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The government is seeking $300 million in loan assistance from South Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to upgrade 64 technical training centres (TTCs) and six institutes of marine technology into centres of excellence, said officials concerned.
Modernising these institutions - some of which date back 60 years, with most over four decades old - will enable the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) to produce 400,000 skilled graduates, who meet global standards, annually, which is more than 13 times the current output of around 30,000, they added.
The Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment recently submitted the preliminary development project proposal (PDPP) to the Planning Commission and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to process the project for approval and secure foreign financing.
The Skilled Manpower Development Focusing on Overseas Employment project aims to significantly increase the proportion of skilled workers in overseas employment, which currently accounts for only about 40 per cent of the country's migrant workforce, according to the documents.
Officials said the Industry and Energy Division of the Planning Commission has already held a review meeting on the proposal, while the ERD is preparing to meet representatives of the Korean government and potential financiers to finalise the funding modality.
Sources said a four-member delegation from South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Exim Bank of Korea is expected to visit Bangladesh next Tuesday.
The team will review the existing Korean-supported projects and assess those preliminarily shortlisted for financing under Korean assistance.
According to the PDPP, the proposed project set to run up to 2030 seeks to develop skilled manpower to meet both domestic and global labour market demands, reduce unemployment, and increase remittance inflows through expanded overseas employment.
The initiative will upgrade the TTCs and institutes of marine technology, equipping them with modern infrastructure, technology-based learning facilities, upgraded laboratories, and internationally aligned curricula.
These institutions will also offer training of trainer programmes and industry-specific courses to ensure employability in high-demand professions across emerging sectors, reveal the documents.
With support from the EDCF, the upgraded training centres aim to bridge the gap between the skills currently being developed and the actual requirements of both local industries and foreign job markets, particularly in countries like South Korea and Japan, as well as destinations across the Middle East and Europe.
A top official of the expatriates' welfare ministry said the infrastructure of many of the country's oldest TTCs is outdated and inadequate for delivering training that meets international standards.
The proposed initiative will also involve the construction of new training facilities, refurbishment of the existing ones, and establishment of eight manpower complexes in divisional headquarters, he added. The project documents reveal that Bangladesh's TTCs currently train around 30,000 workers annually.
Once upgraded, they are expected to produce around 400,000 skilled graduates per year, 90 per cent of whom are projected to be employed in local and overseas job markets.
In addition to aligning with international licensing standards and incorporating digital learning modules, the project envisions partnerships with global certification bodies to improve the credibility and recognition of Bangladesh's technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system.
"The project will help meet the growing demand for skilled human resources in domestic industries," said an official at the Planning Commission. He noted that the government is developing a large number of economic zones (EZs), export processing zones (EPZs), and hi-tech parks, which have the potential to generate 10 million new jobs in the coming years.
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