The government has adopted a plan to send one crore skilled workers abroad over the next five years by strengthening skills and expanding overseas employment opportunities, according to Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury. The plan aims to develop a skilled workforce, address language barriers, and preserve Bangladesh’s foreign labor markets.
Skill Development Initiatives
To implement this plan, the ministry is currently providing skills development training through 110 training institutions, including 104 Technical Training Centres (TTCs) and six Institutes of Marine Technology (IMTs). These institutions offer training in 55 short- and long-term employment-oriented trades and courses to prepare workers for overseas labor markets.
Action Plan and Digital Initiatives
The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has formulated an action plan as part of the government’s election manifesto. This plan aims to develop a skilled workforce for overseas employment, address language barriers, and strengthen and expand Bangladesh’s foreign labor markets. Additionally, the government has launched the Overseas Employment Platform (OEP), a digital system designed to make the migration process more transparent, accountable, and efficient.
Ensuring Safe Migration
The minister highlighted that the government is working to ensure safe, regular, and orderly migration while reducing costs and curbing fraud by brokers and middlemen. The OEP facilitates trainee enrollment, monitoring, and certification at training institutes, verification of demand letters and visas by labor welfare wings at Bangladesh missions abroad, issuance of emigration clearance, and faster deployment of migrant workers.
Legal Framework and Local Oversight
The government has framed the Foreign Employment and Migrants (Recruiting Agent License, Sub-agent Registration, and Code of Conduct) Rules, 2025 to bring brokers and sub-agents under a legal framework. District and upazila migration coordination committees have been formed across the country to implement migration-related activities at the local level and strengthen oversight of overseas employment services.
Significance and Future Steps
This initiative is significant for Bangladesh as it aims to boost the economy through remittances, provide employment opportunities for the youth, and enhance the country’s global workforce presence. The success of this plan will depend on the effective implementation of training programs, digital platforms, and regulatory frameworks to ensure safe and orderly migration.
