Govt expects 6-7 lakh overseas jobs per year

BSS, Dhaka :
Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Engineer Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain on Wednesday said that the government is expecting overseas employment for six to seven lakh Bangladesh nationals per year due to the global recovering economic downturn.
“The manpower export expects a robust growth as the global economic recession is being recovered and it needs 4.5-5.5 lakh trained workers annually,” he said while addressing a press conference at Kakrail Probashi Kalyan Bhaban in the city.
The minister said the government has decided to observe International Migration Day 2014 across the country today in a befitting manner. The ministry will hold a colourful rally at Manik Mia avenue in the city at 8am marking the day.
He said currently 90 lakh Bangladesh nationals are working abroad and the Awami League led government sent 24,51,093 workers to 160 countries during its 2009-2013 tenure.
The government has set up 47 vocational training centres and four institutes of marine technology across the country for imparting training to a large number of workers, Mosharraf said.
He said the ministry under instruction from the Prime Minister has undertaken a project to set up over 400 upazila-level vocational training centres.
Mosharraf said the rally will be followed by a special function at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre where a documentary would be screened on exporting manpower.
A seminar will be held there at 2:30 pm while a debate competition at 3:00 pm on the occasion.
The minister said Bangladesh received $ 61.90 billion remittance during 2009-2013 period, which is 43.54 percent higher than that of the last BNP-Jamaat regime.
Expatriates Welfare Secretary Khandker M Iftekhar Haider and senior officials concerned were present in the press conference.
The minister also said that the government has enacted the Oversea Employment and Migration Act-2013 to curb illegal visa trading and other fraudulence relating to migration.