Modernise technical edn to create skilled manpower
September 12, 2008
The engineering and technical education will have to be modernised and expanded across the country for creating skilled manpower which is one of the key ways to make the nation prosperous, speakers at a seminar said yesterday.
The second shift system in education should be introduced at engineering and technology-based public universities, while private universities should open different engineering, technology and technical departments, they added.
Amda Research Foundation organised the seminar on ‘Global Standard Engineering and Technical Education: Bangladesh Perspective’ at the National Press Club in the city.
The speakers called on the public and private sectors to set up new Technical Training Institutes (TTIs) for reducing unemployed youths and increasing manpower in the country.
Prof M Keramat Ali of Civil Engineering department at Ahsanullah University of Science, Engineering and Technology said the entire syllabus and content of technical education will have to revised and modernised for providing global standard technical education.
Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) President Golam Mostafa said it is possible to earn 10 to 12 billion-dollar remittance through sending skilled manpower abroad.
“Bangladesh can become a middle-income country only by sending skilled manpower to foreign countries. For the reason, technical education is essential for making people skilled. The government and private sectors should set up new TTIs and provide modern training for youths,” he added.
Dr Abul Kalam Azad, dean of Engineering and Technology faculty at Eastern University, said the country will not make any progress without making ‘technical hands’. So, the number of technical training institutes will have to be increased.
Presided over by Amda Research Foundation Chairman Akbar Hossain, the seminar was addressed by Bangladesh Industrial Technical Assistant Centre Director General Ashish Kumar Pal and Prime University Vice Chancellor Dr MA Samad.
Bahrain extends Bangladeshi ban
August 27, 2008
Bahrain will not renew the work permits of thousands of Bangladeshis working in the Gulf state, in a ban expected to heavily impact the nation’s construction industry.
The decision not to renew work permits follows Monday’s announcement from the Interior Ministry that permits would no longer be issued to Bangladeshis, Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper said it had been confirmed on Tuesday that Bahrain would not renew the work permits of Bangladeshi expats once they expired. The newspaper did not give further details.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa on Monday ordered authorities to stop issuing work permits to Bangladeshis, after the alleged brutal murder of a Bahraini national by a mechanic from the Asian nation.
Samir Nass, chairman of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), said small contracting companies’ dependant on Bangladeshi labour will be hit the hardest by the ban.
“There are many contractors who rely on the cheap labour from Bangladesh…we hope a mechanism is put in place where the ban would be done in a way that minimises the impact on ongoing projects,” Nass told the newspaper.
The ban comes at a time when manpower is already in short supply, while many projects face delays from material shortages, and demands of increased wages from workers, he added.
The accused Bangladeshi was charged with premeditated murder on Friday for allegedly slitting the throat of Mohammed Jassim Dossary with a hacksaw after a disagreement over payment for work on the victim’s car.
The murder outraged some Bahraini government officials, who demanded the deportation of more than 100,000 Bangladeshi labourers from the kingdom.
The government officials have repeatedly claimed Bangladeshi immigrants are behind the nation’s growing crime problems.
Bahrain MP Abdul Halim Murad had called on the government to “put a timetable for the deportation of Bangladeshi labourers from Bahrain after their repeated involvement in murders and other crimes”.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Embassy head Saif Al-Islam said the move had left him and his colleagues in shock and the embassy would appeal against it.
“For one person the government is punishing a whole nation, which is not acceptable to us. We will appeal to the government to reconsider this…we will ask them at least to delay implementing this restriction,” he said.
Saudi govt not issuing residential permits
July 20, 2008
Thousands of Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia are fearing deportation as the Saudi authorities are not issuing residential permits to those willing to join new jobs on expiry of their present contracts.
Sources said residential permits have not been issued to expatriate Bangladeshi workers seeking new jobs for the last two to three months, which will result in a gradual decrease in their number in the Middle Eastern country. About 15 lakh Bangladeshi migrants are currently living in Saudi Arabia.
Bangladeshi workers living in Saudi Arabia usually return home on expiry of their job contracts. But, if any of them gets a new job, the worker can join it after getting another residential permit from the Saudi authorities, said officials at the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET).
Talking to The Daily Star over telephone, Mohammad Fazle Rabbi, a Bangladeshi physician in Saudi Arabia, said he along with other Bangladeshi doctors, nurses and technicians has been working at the Rijal Almaa Hospital in Assir region for a long time.
On expiry of job contracts, many of them got the chance to work under the Saudi health ministry while a few managed to get jobs at private hospitals. But the Saudi authorities did not issue them residential permits.
Fazle Rabbi said his present job contract expires on June 14 and he will have to return home despite having an offer for a new job.
He said although they informed the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh of the matter, it is yet to take any step.
However, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Abdul Matin Chowdhury said Riyadh has not officially informed them of any decision on not issuing residential permits for Bangladeshi workers who want to join new jobs on expiry of their present contracts.
Saudi Arabia in March this year decided to introduce a nation-based quota system for foreign workers.
Later, Saudi Labour Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi declared a partial ban on recruitment of Bangladeshis as house help and agricultural labourers.
He also said recruitment of Bangladeshis would be limited to Saudi organisations that need qualified workers in the medical and engineering sectors.
Bangladesh in Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008
April 4, 2008
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‘The Global Competitiveness Report’ is a publication of World Economic Forum.
‘The Global Competitiveness Report has evolved over the last 3 decades into world most comprehensive and respected assessment of countries competitiveness, offering insight into the policies, institutions and factors driving productivity & then, enabling sustained economic growth and long term prosperity’.
‘Produced in collaboration with leading academicians and global network of research institutions the Global Competitiveness Report provides users with competitiveness indicators for a large numbers of industrialized and developing economies’.
This year edition features a record 131 economies, accounting for more than 98% of the world GDP.
Besides hard data from the leading institutional source, indicators include results of the executive opinion surveyed by the World Economic Forum annually. The survey covered perception of several thousand business leaders on topics related to national competitiveness.
The parameters which were considered in Basic Requirements are institutions, infrastructures, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education; in Efficiency Enhancers higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market sophistication, technological readiness, market size and in Innovation and Business sophistication are business sophistication and innovation
Global Competitiveness ranking:
Seven best in the world:
|
|
Rank |
Score |
|
USA |
1 |
5.67 |
|
Switzerland |
2 |
5.62 |
|
Denmark |
3 |
5.55 |
|
Sweden |
4 |
5.54 |
|
Germany |
5 |
5.51 |
|
Finland |
6 |
5.49 |
|
Singapore |
7 |
5.45 |
Asia’s best:
|
Singapore |
7 |
5.45 |
|
Japan |
8 |
5.43 |
|
Korea |
11 |
5.40 |
|
Taiwan |
14 |
5.25 |
|
Malaysia |
21 |
5.10 |
|
China |
34 |
4.57 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
35 |
4.55 |
Standing of the SAARC countries:
|
India |
48 |
4.33 |
|
Sri Lanka |
70 |
3.99 |
|
Pakistan |
92 |
3.77 |
|
Bangladesh |
107 |
3.55 |
|
Nepal |
114 |
3.38 |
Performance of Bangladesh:
Bangladesh ranked 107th out of 131 countries in 2007-2008. It was 92nd position out of 122 countries in 2006-2007.
The performance of Bangladesh in different parameters are as follows:
|
Basic requirements |
|
111 |
|
1st pillar |
Institution |
126 |
|
2nd pillar |
Infrastructure |
120 |
|
3rd pillar |
Macroeconomic stability |
87 |
|
4th pillar |
Heath & primary education |
105 |
|
Efficiency enhancers |
|
91 |
|
5th pillar |
Higher education & training |
126 |
|
6th pillar |
Goods market efficiency |
93 |
|
7th pillar |
Labor market efficiency |
76 |
|
8th pillar |
Financial sophistication |
75 |
|
9th pllar |
Technological readiness |
125 |
|
10th pillar |
Market size |
75 |
|
Innovation and sophistication |
|
111 |
|
11th pillar |
Business sophistication |
102 |
|
12th pillar |
Innovation |
117 |
Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA)
December 2, 2007
History & Background of BAIRA
Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) is one of the largest trade bodies in Bangladesh affiliated with the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the apex body on Trade & Industry, established in 1984 with a view to catering the needs of the licensed recruiting agencies who are engaging themselves in promoting manpower market abroad and deploy a good number of unemployed Bangladeshi manpower in various foreign countries after imparting necessary training.
Currently BAIRA has about 700 Government Approved Recruiting Agents as its member.
ACHIEVEMENTS :
Manpower is one of the major national resources of Bangladesh. About 35 million people constitute this vast reservoir of manpower. Fortunately Bangladesh is steadily turning her manpower into an asset through training and skill development with a view to meeting the needs of a modern economy.
It is not possible for Bangladesh to absorb the full range of available unskilled, semi-skilled and professional manpower within the country in an appropriate manner and hence the need to find employment opportunities for them abroad till her economy could absorb them locally. There are also a number of foreign countries who are in need of importing manpower from other countries. Today Bangladesh is considered as a good source.
With a modes beginning in 1976, Bangladesh has, by now, become a notable exporter of manpower. Between 1976 to 2001 a total of more than three million Bangladeshis have been able to secure employment in foregn countries, particularly in countries of the Middle East and Malaysia, Singapore of south Korea through the members of BAIRA. The Bangladeshis currently working abroad range from domestic aides to Atomic Scientists. The main objective of the BAIRA members is to ensure supply of quality manpower at a minimum cost within the time schedule given by the employers.
