The free flow of skilled labour, business persons, and
talents (referred to as skilled labour) is considered as one of the elements
contributing to the foundation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation
(ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC). The facilitation of ASEAN’s free flow of
skilled labour is arguably unsuccessful because ASEAN members have preserved
many constraints on the mobility of skilled workers. This research aims to
analyse the hybrid approach to the free flow of skilled labour in ASEAN, which
combines the liberalization of the movement of natural persons and
qualification harmonization in accordance with the ASEAN Framework Agreement on
Services (AFAS), ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement, ASEAN Agreement on Natural
Persons, Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs), and ASEAN Qualification
Reference Framework). The authors conceptualize the hybrid approach to the free
flow of skilled labour in ASEAN to more effectively implement the regional
provisions on the free flow of skilled and analyse its appropriateness and
limitations. The research concludes that, for the long-term goal of upgrading
the skills of ASEAN’s workforce, the hybrid approach is appropriate to ASEAN’s
regional labour integration, under the principle of non-interference and the
status of shortage of skilled labour. The authors propose several implications
for ASEAN’s Member States to take advantage of the hybrid approach, maximize opportunities
and reduce impediments from the impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and
the ‘job polarization’ phenomenon.