Overseas Employment Corporation Awaits Funds Release To Promote Workforce Abroad

The Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) is waiting for the release of Rs 125 million funds, pending for over a year, to launch an extensive media campaign and hold roadshows for promotion of domestic workforce abroad.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2018 ) :The Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) is waiting for the release of Rs 125 million funds, pending for over a year, to launch an extensive media campaign and hold roadshows for promotion of domestic workforce abroad.

"An effective strategy is needed to engage around four million skilled manpower in different countries on annual basis, especially in the wake of economic shifts in the countries of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) since 2015," OEC Deputy Managing Director Muhammad Jamshed told APP Tuesday.

He said a PC-I of the Rs125 million project had been hammered out by the OEC last year for immediate marketing and promotional activities in collaboration with State Life Emigrant's Insurance Fund (SLEIF) Account of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOP&HRD).

Jamshed pointed out that the project had been approved, in principle, by the Departmental Working Party (DWP) of the Ministry but has been withheld on some technical grounds.

Responding to a question, the DMD said the promotional campaigns were required through foreign electronic, print and social media as well as at OEC's web portal, adding UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Libya, Malaysia and South Korea have been identified as potential countries for these drives and campaigns.

Currently, he said, the country had over 7 million skilled and semi-skilled workforce, out of which 2.5 million met the international standards who can contribute significantly in increasing foreign exchange reserves by sending remittances.

Highlighting technical issues being faced by the department, another OEC official said currently eight countries were in agreement with Pakistan of receiving skilled and non-skilled labour but the process was somehow slow for exploiting the signed Memorandum of Understandings to their full potential.

He underlined the need for increasing government-to-government contacts as the per year average of outgoing workforce had come down to 1,000 from 3500 during the last five years.

"The department is standing nowhere in competition with private agents as they were sending around 5,00,000 people per year," the official said.

The private companies convince foreign employers to hire Pakistani manpower due to several reasons and incentives, which the OEC could not extend under existing rules and regulations, he added.

He was of the view that there should be an extensive and innovative strategy toproduce skilled workforce, keeping in view of requirements in the international market,and their employment in potential countries.