The government has adopted a plan to send 1 crore skilled workers abroad over the next five years, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said on Thursday.
Responding to a question from Naogaon-5 MP Md Jahidul Islam Dholu during the 22nd sitting of the second session of the first budget session of the 13th National Parliament, the minister said the ministry has formulated an action plan to develop a skilled workforce for overseas employment, expand foreign labor markets, and address language barriers as part of implementing the government's election manifesto.
He said the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment currently provides skills development training through 110 institutions under its supervision, including 104 Technical Training Centers (TTCs) and six Institutes of Marine Technology (IMTs). The institutions offer 55 short- and long-term employment-oriented trade courses.
Replying to a separate question from Barisal-3 MP Dr Zainul Abedin, the minister said the government is working to ensure safe, regular, and orderly migration, reduce migration costs, and curb fraud by recruiting agencies and middlemen.
He said the government has launched the Overseas Employment Platform (OEP) to make the migration process more transparent, accountable, and efficient. The digital platform facilitates trainee enrollment, monitoring and certification, verification of demand letters and visas by labor welfare wings abroad, issuance of overseas employment clearance, and faster deployment of migrant workers.
According to the minister, the platform has already helped reduce the influence of middlemen and is expected to further strengthen transparency and accountability in overseas migration management.