Pak gears up to boost skilled workforce for rising global demand

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2023-09-28T04:19:25+05:00 News Desk

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was held in Islamabad on Wednesday to address the pressing issues facing Pakistani workers abroad, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel.  

 Senate Standing Committee Chairman Manzoor Kakar chaired the meeting that also shed light on the challenges and opportunities associated with overseas employment.

Briefing the meeting, Senator Rana Mahmood-ul-Hasan said Japan recently demanded a staggering 340,000 skilled workers. As a result, India has sent 150,000 workers, Nepal 91,000, and even Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have contributed their skilled workforce to Japan's growing demand.

However, Pakistan's contribution remains relatively low, with only 200 individuals departing for Japan. On the other hand, Pakistan is currently facing a staggering 50,000 unemployed qualified engineers. Nepal, in contrast, has successfully upskilled its populace in the Japanese language, increasing its employability in Japan.

He said that Saudi Arabia emerged as another key destination actively recruiting skilled labor and emphasizing specialized skills over unskilled manpower. With around three million Pakistanis already working in Saudi Arabia, the demand for skilled workers is anticipated to escalate. Newtech, in response, has presented recommendations, including the training of fifty thousand individuals for potential deployment.

Secretary of Overseas Pakistanis highlighted the need for Pakistan to enhance its skilled workforce, emphasizing the presence of 1.6 million Pakistanis in the UAE and significant populations in Qatar and abroad, surpassing 10 million in total. To bolster Pakistan's reputation abroad, he underlined the necessity of improving skill levels and trustworthiness.

Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce, noted that despite the challenges, Pakistanis are willing to go abroad even at significant personal costs.

Naseer Kashani urged Pakistan to reassess its overseas workforce strategy and pointed out that despite an agreement with Japan in 2019, only 700 skilled Pakistanis were sent to Japan.

Senator Sherry Rehman hailed Nepal as an exemplary nation in overseas employment, sending trained "Mountain Shapers" to Pakistan, emphasizing the importance of skill development for foreign labor markets.

Addressing a concerning issue, the Secretary of Overseas Pakistanis mentioned that a considerable number of Pakistanis traveling abroad on Umrah visas resort to begging, tarnishing Pakistan's image. Ninety percent of arrested beggars are Pakistanis, leading to deportation and strained diplomatic relations.

 “Pakistan's future in overseas employment seems to hinge on upskilling its workforce, tapping into global opportunities, and building a more reliable reputation for its workers abroad.” He said 90 percent of the arrested beggars are Pakistanis.The Iraqi and Saudi ambassadors tell us that they send repeat offenders to us because they know their prisons are full. 

He told the participants that now so many of our people are being deported because they become beggars there. He revealed that a large number of beggars are still going abroad. “Most of the pickpockets caught inside the Haram are Pakistanis,” he disclosed.

They go on pilgrimages to beg. These do not go on work visas, he added.

  He said that Japan is a new destination. Earlier they used to send unskilled labor abroad, but now we are outsourcing our skilled labor including engineers, nurses, IT, paramedical and pharmaceuticals. If the professionals go out, our remittance will go up immediately, he added.

Senator Akram said right now the situation between India and Canada is tense, we can take advantage of it.

Currently Canada and Australia are in our working frame. We have had meetings with the Canadian authorities

In Korea, Japan, Kuwait, we send our own skilled worker, there are more remittances from here. 

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