High migration cost mounts pressure on Saudi-bound migrants

The government of Saudi Arabia has initiated a Skill Verification Programme (SVP) aimed at recruiting skilled workers from Bangladesh.

As part of this program, employees are required to obtain a certification by successfully completing an online exam after registration. 

Although the Saudi employer is expected to cover the USD 50 registration fee, it has come to light that this cost is being borne by prospective Saudi-bound migrant workers themselves.

To achieve this, they are expending amounts ranging from TK 7,500 to 10,000 through various agents and computer shops. 

The Bangladesh Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET) has noted that there are allegations of workers consistently falling victim to fraudulence in Saudi Arabia. Many individuals do not secure the jobs they were promised. 

Many others leave the country through manpower agents without any training. Having a skill certificate will be beneficial for work. In this case, the salary of the workers will be almost double.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between Takamol, an organisation approved by the government of Saudi Arabia, and BMET before launching the Skill Verification Programme.

The Saudi Embassy in Dhaka inaugurated this programme in February. At the time, it was said that the employees will not have to pay for the registration of the test. Takamol will cover the cost of USD 50.

The exam can be attempted multiple times, and the certification obtained will remain valid for a duration of five years. In the beginning, the Saudi government made the skill test certificate mandatory in five sectors. With this, 28 more sectors have been added since last month. From now on, workers will need the certificate for 33 sectors.

To enroll for this exam, individuals are required to complete an online registration process by submitting a fee of USD 50. The examinations are currently being conducted across six Technical Training Centres (TTC) situated in Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Barishal, Cumilla, and Tangail. 

Shahidul Alam, the Director General of BMET, told Prothom Alo that the implementation occurred abruptly, and BMET was not able to make complete preparations in advance. Therefore, the ministry has been informed, requesting an extension of the timeline for the preparation properly. 

BMET expects that what has been said about the registration fee at the time of launching the programme will be maintained. The Additional Director General (Training) has been tasked to see if there is any lapses and resolve the issue by talking to Takamol.

On 22 August, this correspondent visited the exam centre at the Darus Salam area of the capital in Bangladesh-Korea Technical Training Centre (BKTTC). The correspondent talked to six people who were waiting in front of the written test centre. Everyone came there to take the exam as an electrician.

They said that the registration fee of USD 50 has to be paid online. It is not possible for them to do this. There are some agents in BKTTC premises, who demand Tk 10,000 to 12,000. Some do it through those agents. They register for the exam by paying Taka 7,500 from the computer shop nearby.

Principal of BKTTC, Lutfar Rahman told Prothom Alo that all admissions of this centre have been done online to prevent agents. And they have nothing to do with skill testing for Saudis. Those who bring the registration form of this centre appear in the test.

BKTTC says that the examination has started here since last February. Initially the test was conducted for five sectors. Exams have been conducted in 10 sectors since last month. So, it increased the pressure. For that reason, the registered candidates are participating in the tests every day.

Till 22 August, 2,506 people have registered for the examination at this centre. Out of this 859 people have cancelled the registration. Out of 1,648 people, 317 failed the exam.

While discussing with a 25-year-old man in front of the examination centre, he said that he has taken an appointment to go to Saudi Arabia as a tiler. He has no idea about tile work.

He works as a mechanic in a car garage in Dhaka. So, he came there to learn how to prepare for the exam.

However, regarding the examination process, Lutfar Rahman said that the result of the written and practical examination is published on the same day by e-mail. Subject-specific simple questions are made. If someone has no idea about the job, then he fails to pass. So far about 19 per cent have failed in this centre.

At first, skill certificates were introduced in plumbing, welding, automobile, electrician and AC mechanic categories. Added to these are 15 types of construction work, five types of tiling, four types of car repair, plaster work and three types of mechanics.

During the inauguration of the SVP, the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka said that if the unskilled workers get 800 to 1,200 riyals, the skilled workers will get 1,500 to 1,800 riyals.

A written questionnaire was sent to Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia in Dhaka, regarding the matter on Monday evening. But no reply was received till the time of writing this report at 9:00 pm.

The three recruiting agencies involved in sending workers abroad, BMET and Ministry of Expatriate Welfare, say that the cost of immigration here is already several times higher than that of other countries.

Now, the extra burden of additional cost has been imposed on the workers.

Apart from this, if 1000 workers register for the exam every month, 50,000 USD are going abroad. This will also create a pressure in the country's dollar-crisis. Saudi Arabia is the largest destination for foreign employment. Last year more than 6,00,000 workers went to the country.

On 25 July, Saudi Arabia informed about the mandatory certificate which was set to become effective from the same date. Many factors were not clarified in it. Not adequate preparation was taken as well.

So, Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) submitted a letter to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment demanding to withhold the programme through diplomatic initiative. Before that, BMET sent a letter to the ministry asking for adequate time to prepare. Later, the ministry informed the matter to the Foreign Ministry.

M. Tipu Sultan, the Joint Secretary-General of BAIRA, shared with Prothom Alo his perspective on the matter, questioning the rationale behind placing the burden of test fees on the workers. He highlighted that this approach would result in significant amounts of dollars being sent abroad as part of this process.

Moreover, it was not right to make such a certificate mandatory now. A more viable approach could involve introducing it progressively, in stages, following comprehensive training across all sectors. Otherwise, there's a potential for a reduction in the number of workers being sent to Saudi Arabia. 

*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Syed Faiz Ahmed