quality management system in line with ISO 9001, internal auditing of the quality system, and kaizen planning. The participants expressed their interest and readiness to participate in the initiative and to improve their services to meet the needs and expectations of migrant workers and employers.