For years now, we have been hearing about our demographic dividend and the advantage it presents to a nation such as ours that is looking to take the next logical step in its developmental journey.
To that end, Japan’s projected demand for 11 million foreign workers by 2040 presents a rare and strategic opening for us to utilize this demographic surplus we have.
With a reported 25 million working-age individuals currently underutilized, we certainly have the numbers. It is now time for us to invest in having the readiness to meet Japan’s high standards for skilled labour.
However, the broader picture is not just to be able to meet the high standards of one nation only. Bangladesh has long needed to scale up the level of skill of its workers, and exploring the market in Japan should be just the catalyst for this.
For too long have we been identified as a nation that only produces low-skilled labour. It is time for our respected authorities to begin changing this narrative, and equip our youth, many of them unemployed and hungry for opportunities, with the necessary training and skills to not only help their own careers and livelihoods, but simultaneously be a positive force for the national economy as well.
If Bangladesh can position itself as a reliable source of skilled and disciplined workers, the positives are manifold, from increased remittance inflows to reduced unemployment. Most importantly, it will reshape our global reputation and nations will no longer look at us with the same skepticism.
Japan’s labour shortage is Bangladesh’s opportunity. and the time is now to act decisively. Failure to do so means other nations will fill the gap and leave us lagging behind in a race we had every reason to be winning.
