BD eyes Japan as big manpower export destination
Reza Mahmud :
A new avenue opens for Bangladeshi manpower exporting to Japan as Dhaka set a target to export 100,000 Bangladeshi workers to Japan annually.
The fresh horizon of sending migrant workers were opened as the East-Asian country is roughly needed more manpower.
The Japanese employers are keen to hire more Bangladeshi workers as they shared this with Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus during his recent visit to Japan.
It has been created optimisms of opening a new large destination for the migrant workers of Bangladesh.
Sources said, though these opportunities have not yet been fully realized. To capitalize on this, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has established a dedicated ‘Japan Cell’ with the goal of sending 100,000 Bangladeshi workers to Japan annually.
If effectively utilized, this initiative could provide fresh momentum to the manpower export sector.
The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has announced a set of major steps to expand Bangladesh’s manpower export to Japan, which is considered one of the most promising destinations for Bangladeshi workers in the coming years.
These decisions were finalized at the third meeting of the ministry’s Japan Cell held on September 3, with Chief Adviser’s Special Envoy on International Affairs Lutfey Siddiqi presiding, according to a press release issued on Tuesday by the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing.
However, before deployment, workers will require training in the Japanese language and relevant technical skills, which is a time-consuming process.
Additionally, the issue of skilled versus unskilled labor arises, as sending unskilled workers rarely delivers the anticipated benefits.
Therefore, careful planning and extra focus will be necessary to ensure that Bangladesh sends adequately skilled workers to Japan.
Experts and stakeholders said, several barriers also remaining on sending workers to Japan including language and extra fees collecting by some dishonest agencies.
They asked the government to negotiate with Japanese government for loosening recruiting system in case of language skill. They suggested that people easily could learn language through use so Japan should recruit less language skilled workers.
When contacted Reaz-ul-Islam, former Senior Vice President of BAIRA and Proprietor, Reaz Overseas told The New Nation on Tuesday, “The vast opportunity of exporting manpower to Japan gets a major obstacle due to language.
The Japanese government required Japanese language proficiency (JLPT) at level N4 or higher, but it needs one year or more time for our workers. This restriction should be erased through dialogue.”
He suggested the government to start diplomatic effort to ease the matter.
Meanwhile, the Expatriate’s Welfare Ministry has already conveyed the details of these decisions to the Chief Adviser’s Office (CAO) through an official letter, the release added.
The letter suggested that promotional content, including Facebook posts featuring statements from Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Adviser Professor Dr. Asif Nazrul and the Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan, be disseminated through the Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary and shared via the Chief Adviser’s official Facebook page.
Highlighting the importance of the Japanese labour market, the letter noted that Japan is expected to face a workforce shortage of up to 11 million by 2040, as projected in a Japan Times report published on March 30, 2024. To address this, Japan is likely to continue hiring foreign workers under several visa categories.
At the instruction of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, a comprehensive action plan has been prepared to facilitate training and employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers.
Agreements have been signed between the National Business Support Cooperative Federation (NBCC), Japan Bangla Bridge Recruiting Agency Ltd (JBBRA), and Kaicom Dream Street BD Co Ltd (KDS) to expand job placements in Japan.
Under this framework, workers will primarily be sent to Japan through the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) category managed by NBCC. The initiative has set worker targets, while leaving room for other agencies to design their own recruitment programs, with the broader goal of increasing the export of skilled Bangladeshi manpower and advancing national labour market initiatives.
To implement this strategy, a dedicated Japan Desk has been launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, the embassies of Bangladesh and Japan, and Business World.
The Desk’s responsibilities include analyzing labour demand in Japan, identifying and promoting job opportunities, arranging Japanese language training, conducting digital skills testing and data collection, and ensuring coordination between Bangladeshi agencies, Japanese employers, and other relevant foreign offices. The ministry’s QCS-17 Centre will also support these activities.