Highly Educated Bangladeshis Choose Blue-Collar Jobs Abroad

Universal College Bangladesh has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Eastern Bank PLC to strengthen the link between industry and academia. This partnership aims to offer students enhanced career opportunities through exclusive placements, internships, training programs, and knowledge-sharing sessions. Students will also benefit from guest lectures, career guidance, and mentoring sessions. Recently, Universal College Bangladesh has established several partnerships with reputed organizations to provide practical learning experiences.

Labour migration from Bangladesh to South Korea is expected to fall short of the 11,500 job quota set for 2024, with only 1,978 workers securing positions in the first eight months. South Korean employers have reduced demand for foreign workers, impacting all source countries, including Bangladesh. Despite Bangladesh's strong semi-skilled workforce in sectors like motor vehicles, rubber, apparel, and food, the sluggish demand, coupled with factors like early job switches and limited language proficiency, has hindered job placements.

In July 2024, Brunei began recruiting Bangladeshi workers under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement, hiring 25 workers for construction, services, and hospitality. The MOU for this agreement was signed in October 2022 during a visit by Brunei's Sultan to Bangladesh. Under the deal, Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) is responsible for worker recruitment, with private recruiters excluded. BOESL's contract with recruitment companies started in February, receiving 400 job requests from 100 employers.

In August, Bangladesh witnessed a significant drop in labor exports, with only 50,426 workers sent abroad, marking a 29% decrease from July and a 63% year-on-year decline. This sharp reduction, the lowest in 35 months, is primarily attributed to political unrest following widespread student protests, which culminated in the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5.

Bangladesh has witnessed a sharp decline in labor exports due to recent political turmoil and the suspension of visa services at the Indian and Saudi embassies, as well as the closure of the Malaysian labor market earlier this year. In August, the country sent only 50,426 workers abroad, the lowest in the past 11 months—a 29% decrease from the previous month and a staggering 63% year-on-year drop, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET).

Book sales in Bangladesh have dropped by about 50% over the past two months due to recent socio-political unrest, including student-led protests. Contributing factors include rising inflation, reduced purchasing power, the closure of educational institutions, and flooding.