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Call to invest in skill development
KATHMANDU, JUL 01 -
Foreign employment agencies have urged the government to invest 5 percent of the remittance in a programme to produce skilled workforce to secure high paying overseas job opportunities.
Nepal has been receiving an average of Rs. 2 billion in remittance from the foreign employment sector. However, around 90 percent of the workforce leaving for the work overseas is unskilled and over 94 percent of them work only in the Gulf countries and Malaysia. "There is so much scope in the medical line, hospitality sector and marketing to send skilled workers around the world but we have not been able to grab those opportunities," said Kumud Khanal, general secretary of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies. "What we lack is skill development training for the aspirants based on demand in international labour markets, which we have not touched so far."
Coinciding with the 18th anniversary of the association, foreign employment agencies on Thursday suggested to the government for upcoming budget and asked to make provisions for imparting such training under the supervision of the association by establishing a manpower valley in the capital.
"There is no any impact of the various trainings being offered by state-run institutions and other training schools," said Khanal. He said that since the association had long experience in sending workers for many years, their expertise in the field would contribute more in operating such trainings and producing skilled workers.
The association plans to offer training to foreign employment aspirants from the manpower valley. The valley will contain offices of many foreign employment agencies in a single location to help stop aspirants being cheated. It will also provide lodging and fooding facility to the trainees.
Provision to encourage foreign employment returnees for entrepreneurship, customs duty waiver for returnees, provision of commercial important passports for foreign employment entrepreneurs for effective marketing overseas, inclusion of lessons regarding foreign employment in CTEVT and high school courses are some of the suggestions made by the association for the next budget.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB) is also planning to offer skill development trainings in eight various jobs from the next fiscal year targeting foreign job aspirants. The training will include house keeping, plumbing, mason, security guard, steel fixer, sales girl, care giver and scaffolding. According to the FEPB, the training is being planned with a view to send quality workforce and increase the inflow of remittance.
"We have estimated a budget of Rs. 6 million for this programme and once the board approves it, we will implement this programme from next fiscal year," said Girija Sharma, director at the FEPB. The private sector under the monitoring and supervision of the FEPB will conduct trainings in respective fields at least of two months of duration.
Posted on: 2010-07-02 08:20
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