Downward trend in manpower export

The fact that Bangladeshi workers are returning from Jordan's readymade apparels (RMG) industry is an ominous sign for the economy. Nearly 100,000 workers have gone from the country to work in Jordan's RMG sector since 2010. Reportedly, Bangladeshi workers constitute 60 per cent of foreign workers employed in that sector in Jordan and 95 per cent of these workers are women. It is an important destination for Bangladesh and inward remittance has dropped from US$143.23 million in FY021-22 to US$ 127.87 million in the current fiscal.
The decline in remittance inflow from the GCC countries is now more of a general trend, despite a notable rise in the number of expatriate workers there during the last two years. With economic woes increasing in the European Union (EU) and the US, primarily due to the continuation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, orders for RMG are down in the global market. As per government data, the number of Bangladeshi workers working in Jordan has gone down 50 per cent over the last one year. It would not be too far-fetched to assume that if the war in Europe drags on for the foreseeable future, this particular labour market for Bangladeshi expatriate workers could potentially be drawing to a close.
What is all to apparent is that foreign orders for apparels are slowing down as people prioritise their spending over fashion. The writing has been on the wall for some time now. The RMG association in Bangladesh, the BGMEA, has also stepped up its game by holding events internationally to highlight the advantages of Bangladeshi made RMG in an effort to gain better access to newer markets. That said, it remains anyone's guess as to what the future of RMG holds for the economy. The steady loss of the Jordanian market for our workers is especially a hard blow as that country hired Bangladeshis without migration cost. That was a huge boon for our workers and the fact that wages are paid on time, as per contract, the inward remittance from this international market is of immense importance.
Neighbouring countries in the Asian region also send workers to Jordan, but they occupy positions at a higher skills level. Having positions in management means the downward trend in Jordanian RMG business affects these countries' workers much less than it does ours. These are all known issues and yet for whatever reason, Bangladesh has not prioritised skills development in the sector. Bangladesh is still known worldwide for cheap and easily trainable labour. What it all boils down to is that the country needs to send hundreds of thousands of workers abroad to generate significant remittance whereas countries like Sri Lanka and India can send a fraction of that number and still generate the same remittance value.
It makes one wonder why after 50 years of independence, the country is still sitting at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to technical education. Why policymakers have failed to realise that the day would come when the global economy would be entering into another worldwide recession and when it came to chopping down costs, the axe always falls first on workers. Bangladesh is trying to play catch up as is evident from the steady opening of skills training centers in different districts of the country and it is a race against time. Although new markets are being explored for unskilled labour, the moves to develop more skilled labour should have begun at least a decade ago.