Skilled manpower shortage forces local entrepreneurs to hire foreign experts Badrul Ahsan Shortage of skilled manpower has forced local entrepreneurs to hire foreign experts, prompting the government to increase the number of work permits every year, insiders said. More than 32,000 foreigners are now working in different sectors in Bangladesh, up from around 12,253 in 2007, data showed. "I have employed two Sri Lankan and one Indian experts, as people with relevant expertise are not available locally," Managing Director of R N Denims Ltd Minar-ul-Islam told the FE. He also said, "We cannot solely depend on local experts as they are prone to shifting to another factory if they are offered higher perks, throwing us into serious trouble." "No foreign employee can quit and join another factory every now and then due to legal obligations. Besides, we need foreign experts to transfer their technical know-how to the local people," he added. "We are facing an acute shortage of experts mainly in production, technical and mid-level management sides, which forces us to employ foreigners," President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) AKM Selim Osman said. He also said, "Countries like China, India and Sri Lanka, all apparel exporters, educate a good number of employees every year which Bangladesh does not follow. This is another reason of the increase in foreign employments in the country." "An actuate shortage of technical training institutes in the country is also another reason of local garment owners dependence on foreign experts," the BKMEA president added. However, ex-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Md Abdus Salam Murshedy urged the government to increase the number of technical education institutes to provide training to the students of textiles colleges and other institutions. "Most of the foreigners we employ are experts in production and in the fields of technology and management which we hardly get locally," Chairman and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Ha-Meem Group, A K Azad said. "I hope our people would fulfil the demand of our industries soon as a good number of highly educated local people have been joining the industrial sector and making themselves up to the mark through working with the foreign experts," Azad, also former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) added. However an official at the BUFT (BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology) said, "The local entrepreneurs want readymade experts. They do not give scope to the local talents to grow up for which the industry is still lagging far behind of its needs after a journey of more than thirty years in garment trade." "Banks and other corporate houses give around Tk 20,000 to a beginner but a garment factory owner hardly approves around Tk 10,000 to such a person which discourages the talents to venture in garment trade," he added. However, statistics of the Board of Investment (BoI), Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and the ministry of home affairs (MoHA) revealed that the authority issued 5,592 new work permits in the fiscal year (FY) 2012-13, which were 3,800 a year ago. Of the permits, some 32 per cent were issued in favour of commercial offices and the rest 68 per cent in favour of the industrial projects. The foreigners working in Bangladesh have come from 35 countries, mostly from the developing countries like India, China, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand. Of the total foreign employees, around 30 per cent are Indian, 13 per cent Chinese, 12 per cent Pakistani, 10.2 per cent Sri Lankan, 6.0 per cent South Korean, 6.0 per cent Filipinos and the rest are from other countries. According to data available with BoI and BEPZA, these foreign experts get a handsome amount of salaries every month ranging from Tk 60,000 to Tk 500,000 or more depending on their experience and length of service.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 03:28:46 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015