Migrant workers missing out on new skills sans certification

Recognition of Prior Learning or RPL

FE Team | Published: September 02, 2020 21:59:23

Almost one-third of men and women who had returned home because of the pandemic fallout, said they had learned new skills or greatly improved existing skills. But without credible Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) certification to prove they possessed these newly-formed skills, they could not capitalise on them, says the International Labour Organization (ILO) citing a study.
It was revealed in a webinar organised by the ILO in collaboration with the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment to look at the need to assess and certify the skills of millions of Bangladeshi migrant workers, the ILO said on Tuesday.
There are presently 411 RPL centres in the country and these facilities have provided certificates to 41,560 workers.
The challenge now is to link the centres with the migrant returnees who have returned home but also seek to offer certification for millions who are still working overseas.
Over 130 participants from across Asia, Europe and the Middle East who are involved in implementing RPL from government, development partners, and employers shared their views on skills recognition, certification and decent jobs at the webinar titled Recognition of Prior Learning for Migrant Workers in Asia.
The RPL process helps individuals acquire a formal qualification that matches their knowledge and skills, and contributes to improving their employability, mobility, lifelong learning, social inclusion and self-esteem.
According to a recent International Organisation for Migration (IOM) study, 60 per cent of Bangladeshi migrants who have returned home due to the fallout of COVID-19 on global markets, expressed a genuine desire to upgrade and certify their skills.
Moreover, 75 per cent of them said that once the international labour market re-opens, they would like to work in a country where their core skills would be recognised and justly rewarded.
Based on the webinar, the recommendations for the RPL system in Bangladesh include:
--A pass like the 'Euro Pass' that confirms the level of skills or learning outcomes that have been attained.
--A skills passport to help categorise migrant workers and returnee workers by skills 'type'.
--Introduce e-RPL and e-assessment to make the system more accessible for migrant workers.
--RPL for refugee and host communities to facilitate migrant workers' transition to international labour markets.
--Increase awareness about RPL and its multiple benefits among migrant workers.