Little impact on skilled migration, but continuing medium- and low-skilled migration
– Labour mobility will be driven primarily by
demographic and economic disparities between
countries. Migration in ASEAN will continue in
the low- and medium-skill segments, primarily
in manufacturing, construction, fishing, and
domestic work – often undocumented. In principle, steps to free up the movement of skilled
workers in the AEC framework could lead to
significant gains. However, current agreements
on migration policies do not address existing
realities – being confined to a restricted list of
eight occupational categories which together
constitute a tiny share of total employment in
ASEAN.
Otherwise, ASEAN Member States risk suffering
persistent skills shortages and mismatches.