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<h2>Developing professional and language skills</h2>
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<div id="gmail-hl3">Due to shortage of proper training our workers are unable to create a strong position abroad
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Md. Atikur Rahman </div>
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<img alt="Developing professional and language skills" src="http://www.theindependentbd.com/assets/news_images/Developing-professional1.jpg">
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<p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="http://www.theindependentbd.com/assets/archive/images/Atikur-Rahman.jpg" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 2px; float: left; height: 250px; margin: 4px; width: 200px;">The
country has been liberated for 47 years but now we are unable to work
in the education system. The three-level education system is yet to be
revised. Whose discretion is being offered to everyone now? There is no
way to prepare skilled manpower in time to take the country forward. We
do not have any time to think, so we should give the highest importance
to our young generation as well as developing professional and language
skills.<br>
Although they lack professional and language skills, Bangladeshi workers
abroad are making billions of dollars remittance every year. Whereas
our neighbour India earns around 500 million dollars. Bangladesh is
losing billions of dollars due to lack of skilled manpower. Industry
insiders claim that over 500,000 foreign nationals currently working in
Bangladesh take away around $5 billion every year. Most of these, they
claim, are working illegally.<br>
Many foreign nationals are working in different multinational companies,
garment companies, pharmaceutical companies or other organizations in
Bangladesh. Indian and Sri Lankan citizens are among the top amid these
workers. Following suit are workers from Pakistan, the Philippines,
Korea and China. There is a substantial shortage of mid-level and
top-level professionals in the country. Employed individuals in the
conventional education system cannot meet the demand. As a result we are
forced to import these workers from abroad. This is the information
presented on BBC News recently.</p> <div class="gmail-visible-desktop" style="width:250px;height:250px;float:left;margin-right:30px"><div class="gmail-row-fluid"><span class="gmail-span12">
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<p style="text-align:justify">According to BIDA data, in the past five
years it has provided work permits to 13,147 employees in the commercial
and the industrial sector. BIDA also renewed the work permits of 17,389
employees in the same time period. However, there is no clear data
about how many foreign workers are currently working in the country.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">On February 4, 2018, Home Minister
Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal informed parliament that a total of 85,486
foreign nationals are working in different sectors in Bangladesh, of
whom 67,853 foreigners were owners</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">of business enterprises.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Separately, a Centre for Policy Dialogue
(CPD) study found that 16 percent of all apparel factories in Bangladesh
employ foreign individuals. According to a recent study by the Centre
for Policy Dialogue CPD, foreign workers are employed in 24 percent of
the garment factories in the country. Two years ago, according to
another study of CPD, remittances coming in from different countries to
Bangladesh can go to India amounting to 500 billion dollars. Basically,
due to linguistic weakness and lack of skill, the foreign workers are
being driven to the country's money.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Currently, millions of students are coming
out with degrees each year from various government and private
universities. According to the traders' fear, lack of professional
skills of our degree students, especially lack of English language
skills and professional tactics, our graduates have not been able to
fill the places of foreigners. As a result, millions of dollars are
being made by foreigners, which is not desirable.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">The degree given to us here in
universities is mostly not focused on our industry. Their focus is
elsewhere. As a result, graduates cannot be found. It is being
speculated that the kind of education currently being offered in most
educational institutions may not be compatible with the demand of the
industry. That's why our graduates have failed to show a lot of skills
in the industry. Concerned people/authorities will have to look into the
matter and take necessary measures to address the problem. It seems
that it is more urgent for the country's economy and unemployment
problems.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">One-third of the unemployed educated
people in the country have finished graduation, still foreigners are
being chosen over them. Since progress made in the readymade garment
industry has come through the hands of skilled workers, developing the
lack of skill level at the management level in our country has been
neglected. It is considered most urgent to take immediate measures to
remedy the problem.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">According to recently published news total
employed population is 5.95 crore, among which formal employment is
around 13 percent only, and informal employment is around 86 percent.
