Bangladesh seeks to send 750,000 workers abroad in 2020

The government has set a target of sending 750,000 workers overseas in 2020 despite a fall in manpower export last year.

Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad announced the target at a programme in Dhaka on Sunday.

“It’s a very conservative target. We’ll go beyond it,” he said.

The government is taking initiatives to send workers to at least six new destinations, he said at the event organised by the Reporters for Bangladeshi Migrants.

A total of 604,060 workers went abroad from January to November in 2019, according to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training. The number was 684,962 in the same period in 2018.

Male worker migration dropped by 81,000 in this period. But figure for female workers rose by 5,509.

“It’s true that the number of workers going abroad has fallen. But no one is saying that there is a drop in demand for workers. Now it’s time for skilled workers. We’ll fail if we cannot provide skilled workers,” the minister said.

The government is building 164 training camps in all 64 districts, he added.