Bangladesh has witnessed a surge in sending migrant workers to different countries, particularly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Malaysia, this year.
The number of Bangladeshi migrant workers has risen sharply since the beginning of the current year, with about 700,000 Bangladeshis heading abroad for employment in last 10 months.
This surge reflects a steady rise in demand for Bangladeshi workers across various industries globally.
Saudi Arabia is the most popular destination, employing 374,000 Bangladeshi workers, followed by Malaysia with over 100,000 and Qatar with about 45,000.
The number of skilled Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia is on the rise for the country’s giga projects.
Arab News reports that out of almost 700,000 who sought employment abroad this year, more than 374,000 went to Saudi Arabia, which since 2017 has been the preferred destination among Bangladeshi expats.
The Riyadh-based daily newspaper circulated the news item on Wednesday under the title ‘Bangladesh records rise in skilled migration with Saudi Arabia as top destination’.
The Kingdom was followed by Malaysia and Qatar, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET).
“Due to several ongoing giga projects, The demand for migrant workers is high in Saudi Arabia,” BMET additional secretary Shah Abdul Tarique told the Arab News.
“Recently, we have noticed an increase in export of skilled migrants. Many of our construction workers go to Saudi Arabia under skilled categories. Many drivers and electricians also employed there as skilled workers,” said Shah Abdul Tarique. Saudi Arabia has launched a number of giga projects under its Vision 2030 transformation plan, including the multibillion-dollar NEOM smart city that is overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi officials launched Workers’ Recruitment and Skill Verification Programme in Bangladesh last February, aimed at advancing the professional competence of employees in the labour market of the Arab country.
It focuses on several professions, including plumbers, electricians and construction workers.
BMET had set up at least 150 technical centres upon the programme’s launch, offering free training to support Bangladeshi migrant workers seeking employment in KSA.
“We are also focusing on preparing the training centres more with market-driven equipment and logistics,” said Shah Abdul Tarique of BMET.
“Our private sector recruiting agents are working sincerely to be attached more with the Saudi giga projects. If this trend continues, I think our skilled manpower exports to the Kingdom will increase in the coming days,” he told the Arab News.
Friendly ties between the two countries have also driven Bangladeshi migrant workers to choose Saudi Arabia, said Shariful Hasan, head of the migration programme at BRAC.
“They feel much more comfortable while working in the Kingdom. It’s a diversified market for us as both skilled and unskilled migrants are being employed together,” he told Arab News.
“Starting from construction to many other job fields, Saudi Arabia is now looking for skilled workers from Bangladesh. That’s why the number of our skilled workers increased in the Kingdom,” said Shariful Hasan.
He said also that skilled Bangladeshi migrants are also being employed in the IT and financial sectors, as KSA seeks to establish itself as a global investment powerhouse with sophisticated digital infrastructure.
“It will be an excellent approach if we can prepare our technical training centres in line with the demands of the Saudi giga projects,” he said. “These migrants will be able to earn better in the kingdom and eventually send better remittances to Bangladesh.”
Some three million Bangladeshis live and work in Saudi Arabia. They are the largest expat group in KSA and also the biggest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh.
Official and business exchanges between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have been on the rise. Recently, Bangladesh is drawing increasing attention from Saudi businessmen and investors who are showing keen interest to invest here.
“The two nations have identified new areas for collaboration, particularly in areas of labour migration, investment, infrastructure development, education, as well as agriculture and environment,” said Md Touhid Hossain, adviser for Foreign Affairs of the interim government of Bangladesh.
Alongside KSA and other Middle Eastern countries, there has been a noticeable increase in the migration of Bangladeshi workers to some other countries in the world.
One such destination is South Korea, where Bangladeshi workers are now being employed.
