BANGLADESH is now widely known as the supplier of unskilled workers to foreign countries due to its inability to groom skilled manpower for overseas jobs. Unskilled workers who are going to work abroad earn lower wages, remit less and often face various problems in the host countries. The government agencies groom a poor number of skilled manpower every year while polytechnic institutes, technical schools and vocational institutes under Ministry concerned haven’t taken any significant steps for skill training of the outbound migrant workers.
Our education system becomes examination and certificate oriented. The upshot is that Bangladeshi unskilled workers have to return home almost often getting no job. We see the government has no concern to change the situation. Every year, thousands of educated youths come to the job market but remain unemployed at home but they cannot be sent abroad for lacking the skills or proper technical training. According to BMET data, 70 technical teaching centres so far have produced around 55,000 technically skilled workers in different trades with training courses varying from six months to four-year diplomas. And 49 polytechnic institutes and 64 technical schools run by the Technical Education Directorate produced around 35,000 diploma certificate holders in different vocations. In 2018, over 7.34 lakh workers migrated of them 43 per cent were certified as skilled and less than 0.5 per cent as professionals by the BMET. In 2019, overseas employment dropped by 10 per cent for the Bangladeshi workers compared to 2018.
What’s true is that Bangladesh is far behind the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India with regard to sending skilled workers abroad. The government can develop a partnership with the recipient countries to get the workers skilled according to their needs. The private enterprises should also come forward with globally recognized skill certification programme for interested migrant workers.
