Bangladesh to allow Saudi labor training centers

JEDDAH – The Bangladeshi government has plans to open the way for Saudi companies to establish labor training centers in the country in early 2017. The plan will cover both sexes in various professional fields, such as drivers, domestic workers and nannies. Dhaka is also working on new regulations to govern the employment of domestic workers in the Kingdom, ensuring their qualifications to work, as well as to limit the brokers› role in recruitment. The move aims at reducing the rate of final return and raising the rate of recruitment by preserving the rights of all parties involved. A source at the Bangladesh Consulate in Jeddah confirmed the plan. «The government›s decision came after 50 percent of new recruits were told to go back to their country because of their low level of training,» the source said. The Bangladeshi source also said the government would work to reduce the time taken to issue medical and security certificates to a week, rather than the current 3-4 weeks, and increase the number of offices that send workers. He said the workers will be trained within a period of 30-90 days and a database of qualified workers will be created. Recruitment from Bangladesh has faced a number of obstacles, which contributed to the delayed arrival of workers as well as the high rate of repatriation. The obstacles included the high cost of recruitment, unwillingness of workers to travel without families, high demand and low supply, and poor training.