Returnee migrant info now online

Detailed information, including skills and experiences, of returnee migrants will now be available in a web portal, helping public and private sector employers locate and engage them in the local market.

The Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) launched the portal www.returneemigrant.info it the capital's BGMEA complex yesterday.

However, interested employers will have to communicate with RMMRU for contact details of workers, said Abul Basar, project coordinator of RMMRU. 

Currently, information of around 3,700 workers is available and it will be continually updated, he informed.

Migrants acquire skills while working short term international contracts every year but there is no formal mechanism to connect them to local markets after their return.

The skills and experiences giving migrants the capacity to work in government and private institutions remain unutilised due to lack of communication and information, said Tasneem Siddiqui, founding chair of RMMRU.

The portal will significantly contribute to linking the workers and employers, she added.

Addressing as chief guest, Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Khandker Iftekhar Haider said around 90 lakh Bangladeshi workers have so far been sent abroad from 1976.

But the government has no data on how many returned, he said, adding that the government was working on preparing a database on returnee migrants.

Officials of organisations including BGMEA and returnee migrants attended.