EU-Bangladesh Talent Partnership – “Avenues for Further Labour Mobility Cooperation”

by | Jul 17, 2024 | Uncategorized

EU-Bangladesh Talent Partnership – “Avenues for Further Labour Mobility Cooperation”

The EU Labour Mobility Practitioners’ Network (LMPN) Workshop on July 10, 2024, aims to enhance labour mobility cooperation between the EU and Bangladesh.  Guest speakers included:

  • Lotte Kejser, Chief Technical Adviser, ILO

  • Jurate Smalskyte Merville, Head of Section Human Capital Development, EU Delegation to Bangladesh

  • Shimul Kumar Saha, Senior Assistant Secretary, Bangladesh Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment

The partnership’s main focus is to foster regular, skilled and safe migration between Bangladesh and EU Member States in order to match labor market shortages in EU countries as well as benefit skills training and development in Bangladesh. There is also a need to upgrade quality and relevance of training provision in Bangladesh in order for it to be relevant and recognized in the EU member states. Key takeaways from the workshop, which included participant observers from Italy (@HorizonGS4S partner FIERI), Germany, Greece and Romania, focused on identifying sectoral representation of the Bangladesh perspective in the three GS4S priorities – ICT, construction, care – in addition to tourism, agriculture and textile. Additionally, signing of the 3MEUR contract supporting training via the concrete roadmap, “Supporting a Talent Partnership in Bangledesh”, was highlighted.

The partnership is part of the broader EU Talent Partnerships initiative, which seeks to engage with non-EU countries on migration management and create opportunities for legal mobility based on labor market needs and skills matching​. Training to be offered is based on:

(i) mapping the training available

(ii) identifying how to improve training to comply with EU requirements, and

(iii) providing additional necessary training to satisfy EU labor market needs, including soft skills training or language courses.

The main components of the Talent Partnership are aimed at strengthening data collection and foresight, improving institutional capacity and promoting legal pathways, providing support for skills development, facilitating recruitment and mobilities, and promoting sustainable returns to Bangladesh after completing legal work tenure in the EU. Recent developments in 2024 have thus far included a 3-year extension of the Skills 21 Project to complement and synergize with the Talent Partnership project towards strengthening the quality of, access to, and governance of the public TVET system to contribute to sustained and inclusive economic growth in Bangladesh.

 

ABOUT THE LMPN

 EU Labour Mobility Practitioners’ Network is a platform to promote deeper, more insightful and sustained engagement on labour mobility by a set group of experts and practitioners. The Network is only open to practitioners from EU Member States and EU institutions at the operational level, relevant International organizations, foundations, NGOs, think tanks or academic institutions, trade unions, private sector networks/bodies (such as employers’ associations) in relation to labour migration, diaspora and migrants’ associations. Partner countries may be invited to join sessions on an ad-hoc basis depending on the topic but are not eligible for membership.

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