Bangladesh Overseas Employment & Services Ltd. (BOESL)
December 2, 2007
Bangladesh Overseas Employment & Services Ltd. (BOESL)
To earn the much needed foreign exchange by way of exporting professional, skilled & un-skilled manpower the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh established Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) in 1984. This is the only Company created by the Government to operate in healthy competition with about 600 private recruiting agencies in the country in this sector. The main purpose of creating this Company is to provide honest, efficient and quick services to the valued foreign employers in the matter of deployment of manpower development.List of the members of the Board of Directors of BOESL
1. Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare & Overseas Employment: Chairman
2. Director General. Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training : Director
3. Joint Sec., Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare & Overseas Employment : Director
4. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs : Director
5. Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs : Director
6. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance : Director
7. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation & Tourism : Director
Bureau of Manpower, Employment & Training (BMET)
December 2, 2007
Bureau of Manpower, Employment & Training (BMET)
Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) was established in the year 1976 by the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh as an attached department of the then Ministry of Manpower Development and Social Welfare with specific purpose of meeting the manpower requirement of the country and for export of manpower as well. BMET is engaged for over all planning and implementation of the strategies for proper utilization of manpower of the country.
Presently BMET is under administrative control of Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment. Bureau is performing all functions relating to migration process including licensing of recruiting agents. Through 14 (Fourteen) Technical Training Centers (T.T.C), 1 Institute of Marine Technology and 3 Apprenticeship Training Office BMET imparting training in different employable trades.
BMET Activities :
BMET is engaged in human resources development and to provide employment services both in country and also abroad. The functions can be summarized with the following main tasks:
- To monitor and control legal process of manpower export.
- To Look after the welfare of Bangladeshi workers abroad.
- To provide institution based vocational and technical training in different employable trades.
- To plan and implement development programs to conduct training activities.
- Conducting informal, formal and special training course.
- Coordinate Apprenticeship training.
- Processing of foreign demands for recruitment of Bangladeshi workers.
- Implementation of self-employment programs.
- Collection and dissemination of labour market information.
- Regulates private Recruiting Agents those recruit Bangladeshi workers for foreign employers.
- To increase legal remittance through banks and combat money laundering.
- To combat illegal trafficking and harassment for better image of Bangladesh.
- Registration of Job seekers for overseas employment market in the Computer database Network.
Since its establishment BMET has started serving both skilled and non-skilled professionals as well as classified labour force emigrating with overseas employment. Most of these employment offers are privately arranged by either individuals or Licensed Recruiting Agencies (RA). Most of these licensed agencies are members of Government of Bangladesh recognized association known as BAIRA (Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies). Besides, there is another government agency called BOESL (Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited). It was established in 1984. It is only government agency dealing with recruiting of labour migrants demanded directly through the BMET. This is the only Company created by the Government to operate in healthy competition with private recruiting agencies in the country in this sector. The main purpose of creating this Company is to provide honest, efficient and quick services to the valued foreign employers in the matter of deployment of manpower development.
Offices :
- 21 District Employment & Manpower Office.
- 14 Technical Training Centre and 1 Institute of Marine Technology.
- 03 Apprenticeship Training Office.
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.
Big Picture of HR Recruitment in Bangladesh
December 2, 2007
From my experience so far in the field of human resource recruitment, I have discovered that there are various challenges that HR recruiting agencies face in Bangladesh. The primary challenge is to track down the most qualified people within a reasonable amount of time from a huge population suffering from appropriate media access. There are difficulties in screening and the selection of candidates too. Prevailing skills gaps in the country is a major reason behind the former; and lack of presentation, communication, and English language skills even in many educated people accounts for the latter.
There are few common media platforms in Bangladesh to bridge the gap between jobseekers and recruiters that can accelerate quality matching process. Till now, the most preferred communication tool is job postings in newspapers, magazines and campus notice boards. However, since there are too many newspapers in the market, postings in only one or two newspapers cannot ensure the optimum reach to the entire target audience. Also, the quality of education at many universities is questionable.
At present, there are few online job portals in Bangladesh. There again the problem is somewhat similar. Everyone in the target audience does not have timely internet access or any regular access at all. Many at least have online profiles, but do not regularly update their résumés or leave their résumés incomplete with missing information that is often required to meet the short listing criteria.
Finally, in response to job postings in printed media, many unemployed people with irrelevant backgrounds submit their curriculum vitaes which increases the time required for screening out the most suitable candidates. All these significantly hamper the efficiency of communication between the parties and make the searching process harder.
