Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today said his government's one of the key priorities is transforming the country's young population into skilled human resources to increase their participation in both the domestic and international labour markets.
Commitment to Balanced Development and Employment
The Prime Minister made these remarks while responding to a starred question from treasury bench MP Md Robiul Awal from Tangail-6 constituency in the House with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad in the chair. Tarique Rahman said the present government is committed to undertaking and implementing various initiatives aimed at ensuring balanced development across all regions of the country, creating sustainable employment, and developing a skilled workforce.
Establishment of Employment Exchange Centres
In line with the current government's election manifesto, there are plans to establish employment exchange centres. These centres will enhance employment-related information, skills development, and access to job opportunities at the local level. Once established, these centres will make the country's existing domestic labour market management more effective and institutionalized, while also creating new employment opportunities and improving the living standards of working people.
Strengthening International Labour Markets
Highlighting measures taken to strengthen, expand, and diversify international labour markets, the prime minister said due to ongoing instability in the Middle East, initiatives have already been taken to reopen the Malaysian labour market and expand employment opportunities in Thailand, South Korea, and Japan. The final draft of the labour recruitment agreement with Thailand has been sent to the Thai government.
Diplomatic Efforts and New Agreements
Instructions have been issued to Bangladesh missions abroad to assess labour demand in their respective countries and submit specific action plans for increasing manpower exports. Diplomatic efforts are continuing to reopen the labour markets in Malaysia, Oman, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. The 7th Joint Committee Meeting between Qatar and Bangladesh was held in Dhaka on 18 May, where Qatar's minister of labour expressed interest in recruiting skilled Bangladeshi workers in various professions.
Expanding Opportunities in Europe and Asia
Plans are also underway to sign additional agreements with other Asian countries. Diplomatic efforts are underway to establish visa centres in Dhaka for European countries such as North Macedonia, Serbia, Mauritius, and Portugal, where there are opportunities for sending skilled workers but no visa centres currently exist in Bangladesh. Once implemented, this will make it much easier to send more workers abroad.
Seasonal Workers and Language Training
Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) are being signed with various local governments in South Korea to facilitate the recruitment of seasonal workers. Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) has already begun sending seasonal workers to South Korea. A Japan Cell has been established under the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry to ensure better coordination in expanding employment opportunities in Japan. This cell has brought together 96 sending organizations, more than 200 private Japanese language training centres, and 60 Technical Training Centres (TTCs) under a unified framework.
Demand-Based Language Courses
Initiatives will be undertaken under BMET to introduce demand-based language courses and expand the number of training institutions. Currently, Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean language courses are being offered at 60 Technical Training Centres (TTCs), and the process of recruiting language instructors for these institutions is underway.
