Massive decline in manpower export to Saudi Arabia, UAE observed

ISLAMABAD: There has been a major decline in manpower export to Saudi Arabia where only 100,910 emigrants proceeded for employment in the year 2018 as compared to 2017, a drop of 42,453 emigrants.

According to Economic Survey 2018-19, no doubt Overseas Employment Migration has an important role in respect of employment creation and poverty eradication. International migration creates significant financial and social benefits for migrants, for their families, and for the countries of origin and destination. Pakistan is one of the largest labour exporting countries of the region and since 1971, more than 10.61 million Pakistanis have proceeded abroad for employment.

It unfolds saying that major decline has been observed in manpower export to Saudi Arabia as only 100,910 proceeded for employment in year 2018 as compared to 2017, a drop of 42,453 emigrants.

More importantly, the situation of manpower export to UAE is also not different from the export to Saudi Arabia as manpower export to UAE also decreased in 2018. In recent years, Malaysia emerged as an important destination country for Pakistani workers as in 2018 increase of 38 percent manpower export towards Malaysia was observed as compared to 2017. Due to the present government‘s efforts for enhancing manpower export, an increasing trend has been observed in Qatar, which is a positive sign.

It also tells that the highest number of workers who went abroad was 185,902 from Punjab, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 88,361. From Northern Areas, the number of registered workers increased from 3,417 in 2017 to 4,185 in 2018.

However, the situation in other provinces is not encouraging which shows that there is a need to understand the changing trends/dynamics of labour importing countries in order to meet the manpower demand in future.

During 2018, there has been a declining trend in all occupational groups except in the highly qualified category. The scope for low skilled workers is declining and competition among expatriates is increasing. The up skilling and certification of workforce is the pressing need of the time to meet the international standards and demand. In this regard, the role of NAVTTC, TEVTAs and Higher Education Commission (HEC) is crucial to produce skilled and qualified workforce. Moreover, efforts are required at government to government (G2G) level to secure employment opportunities for the Pakistani workforce.