EU launches €3m project to increase skills, reduce migration cost for Bangladeshis

The EU-funded €3 million Talent Partnership project was launched in Dhaka on Wednesday to address skills gaps, reduce migration costs, increase opportunities for Bangladeshis and provide skilled workers for the EU labour market.

The International Labour Organization (ILO,) the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) and the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) will implement this three-year project.

Focusing on safe and dignified legal pathways for migration to Europe from Bangladesh and reducing irregular migration, the project will support skills matching between EU Member states’ labour markets and Bangladesh to ensure workers have the right skills, meeting EU standards.

Over 7.4 million Bangladeshis are migrant workers, remitting €2 billion each month.

The training programmes aim to prepare 3000 workers to meet the requirements needed for employment in the EU labour market.

In addition, the project will strengthen the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) online job-matching platform, improving access to employment opportunities for skilled job seekers.

Acknowledging the importance of addressing challenges encountered by potential overseas workers, Asif Nazrul, Adviser for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, said, “This project will ensure the safety of workers while boosting remittance for Bangladesh.”

Tuomo Poutiainen, country director of the ILO, underscored the impact of the project on skill development, stating that it would facilitate ‘technical upskilling’ and ‘fair recruitment’.

Michael Miller, ambassador and head of delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, observed, “The EU-Bangladesh Talent Partnership has been designed to be transformative and win-win. It will ensure safe and dignified migration, including the respect of human rights. In parallel to the creation of legal pathways for migration, we must ensure smooth returns and reintegration, step up work to end irregular migration and tackle the scourge of trafficking and exploitation”.

At the launching, stakeholders endorsed the core objectives and strategies of the project, underlining the need for sustained collaboration of both the public and private sectors in Bangladesh and EU Member States to overcome current challenges and for the Talent Partnership collaboration to succeed.