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Skills Short in Garments

This week in the Bangladesh English Press we look at the latest news on Bangladesh’s migrant workers. There is a critical review of labour and skills in the garments sector. The government unveils the new National Social Security Strategy. And on a final note Mumbai screens a film about Bangladeshi women police officers keeping the peace in Haiti.

A weekly round up of articles about employment, the labour market, skills training and workforce development.This week’s round up is drawn from The Daily Star. Here is the news for the week ending 5th November 2015.

This week in the Bangladesh English Press…

…we look at the latest news on Bangladesh’s migrant workers. There is a critical review of labour and skills in the garments sector. The government unveils the new National Social Security Strategy. And on a final note Mumbai screens a film about Bangladeshi women police officers keeping the peace in Haiti.

Challenges and Rewards of Migrant Labour

Finding Bangladeshi women to work as housemaids in Saudi Arabia is difficult. According to the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies  potential candidates fear abuse and are put off by low salaries.

A delegation from Malaysia arrived in Bangladesh this week. There have been concerns raised about the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers for Malaysia. The delegation will address these issues.

Remittances from the eight million Bangladeshis working abroad fell in October. But the number of people leaving to work overseas in July and August grew by thirty six per cent compared to the same period last year.

Steps to Close Skill Shortage

This week  The Daily Star featured an editorial – “Skilled Manpower Shortage” – on the ready made garments sector. According to  the Directorate of Textile, Bangladesh will have a shortage of 180,000 workers in the sector by 2021. The government will create around twenty textile engineering colleges and vocational institutes to address this shortfall.

An extra two hundred thousand poor students will get vocational education. The World Bank is adding one hundred million dollars to its Skills and Training Enhancement Project to cover the new students. Every year 1.3 million young people enter the labour market. So giving them right skills for employment is critical.

Social Insurance for the Vulnerable

The government released the new National Social Security Strategy this week. Women, the elderly and physically challenged will be eligible for cash allowances under the five-year plan. The strategy will also support vulnerable women and new mothers to get jobs. A new social insurance scheme will allow the employed to contribute as protection against unemployment and to provide an income in retirement.

..and a remarkable story of bravery

This week “A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers” was screened at the Mumbai Film Festival. The film is about a unit of 160 women police officers from Bangladesh. They were part of the United Nations Stabilizing Mission in Haiti. Read The Daily Star’s report here and see the trailer here.

So that’s the news from The Daily Star. Next week we return to our full complement of Bangladesh Newspapers including The Financial Express and The Independent.