Riyadh: Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Dr Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan held a meeting with officials of Saudi Takamol Holding at its head office. The meeting focused on enhancing the collaboration between the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) of Bangladesh and Takamol to facilitate the deployment of skilled workers to Saudi Arabia.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Takamol Professional Recognition Programme's Bangladesh manager Salem Almatrud and acting chief executive Adel Alfuraidi attended the meeting. Dr Bhuiyan highlighted that the capacity of BMET has been increased, with 27 centres approved by Takamol conducting regular skill verification tests for 188 trades. Certificates are issued to successful candidates, and in October alone, 51,653 workers underwent these tests.
The acting chief executive of Takamol praised the ministry's efforts to enhance BMET's capacity. He noted that Takamol's skill verification certificate is now mandatory for obtaining a work visa to Saudi Arabia. Currently, 90 percent of foreign workers arrive in Saudi Arabia with Takamol certificates, a figure expected to rise to 100 percent soon.
Dr Bhuiyan raised concerns about the financial burden on workers, particularly the US$ 50 test fee and the additional US$ 50 for retakes if they fail. He requested Takamol to consider waiving the retake fees, to which the acting chief executive responded positively.
Dr Bhuiyan also expressed interest in expanding cooperation with Takamol to provide training aligned with the Saudi labour market's needs and standards. The meeting further addressed the re-skilling and up-skilling of existing Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia.
Present at the meeting were National Skill Development Authority Executive Chairman Dr Nazneen Kawshar Chowdhury, Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Ltd (BOESL) Managing Director Saiful Islam, and Bangladesh Embassy Counselor Muhammad Reza-E-Rabbi.