As defined by the International Labour Organisation, people who are out
of work, want a job, have actively sought work in the previous four
weeks and are available to start work within the next fortnight come
under unemployed category.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">In Bangladesh people who are underemployed
work less than 40 hours a week or earn less than the income required to
meet basic needs or those who work at a lower tier compared to their
skills and expertise should be considered unemployed.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">The private sector creates more employment
opportunities than the public sector, but the investment in the private
sector has been stalled for quite a long time, one of the major reasons
behind the high unemployment rate. An estimated 18 lakh of those having
jobs of less than 40 hours a week was found looking for new or
additional jobs. The latest survey also found 86.2 percent of the total
employed population aged 15 or above are in informal employment.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">According to research reports published
from Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) Bangladesh
workforce productivity in service sector, in terms of GDP, were 23
percent of Thailand, 24 percent of Sri Lanka, 29 percent of China, 45
percent of India and 65 percent of Vietnam. According to the study, in
agricultural sector the productivity of Bangladesh were 18 percent of
Malaysia, 13 percent of Japan and 8 percent of Australia whereas in the
industrial sector the productivity were 61 percent of India, 4 percent
of Malaysia, 1.3 percent of Australia and 1 percent of Japan.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">The study found the prime cause of the
low-level efficiency is the disconnection between the education
qualifications with the occupational demand of the employment market. It
said at least 61 percent public universities' students are enrolled in
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences whereas 40 percent private
universities' students are awarded higher degree in Business
Administration.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">However in applied sectors like
engineering, science, technology and ICT, the ratios are 12 percent in
public universities and 28 percent in private universities. These huge
numbers of graduates are not being able to contribute in technical
sectors for which Bangladesh was not getting enough skilled manpower.
It estimated that the working age population in Bangladesh will reach
128 million by 2030 and if the huge population is not turned into
skilled manpower it will bring economic burden.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">According to analysis of population
potential and challenges, it said, after 2030 the working age population
will start decreasing. It will lead the country to 'demographic trap'
which means economically dependent people will increase than the working
age people’. We also express our opining with the published research
report. </p>
<p style="text-align:justify">In an article written by Mr. Hassan Ahmed
Kiron, `he considers this claim to increase the allocation for
immigration in the budget, because he mentioned that after the budget
was presented in the current fiscal year, experts said that the
allocation for the development of the migration sector is absolutely
negligible; to be properly spent. The main reason for the high
allocation of budget is to be an immigrant with the allocated money and
to increase the manpower market by increasing the competence of workers
associated with this sector; In order to fulfil our desired target in
labour market.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Our workers abroad are not being able to
create strong positions for lack of proper training, to overcome these
weaknesses, budget of the immigration sector should be increased and
necessary steps should be taken to bring appropriate trainers of
language skills. We hope that the government will increase the
allocation for the training of skilled workers.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">The ever-expanding manufacturing industry
in Bangladesh makes it difficult to reduce dependency on foreign
expertise, but it can be lessened with some initiatives. Public and
private universities should introduce subjects such as Merchandising,
Fashion Technology, Production Engineering and Lean Management, along
with practical courses. The universities can also help the students get
in touch with the</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">industry they are interested in, and
Bangladesh’s dependency on foreign experts will gradually drop. At
present, we are happy to know that work is underway to create skilled
human resources for the purpose of reducing the dependency of foreigners
in government and non-governmental universities including the garment
industry and other industries. The concerned ministry and the UGC will
have to come forward to give all the help to these educational
institutions.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">At the end, it is high time the government
should focus to eradicate unemployment from the country, and to come up
with measures to develop professional skills of the youth.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">All concerned people, such as political
bodies, government and non-government organizational sectors, national
educational and skill development authorities, research institutes,
media personal and financial support giving bodies will have to come
forward to solve the ongoing problems. We have to overcome the obstacles
mentioned above to develop our youth by skilfulness as soon as
possible.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">It is desirable that all of us will be
sincere to implement this expectation. In the end, I want to reduce the
repatriation of foreigners in our job market, and accomplish appropriate
job skills and linguistic skills to fill those places quickly, as well
as to expect the country's money to stay in the country.</p></div></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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