New opportunity for recruiting agencies to send workers to Malaysia

The government has created new opportunities for Bangladeshi recruiting agencies to send workers to Malaysia, aiming to ensure fair access and parity with other labour-sending countries.

As part of the initiative, the government requested Malaysian authorities to include all recruiting agencies holding valid licenses, thereby expanding the scope for participation, said a press release of Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment on Wednesday.

Previously, Bangladeshi agencies had limited access compared to their counterparts from other nations.

Following detailed discussions at the 3rd Bangladesh-Malaysia Joint Working Group meeting held in Dhaka on May 21-22, the Malaysian side pledged to set clear criteria for selecting private recruiting agents.

In continuation of that process, on October 28, the Malaysian government sent Bangladesh the "Recruiting Agent Selection Criteria", which will also be applicable for Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Myanmar in the future.

According to the set criteria, recruiting agents must have at least five years of operational experience, a record of sending a minimum of 3,000 workers abroad in the last five years, and experience deploying workers to at least three different countries.

In addition, agents must possess a valid license, a certificate of good conduct, training and assessment facilities, testimonials from at least five international employers, a permanent office space of at least 10,000 square feet, and proof of deploying workers in compliance with the destination country's laws.

The release said that the Bangladesh government will request Malaysia to enlist valid license-holding recruiting agents who meet these requirements.

Eligible recruiting agencies have been urged to submit applications along with necessary documents to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment by November 7.