- Measles: With 2 more suspected deaths; toll reaches 746 in BD |
- Dhaka hopes India will come forward on Ganges Water Treaty |
- Rising water levels in three Feni rivers trigger fresh flood fears |
- Bangladesh's Maritime ports asked to hoist cautionary signal No 3 |
- SC Restores Caretaker Govt, Referendum Provisions |
Govt plans to send 1cr skilled workers abroad in next five years: Minister
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury today said 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.
“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),” he told parliament.
The minister said the institutions are offering training in 55 short- and long-term employment-oriented trades and courses to prepare workers for overseas labour markets.
Ariful was replying to a starred question from treasury bench member Md Zahidul Islam Dhalu (Naogaon-5) in the House with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, in the chair.
Ariful Haque Choudhury said the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has formulated an action plan as part of the government’s election manifesto to develop a skilled workforce for overseas employment, address language barriers and strengthen, expand and preserve Bangladesh’s foreign labour markets.
Replying to another starred question from treasury bench member Zainul Abedin of Barishal-3, the minister said the government is working to ensure safe, regular and orderly migration while reducing costs and curbing fraud by brokers and middlemen.
He said the government has launched the Overseas Employment Platform (OEP), a digital system designed to make the migration process more transparent, accountable and efficient.
According to the minister, the platform facilitates trainee enrollment, monitoring and certification at training institutes, verification of demand letters and visas by labour welfare wings at Bangladesh missions abroad, issuance of emigration clearance and faster deployment of migrant workers.
“The introduction of the OEP has significantly reduced the influence of brokers at different stages of the migration process and will further enhance transparency and accountability in migration management,” he said.
The minister also said 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.
In addition, 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, reports BSS.