With a view to ensuring the financial security of migrating workers BAIRA, has already undertaken two Insurance Schemes: one for the workers before their departure and the other is for their families left behind, through BAIRA Life Insurance Company Limited, an affiliated organ of BAIRA.
In addition, BAIRA is going to set up a Bank to ensure quick and easy monitory transaction service to the members of BAIRA and the migrating workers, in addition to the public in general.
A sophisticated and highly technical & vocational training center is coming up shortly to impart training to our youths in modern developed technology including Information Technology (IT), to cater to the need of the country and our valued overseas employers. To ensure proper medical check-up of the migrant workers BAIRA is setting up a modern Medical Testing Center with elaborate facilities. These will be in addition to the existing facilities already available with some of the reputed members if BAIRA.
BAIRA arranges short term foreign language course & briefing sessions before allowing the selected workers to emigrate.
Availability of Manpower in Bangladesh
December 2, 2007
Unemployed labor force of Bangladesh is estimated to be about 15 million. Beside a huge number of un-skilled labor force, skilled, semi-skilled and professional manpower is also available for foreign employment. Some relevant data in this regard are given below:-
(A) TECHNICAL MANPOWER:
Skilled workers and technicians play a key role in all sectors of the economy. To produce skilled technicians there are mid-level technical and vocational training systems in the country. Mid level technical education is provided after tenth year of schooling. Polytechnic sub-system offers well organized 3 year’s diploma courses in engineering and technology. There are twenty one Polytechnic Institutes in the country with annual intake capacity of 5268 students. Besides Polytechnics, there are a number of agricultural and allied industrial, textile and leather technology institutes and commercial institutes and other specialized polytechnic institutes offering diploma level course in their respective fields.
There is an Islamic Institute of Technology IIT (formerly Islamic Center for Technical & Vocational Training & Research, ICTVTR), a subsidiary organ of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The Center has been mandated to help develop the vast human resources of the member states and provide technical training of international standard needed for the industrial, economic and social development of Muslim Ummah through offering of long regular courses in engineering and technologies and trades and organizing short and special knowledge and skill updating courses along with technological and industrial research and research in the field of human resources development with particular emphasis on technical and vocational education. In IIT a great variety of academic and training programs are offered starting from the lowest trade Level to the highest Post Graduate Diploma and Master’s Degree in Technical Education encompassing Certificates and Diploma in Vocational Education, Diploma a B.Sc. in Technical Education, Higher Diploma and B.Sc. Engineering Degree in Electrical and Electronic and Mechanical Engineering with various specialization in different rare technologist, such as Computer Science and Technology, Power System, CAD/CAM, Energy, Production and instrumentation Engineering.
There are 51 Vocational Training Institutes (VTI’s) and 13 Technical Training Centers (IIC’s) and 1 Bangladesh Institute of Marine Technology (BIMT) which cater to the training needs for craftsmen in the basic trades. Diploma in Marine Technology is also offered from BIMT. The Marine Academy at Juldia, Chittagong turn out certificated officers for merchant navy. 13 TTC’s and 1 BIMT produce annually about 7,000 highly skilled technicians on different trades, suitable for overseas employment. Tele Communication Engineers and Technicians tradesmen skilled in basic engineering and building trades like electricians, petrol/diesel mechanics, air conditioning mechanics, radio/TV mechanics, fabricators, marine mechanist, molders, tatters, plumbers, pipe fitters, painters, steel fixtures, carpenters, masons, garments workers, draftsmen, etc. are available for employment.
Testing facilities on different occupations are available in the modern Technical Training Centers both in public & sectors.
(B) MEDICAL MANPOWER :
Bangladesh has facilities for imparting graduate and post-graduate medical education and training in the country. Facilities exist in the country for turning out 2500 medical graduates and 200 dental surgeons every year. More than 5000 General Physicians (graduates) are now available for employment abroad. A good number of specialized consultants/ physicians are also available for overseas employment. Facilities to train Blood Bank Technicians, Radio Therapist, x-ray technicians, Radiographers, compounders, Dressers, Dental Technicians, Health Assistant, Sanitary Inspectors, etc. also exist in the country. Bangladesh has about 47000 paramedics and medical personnel available for employment at home and abroad. There are also 38 Nursing Training Institutes which offer 4 years Diploma course (including one year Midwifery) in other countries with excellent professional reputation. At present 8500 Diploma and 800 Graduate nurses are available for foreign employment.
(C) ENGINEERING MANPOWER :
Engineering Institutes (2 University of Engineering & Technology, 4 Bangladesh Institute of Technology, 4 Engineering College and 1 Marine Academy) produce about 1000 Graduate Engineers annually. In addition 21 Polytechnic Institutes in the country produce about 3000 Diploma Engineers annually.
