Upskilling workers can expand Bangladesh's remittance dividend

In its demographic transition, Bangladesh has reached a stage where its working-age population exceeds its dependent population in size—a phenomenon known as the demographic dividend. Bangladesh’s demographic dividend peaked around 2020 and is expected to continue until 2035. However, a demographic dividend does not automatically translate into economic gains. To reap the dividend’s benefits, the country must transform its working-age population into productive human capital through quality education, technical training, and continuous upskilling. Equally important is the creation of adequate employment opportunities to absorb this skilled workforce.

Despite significant progress in expanding education, Bangladesh has failed to generate sufficient employment opportunities, in both number and quality, over the past decade. At the same time, a persistent skills mismatch has emerged: the competencies employers demand are not adequately available in the domestic labour market. As a result, Bangladesh imports skilled workers from neighbouring countries, while many frustrated young Bangladeshis seek employment in the Gulf and Southeast Asia.

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However, the vast majority of Bangladeshi migrant workers remain either unskilled or semi-skilled. According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training’s (BMET) Annual Report 2023, at least 77 percent of migrant workers were unskilled, 3 percent were semi-skilled, and only 20 percent were skilled. Research consistently shows that skilled workers earn substantially higher wages and remit significantly more than their unskilled counterparts. They also face lower migration costs because their skills strengthen their bargaining power in the international labour market. Therefore, if Bangladesh can change the current composition of its migrant workforce by increasing the number of skilled workers, the country’s remittance inflows could rise substantially.

Prospective migrants generally receive training before departure, but they also bear the training costs personally. Introducing universal access to affordable training and certification would make overseas employment opportunities more inclusive.

The National Skill Development Policy (NSDP) envisages a major overhaul of the existing National Technical and Vocational Qualifications Framework (NTVQF) under the Bangladesh National Qualification Framework (BNQF) by expanding training of skills that are in demand both domestically and in foreign markets.

One of the most commendable initiatives under the policy is the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), which formally acknowledges skills acquired through work experience without requiring formal education or institutional training. In Bangladesh, many non-professional occupations—carpentry, masonry, electrical work, plumbing, and driving—are traditionally learned through informal apprenticeship. In this system, a novice apprentice (disciple) learns a skill by assisting an experienced craftsman (or guru) until they gradually acquire the necessary skills. In many cases, these skills are also passed down through generations within families engaged in the same occupation.

The RPL programme assesses these informally acquired skills through formal competency assessments conducted at Technical Training Centres (TTCs) and awards nationally recognised certificates. Such certification is particularly valuable for temporary migrant workers who possess practical skills but cannot demonstrate them to overseas employers due to a lack of formal qualifications. Nevertheless, concerns remain regarding the international recognition and acceptance of these certificates in major destination countries.

To illustrate the profound importance of skills and certification, I will share two contrasting stories from my own fieldwork.

Rafiq, a village barber living hand to mouth, dreamed of a better future for his wife and daughter. Encouraged by an acquaintance, he decided to migrate to the UAE. To overcome the formidable costs, Rafiq sold his cattle, borrowed from relatives, and took out a high-interest loan. Upon arriving in Dubai, he quickly secured a job as a barber. Although he lacked formal certification, his practical skills were recognised through his contact’s recommendation. Over 12 years, his life changed dramatically. He purchased land, built a modern house, and raised his family’s living standards. Today, he can afford private tutors for his teenage daughter for major subjects—an achievement once unimaginable for a village barber.

Karim’s experience presents a stark contrast. As a struggling sharecropper, he decided to migrate to Saudi Arabia. To fund this, he returned mortgaged land, sold his assets, and borrowed heavily from lenders charging nearly 100 percent interest. After months of disputes with his recruiting intermediary, Karim finally arrived, desperate to change his fortune. However, lacking a recognised skill, he was denied the promised job and assigned to cleaning roads and sewage drains. Worse, he earned a meagre Tk 6,000 per month despite having a massive migration debt of Tk 600,000. At that wage, recovering his costs would take over eight years. Karim took the desperate risk of fleeing his employer to become an undocumented worker. Eventually, a government regularisation programme gave him a second chance; he learned how to drive and now has a stable earning of Tk 30,000 per month.

These two stories highlight an important lesson. Skills can significantly improve migrant workers’ employment prospects and earnings, but without recognised certification, many skilled workers remain unable to access better opportunities in overseas labour markets.

Unfortunately, the implementation of Bangladesh’s RPL programme has been slow. If the programme is expanded and its certificates gain recognition in major labour-importing countries, Bangladesh can export a substantial number of skilled migrant workers. Since skilled migrants earn considerably higher incomes and remit more money than their less-skilled counterparts, such a shift would not only boost remittance inflows but also make a meaningful contribution to the country’s long-term economic development and national welfare.

Dr Md. Bakhtiar Uddin is head of the economics department at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University in Mymensingh. He can be reached at bakhtiareco@gmail.com. 

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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