On the part of professional HR recruiting agencies, sometimes it is hard to select the right candidate who is best suited for the vacancies at the client organizations. Often, clients do not initially want to disclose their names or the salary range of the incumbent in the job postings. This intensifies the difficulties for the recruiters in searching. For example, on one hand, since there is no specification regarding offered salary, the most eligible people who are already employed elsewhere do not eagerly apply for the job, being confused whether the job will meet their salary expectation at all. On the other hand, many other unqualified people apply just because they are out of jobs right then and have time to do so. Ultimately, the yield is very low from the search.
Sometimes clients also fail to clearly identify their needs. Most of them provide the recruiters with very broad, generalized job specifications of the vacancies which do not communicate the most important qualifications that candidates must have. Without specific knowledge of such requirement, it is hard to find out the right candidate. In such cases, usually the candidates are selected through generalized testing methods which hardly evaluate the qualifications required of them. At times, strong references for ineligible candidates diminish the efficiency of screening process even further. Often, managers at many organizations lack professional training in HRM and may have a reactive approach towards staffing. They want to give the briefest description of the job as possible, so that they can focus on their other job duties. Many times, the emphasis is on the speed of the recruitment, rather than on placing the right individual for the position from the perspective of qualifications and fit into the company culture.
Regardless of who or what accounts for the actual reason for these difficulties, recruiting agencies faces many of these challenges as an inevitable part of their job.
Hence, finding the right candidate for the right job is more challenging than it may seem. It is like a search for the right gems out of a vast quarry. Sometimes we find a diamond when the client is looking for a ruby - so timing and need is another complexity to this issue.
Bangladesh seeks priority category for manpower export under WTO (News From Bangladesh)
December 2, 2007
A senior official of the WTO Cell of the commerce ministry said the negotiation for recruitment of manpower under some broad categories by the developed countries from the least developed countries (LDCs) has now been continuing.
Manpower export to KL faces trouble again
December 2, 2007
The manpower export to Malaysia seems to be in trouble again following some allegations against Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) both at home and in the Southeast Asian country.
Operation of Baira office in Kuala Lumpur was suspended on orders from the Malaysian home ministry after a number of employers had accused Baira President MAH Salim of trying to influence them to issue more job orders in favour of his agency.
Meanwhile, some recruiting agencies here in Dhaka have complained to the government that Baira charges an additional Tk 30,000 per worker without giving any receipt, sources at Baira said.
As a result, manpower export to the country has yet to begin though it was scheduled to start by early August.
MAH Salim MP is currently in Malaysia and could not be contacted for comments.
However, at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity late August, he denied the allegation that he had been charging more than the agreed amount for sending workers to the fast-developing country. Besides, he assured that the agencies will charge no more than Tk 84,000.
According to an agreement between Bangladesh and Malaysia, agencies will charge Tk 84,000 for each worker going to the latter, but the cost now is over Tk 1.5 lakh with additional 1,800 ringgits.
After the Malaysian government had lifted its embargo on worker export from Bangladesh, which was in force for about a decade, the association of the recruiting agencies was delegated to send manpower to that country.
But since then, allegations were rife against the Baira president and some ministers including State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Lutfur Rahman Khan Azad of asking for part of the money realised from the workers illegally.
The state minister however dismissed the allegations and said his ministry will strictly monitor the process so that no agency can overcharge the workers.
Meanwhile, more than 10 thousand job offer letters have reached Baira, but none of the workers could be sent due to the dispute over migration cost.
A few lakh workers from across the country, on the other hand, have already submitted their passports to the recruiting agencies. And for this, the middlemen had charged them a pretty large sum.
“It may push the migration cost to Tk 2 lakh, whereas a worker should not need more than Tk 50,000 for going to Malaysia,” said a recruitment agent requesting anonymity.
The manpower export to Malaysia might halt anytime if the dispute is not resolved immediately, he said adding, “Especially those who had already paid a substantial amount of money to the middlemen or the agencies will be in great trouble.”
Sources in the expatriates’ welfare ministry said the Malaysian government too has expressed disgust over the reports that the Baira was having extra money from the workers saying that they need that for the lobbyists working in Malaysia.
Under these circumstances, the government should oversee the manpower export instead of Baira, suggested a recruiting agent preferring anonymity.
It was for the first time that Malaysia had signed an agreement with a trade body like Baira for manpower. According to the agreement, an online system is to be employed to avert any forgery and irregularities in the process.
The country, which has long been in want of skilled workers for its industries, also agreed to employ 50 percent of the total foreign workers from Bangladesh.
“The prevailing deadlock might lead to an extensive damage to manpower export from Bangladesh if the government fails to address the issue properly,” feared a recruiter.