At Present about 1000 Engineers and 25000 Technicians are available for employment at home and abroad.
(D) INDUSTRIAL MANPOWER :
The country’s industries employ about 1.5 million workers of different categories. Professional, managerial, administrative, technical, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers including experienced garments workers, both male and female with several years of experience in different industrial fields are available for overseas employment.
(E) COMPUTER PERSONNEL :
Bangladesh has now a large number of Computer Operators, Computer Engineers (both Hardware and Software), Programmers, Web Page Developer, Networking Specialist, System Analyst, etc. available for overseas employment.
(F) POWER STATION, PETROLEUM, AND FERTILIZER MANPOWER :
Bangladesh has vast reservoir of professional, highly skilled and skilled manpower in electricity/power, petroleum and fertilizer sectors.
(G) ROAD TRANSPORT WORKERS :
Professional, technical and skilled personnel experienced in operation, repair and maintenance of all categories of vehicles including trucks and heavy vehicle equipment’s are available for employment.
H) MANPOWER FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, INSURANCE, AUDIT AND
ACCOUNTS :
Bangladesh has a network of commercial Bank and Financial Institutions covering even the remotest areas of the country. Persons experienced in central banking operations are also available in Bangladesh. Normally University Graduates are recruited for supervisory and managerial postions in the bangking institutions and they are traind through a scheme for training for bankers. In addition, the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Mangement provides higher training of international standard to in-sevice banking persdonnel. Similarly, Chartered Accountants Cost Managemnt Accounts, Actuaries, and persons with long experience in Insurance business, Government and Commercial Audit and Accounting are available in the Country, and they can be spared for service abroad.
(I) PORT AND WATER TRANSPORT WORKERS :
Personas of all categories needed for administration and operation of port facilities are available. These include inland Masters, Engine Drivers, Oil Men, Pre-sea Trained Nautical Caders, Stevedores, Tally Clears, Crane Op[ertors, Fort Lift Operators, Riggers, Secrurity Personnel, Management Personnel and other categories of Personnel. They have international level of efficiency to the credit.
(J) AGRICULTURAL, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, FISHERIES, LIVESTOCK, HORTICULTURE
EXPERTS, TECHNICALS AND FARMERS:
There are two Agricultural Universities and 10 Agricultural College and several training institutes in the country offering degrees, diplomas and certificates of educaiton and training in agricultue, animal husbandry, forestry, fisheries, lifvestock, horticulture and related fields. Experts with Bachelor’s Master’s and Ph.D. degrees and technicians with several years’ experience in agricultural development, livestock, fisheries, forestry horticulture development and research activities are available in the country, in addition skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled shepherds with sufficient experience are also available for foreign emplyment.
(K) UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE/SCHOOL TEACHERS :
A large number of persons with university degrees in engineering science, humanities, fine arts and sicial sciences with experience of teaching in Schools, Colleges and Universities are available in the country for foreign employment.
(L) ADMINISTRATIVE AND DEFENSE PERSONNEL :
To man public administration Bangladesh with Bachelor’s , Master’s and Ph.D degrees and specialized training and long experience in public administration are available for employment. Besides, persons educated and experienced in eeconomic planning and research are also available for overseas employment. Retired army, navy and air force personnel with adequate experience can also be devloyed abroad for manning defense and security services.
(M) HOTEL MANAGEMENT AND CATERING STAFF:
A large number of Bangladeshi hotel personnel are working in various reputed hotels abroad, mainly in the Middle Eastern countries. The Hotel Management Training Institute run by Bangladesh Tourism Corporation turns out a good number of trained hotel personnel every year. All catergories of trained hotel staff experience or working in five star hotels can be provided for the departments of food and beverage, house keeping, front office, accounts and engineering.
(N) MARINE CREW :
Bangladesh has a large number of qualified and experienced Ship/Cargo/Vessel Crew possessing Continuous Discharge Certificates (C.D.C.) Crew can be provided from Bangladesh at short notice. Certificated merchant navy officers are also available for overseas employment.
(O) MISCELLANEOUS MANPOWER:
Qualified photographers, printers, printing technicians, journalists, translators, musical entertainers, operators, tailors, sewing men, barbers, shoe makers, domestic servants, house keepers, cleaners and all types of semi skilled an unskilled workers are available for employment abroad. Besides, Bangladesh has a huge numbers of manual workers to do heavy and difficult jobs like agricultural work, plantation, timber extraction, pottering and excavation work, etc.
QUALITIES OF WORKERS:
Bangladeshi workers are loyal, disciplined, hardworking and have the rare quality of adaptability to new situation.