It is no secret that Bangladesh has a big pool of unemployed youth, with opportunities hard to come by, and matters only worsened by the pandemic. It is a bigger point of concern that a big portion of this youth lack the appropriate skills to meaningfully contribute, meaning that they ultimately end up as low-skill, migrant workers in the Gulf countries, where they often end up with the short end of the stick in terms of respect and salaries.
While our migrant workers have been and continue to be an integral part of the economy, we have long required our workers to upskill, while simultaneously exploring other markets where they may be able to contribute. As such, it is certainly laudable that Bangladesh is looking into tapping into the Japanese labour market, with 30 technical centres across the country enriching our workers with the necessary skills and language capabilities to work in Japan.
Due to the demographic shift in Japan, Japan has a lot of job opportunities, but it doesn’t have enough people to take them. This presents a win-win situation for both of the countries. If done correctly, Japan will be able to meet its gap in its labour force, and Bangladesh will be able to expand its migrant workers’ network, on the backs of which this great country was built. Bangladesh and Japan already have a good relationship. Now, it’s time to take it to the next level.
The government needs to see this through properly. Proper channels have to be set up for migration, and the government needs to be pro-active in rooting out human merchants and other miscreants from the system. The embassy in Japan also has to be trained and empowered in a way that they can act as a safe haven for our workers.
It goes without saying that we must ensure that these centres are monitored, and more such centres become the norm, so that our workers continue to increase their skill level, and the Bangladeshi migrant workers' network is no longer limited to low-skill employment in certain nations.
