For the first time, Bangladesh is expecting to send workers to Canada, a lucrative job market that ensures high salaries and workers rights at low service charges. Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), a stateowned recruiting agency, has already prepared a draft contract with a Canadian outsourcing company that was attested by the Canadian High Commission in Dhaka recently.

Once the contract is approved, BOESL can start sending workers of various technical professions, including plumbers, truck drivers, electricians and welders, within the next few months, sources in the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment said. A worker has to pay only 4,000 Canadian dollars or Tk 2 to 2.5 lakh to get to Canada, while he can earn around Tk 1.5 to 2 lakh every month. There are opportunities for the Bangladeshi workers to earn even more than that as they usually work after the scheduled working hours also. The way the Canadian company approached Bangladesh shows that it has huge demands for technical professionals.

The Canadian company, however, sets condition that BOESL has to bring back the workers at its own cost if they failed in medical tests or interviews conducted in the receiving country. If necessary, BOESL, in association with the vocational training centres run by the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), can provide further training to the aspirant workers required by the Canadian employers, the official said.

Though there is no official assessment on the actual condition of the labour market in Canada, it is learnt from various sources that Canada as well as other European countries are facing severe lack of orkers from technical professions.