To integrate returnee migrant workers in local industry and secure decent work for millions of workers in the post-pandemic global job markets, experts on Tuesday called for scaling up Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
Experts from home and abroad made the recommendation at a webinar, titled ‘Recognition of Prior Learning for Migrant Workers in Asia’.
The RPL process helps individuals acquire a formal qualification that matches their knowledge and skills, and contributes to improving their employability, mobility, lifelong learning, social inclusion and self-esteem.
The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, hosted the webinar to draw attention to the need to assess and certify the skills of millions of Bangladeshi migrant workers.
“The recognition of skills gained abroad or in the country of origin is a key factor for the smooth transition to decent work for millions of migrant workers,” said Kishore Kumar Singh, Chief Technical Adviser, Skills 21 project of the ILO.
This was why it was so important to have a well-functioning RPL assessment system in place in the country of origin and destination, added Kishore.
This helped recogniz their skills and fit them into the labour market on a continuous basis. Only then could the country secure better pay and better protection for migrant workers, he said further.
As per an ILO report, one-third of men and women who had returned because of the pandemic said they had learned new skills or had greatly improved their existing skills.
However, without credible RPL certification to prove they possessed these newly formed skills and experiences, they could not capitalize on their skills, it added.
Recommendations from the webinar
Based on the webinar, the recommendations for the RPL system in Bangladesh include a pass like the ‘Euro Pass’ that confirms the level of skills or learning outcomes that have been attained, whether via formal, non-formal or informal learning contexts;
In addition, it also suggested a skills passport to help categories of migrant workers and returnee workers by skill types to help bridge gaps in the local and overseas labour markets.
Stressing the setting of up more RPL centres in countries of destination, the experts also urged to increase awareness about RPL and its multiple benefits among migrant workers.
RPL for refugee and host communities would facilitate migrant workers’ transition to international labour markets, it suggested.
“By addressing the recommendations from this webinar we can build a strong RPL system for migrant workers to better reintegrate them into the society and prepare them for overseas job opportunities in post COVID-19”, said Md. Nazibul Islam, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment.
The Economic Minister at the Bangladesh mission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Abul Hasan, explained how the embassy had already started implementing RPL in Saudi Arabia to support Bangladesh's migrant workers.
The Bangladesh Embassy opened eight digital skills assessment labs with teams of trained assessors and planned to launch a mobile RPL assessment bus to further expand the programme.
A recent IOM study said 60% Bangladeshi returned migrants had expressed a genuine desire to upgrade and certify their skills. Of them, 75% said that once the international labour market re-opened, they would like to work in a country where their core skills would be recognized and justly rewarded.
According to the BTEB, there are at present 411 RPL centres in the country and these facilities have provided certificates to 41,560 workers. The challenge now is to link the centres with migrant returnees who have returned home but also seek to offer certification for millions who are still working overseas.
