Reza Mahmud :
Very important manpower exporting sector of Bangladesh witnessed a dull year in 2025 as there were no new destinations were opened even none of the old markets were resumed, stakeholders said.
Sources said, the country’s second largest foreign currency earning manpower exporting sector is becoming increasingly worryingly dependent on Saudi Arabia, while the other destinations were remained nearly closed.
Stakeholders said, the responsible Adviser for the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment was also given responsibility of several other ministries including the Law ministry which has very important tasks.
As a result he has not sufficient time for give additional attentions for reopening the closed labour markets for Bangladeshi migrant workers aspirants like, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and such others.
When contacted, Reaz-ul-Islam Senior Vice-Presiden, BAIRA & Proprietor, Reaz Overseas told The New Nation on Saturday, “There were several problems found which obstacle progress of the manpower sector this year.”
“There was no functional committee of BAIRA for long which hampered of taking sufficient efforts of reopening closed labour markets and opening new destinations,” he said.
The BAIRA leader said, political instability in the country and economic crisis of several host countries were also played pivotal role behind the crisis.
Data showed, in the year of 2025, above 70 percent of the country’s total migrant workers went to Saudi Arabia.
According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), over the past eleven months, 6,70,749 Bangladeshi workers went to Saudi Arabia, while 1,00,439 migrated to Qatar. In addition, 64,326 Bangladeshi citizens found employment in Singapore.
Such dependence signals a contraction of other labour markets, as overall overseas employment has declined by 7.33 percent compared to the previous month.
Stakeholders, including Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) leaders said, various problems were found in the sector in the ending year.
This year, Bangladesh’s overseas employment sector remains in a satisfactory position. From January 1 to November 30, Bangladesh exported a total of 1,011,882 workers abroad.
BMET data showed, 1,011,882 Bangladeshi citizens went overseas for work during the first eleven months of the year.
Previously, 1,011,856 workers went abroad in 2024, while 1,303,453 Bangladeshi workers migrated for employment in 2023.
BMET sources further stated that since 2004, a total of 14,461,546 Bangladeshi citizens have found employment opportunities in different countries around the world.
The source also reported that expatriate Bangladeshis sent USD 21,942.76 million in remittances in 2023, USD 26,890.08 million in 2024, and USD 13.03 billion from July to November of 2025.
Recruiting agencies and migrant worker rights organizations said that overseas employment has faced some disruptions in traditional destinations such as Malaysia.
However, identifying new overseas job markets and strong demand for Bangladeshi workers in several countries have helped Bangladesh maintain a favorable position in manpower exports.
In November this year, Bangladesh sent 131,053 workers abroad for employment.
According to the latest data from Bangladesh Bank, remittance inflows during the current fiscal year from July to November reached USD 13.03 billion, compared to USD 11.13 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Experts have advised the government to increase investment in developing demand-driven skilled manpower, such as nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals, as demand for these occupations is expected to grow in many countries in the future.
The government has established numerous training centers across various districts and launched skill development programs to produce skilled manpower.
These training programs include diploma courses in shipbuilding engineering, refrigeration and air-conditioning, general mechanics, electrical equipment maintenance, AutoCAD 2D and 3D, welding (6G), catering, masonry, and language training in Korean, Arabic, and Japanese, among many others.
Earlier, the government declared the overseas employment sector a “thrust sector,” prioritizing the expansion of overseas job markets to create more employment opportunities for Bangladeshi citizens.
