UAE to recruit 150,000 more Bangladeshis by Dec next
Saturday, 11 October 2008
Naim-Ul-Karim
The United Arab Emirates is set to recruit over 150,000 Bangladeshis in the last quarter of 2008, as the Persian Gulf country needs huge workforce to support its mammoth infrastructure projects, officials told the FE on Friday.
The oil rich kingdom has poured in more than US$350 billion in what is described as the world's biggest construction boom to transform its major cities into the world's hottest tourist destinations and financial centers.
The emirates have this year emerged as the biggest employers of Bangladeshi workers, already recruiting over 325,000 until September 30, statistics released by the Bureau of Manpower and Employment Training (BMET) said.
"I believe if we can play our cards right, there would be a huge market for our workers in the UAE," foreign adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told the FE.
"Our ministry is making every effort to expand the market. At the moment we are doing very well with numbers," he said, adding already this year's figure was twice the number than the same period last year.
Officials at the BMET and the overseas employment ministry said they expect the boom to continue for years as major companies are rushing in to Bangladesh for recruiting tens of thousands of construction workers.
"Overseas jobs for Bangladeshis in the UAE will continue to flourish as the country needs huge manpower to support its huge construction industry," secretary of overseas employment ministry Abdul Matin Chowdhury said.
"Between October and December, we hope at least 150,000 more Bangladeshis will get jobs in the emirates," he said.
The booming real estate industry in the UAE grew at 1,200-1,500 per cent between 2000 and 2007, new figures said in August, with some agencies estimated that projects worth $350 billion are now going on in the emirates.
According to figures released by Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and Dubai Land Department (DLD), this west Asian metropolis and the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi led this boom with 4,047 real estate and related companies.
This includes 1,588 companies and contracting offices in Dubai, and 1,588 management, investment and real estate development companies in Abu Dhabi.
A global survey conducted by recruiting company, Manpower Middle East, rated the UAE as the sixth most popular work destination in the world and the number one destination for workers already based in the Middle East.
When asked, a senior official of the BMET said over 1.26 million Bangladeshis have so far found jobs in the Middle Eastern Asian country since 1976.
Of the total 688,574 people cleared for overseas jobs in the first three quarters, more than half found jobs in the UAE, he said.
"Every recruitment agencies we have talked were bullish about the UAE markets. They have said that the boom would continue well into the 2010, unless any major disruption occurs," he said.
"On an average, everyday we are issuing clearance to around 1500-1700 workers for the UAE," he added.
The figure was nearly three times the number of jobs Bangladeshis have found in Saudi Arabia this year.
The Muslim kingdom has traditionally been the largest employer of Bangladeshi workers, having already created jobs of 2.54 million since 1976.
But this year the Saudi job market for Bangladeshis squeezed sharply due largely to malicious campaigns against the country's workers.
The United Arab Emirates is set to recruit over 150,000 Bangladeshis in the last quarter of 2008, as the Persian Gulf country needs huge workforce to support its mammoth infrastructure projects, officials told the FE on Friday.
The oil rich kingdom has poured in more than US$350 billion in what is described as the world's biggest construction boom to transform its major cities into the world's hottest tourist destinations and financial centers.
The emirates have this year emerged as the biggest employers of Bangladeshi workers, already recruiting over 325,000 until September 30, statistics released by the Bureau of Manpower and Employment Training (BMET) said.
"I believe if we can play our cards right, there would be a huge market for our workers in the UAE," foreign adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told the FE.
"Our ministry is making every effort to expand the market. At the moment we are doing very well with numbers," he said, adding already this year's figure was twice the number than the same period last year.
Officials at the BMET and the overseas employment ministry said they expect the boom to continue for years as major companies are rushing in to Bangladesh for recruiting tens of thousands of construction workers.
"Overseas jobs for Bangladeshis in the UAE will continue to flourish as the country needs huge manpower to support its huge construction industry," secretary of overseas employment ministry Abdul Matin Chowdhury said.
"Between October and December, we hope at least 150,000 more Bangladeshis will get jobs in the emirates," he said.
The booming real estate industry in the UAE grew at 1,200-1,500 per cent between 2000 and 2007, new figures said in August, with some agencies estimated that projects worth $350 billion are now going on in the emirates.
According to figures released by Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and Dubai Land Department (DLD), this west Asian metropolis and the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi led this boom with 4,047 real estate and related companies.
This includes 1,588 companies and contracting offices in Dubai, and 1,588 management, investment and real estate development companies in Abu Dhabi.
A global survey conducted by recruiting company, Manpower Middle East, rated the UAE as the sixth most popular work destination in the world and the number one destination for workers already based in the Middle East.
When asked, a senior official of the BMET said over 1.26 million Bangladeshis have so far found jobs in the Middle Eastern Asian country since 1976.
Of the total 688,574 people cleared for overseas jobs in the first three quarters, more than half found jobs in the UAE, he said.
"Every recruitment agencies we have talked were bullish about the UAE markets. They have said that the boom would continue well into the 2010, unless any major disruption occurs," he said.
"On an average, everyday we are issuing clearance to around 1500-1700 workers for the UAE," he added.
The figure was nearly three times the number of jobs Bangladeshis have found in Saudi Arabia this year.
The Muslim kingdom has traditionally been the largest employer of Bangladeshi workers, having already created jobs of 2.54 million since 1976.
But this year the Saudi job market for Bangladeshis squeezed sharply due largely to malicious campaigns against the country's workers.