Dhaka: Recruiters from Bangladesh stated on Monday that they are eager to take advantage of opportunities in Saudi Arabia as they get ready to train workers to fill open positions in the Kingdom.
According to official data, more than 225,000 people from Bangladesh migrated to Saudi Arabia in the first half of 2023, continuing a pattern that began in 2022 when more than half of the migrants from the Asian nation were employed in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom is planning to hire skilled workers from Bangladesh under a Skill Verification Program that was established by the two nations earlier this year and aims to improve the professional competence of workers on the Saudi labor market.
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A more skilled workforce was requested by the Kingdom in accordance with the terms of the agreement that was signed earlier this year, Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, told Arab News.
"We are working on this, and the process is ongoing to prepare certified skilled workers through the more than 150 technical training centers we have across the country," he said.
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"It's a sizable undertaking that calls for expanding the infrastructure, hiring the trainers, etc. As a result, execution takes time.
The public and private sectors must work together, according to Noman, in order to "accelerate the process and tap into the opportunities."
"Due to the fact that we have been sending migrants to the Kingdom for about 45 years, employers in Saudi Arabia depend more on our migrants. It improved our migrant workers' reputation in the Kingdom, he claimed. "At this point, we should train our employees and concentrate on higher-value jobs."
In the fiscal year 2022–2023, Saudi Arabian workers were the largest source of remittances to Bangladesh, sending nearly $3.8 billion, according to a Bangladesh Bank report released earlier this month.
Abdul Motaleb, a native of Cumilla, a city located about 100 kilometers from Dhaka, is one of those getting ready to look for employment in Saudi Arabia. The 29-year-old is continuing the work of his cousins, who have lived and worked in Jeddah for a while.According to Motaleb, "my cousins suggested learning some skills as it will offer me better income."
He is currently pursuing his certification and will be finished in another three months.
The Kingdom needs a lot of highly skilled workers to build new cities, so I enrolled in a technical training center and am learning about welding techniques, he said.
Nazmul Ahsan, 24, made Saudi Arabia his top choice when searching for opportunities abroad.
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"My hometown doesn't offer me enough opportunities. So the best opportunity I can think of is looking for work as a migrant worker, Ahsan told Arab News. Saudi Arabia is my top choice because it is a Muslim holy land for me.
Ahsan claimed that he made contact with a foreign employment agency in Dhaka, which assisted him in obtaining employment in the Kingdom.
He said, "I've been told I got a job as a mason. By next month, I hope to have the visa in my possession