The recent government initiative to increase the number of overseas workers and provide skills development training to over half a million people is worth praising.
As the population of Bangladesh grows and the global demand for skilled manpower increases, investing in our workers’ continued development will start to become all the more imperative.
Expanding skills is absolutely essential if the economy is to become more globally competitive and take full advantage of the potential of our demographic dividend. This is especially important as the market for migrant workers expands and becomes more diversified.
Japan has been looking at foreign countries to fill in respectable roles in the animation and cuisine industries, a lucrative opportunity for Bangladeshis as Japan has expressed interest in hiring manpower from our country. As countries like Canada move towards greater investment in agricultural sectors, this is another avenue that can work as a potential hotspot for our migrant workforce.
However, alongside investing in the skills of the community, the administration needs to ensure that the security, safety, and human rights of different migrant workers are of paramount importance. This is especially noteworthy as one looks at the safety and human rights situations of our workers in gulf nations, and how our embassies have repeatedly failed when it comes to protecting our people.
Overall, the steps taken by the authorities seem to be on the right track.
Improving vocational training will not only allow the country to create more higher value jobs at home, it will also increase choices for workers who go abroad by equipping them with more marketable skills.
