Uzair bin Farid

As many as 395,166 people emigrated from Pakistan in search of employment opportunities this year by June. According to data from the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BE&OE), the number of people sent for employment abroad by the BE&OE totalled 393,455 and the number of people sent by the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) was 1,711 during the said period. In 2022, the total number of emigrants was 832,339. Of this number, 829,549 were sent overseas by the BE&OE and 2,790 by the OEC. The highest number of people who left the country through the BE&OE channel during 2023 are in the category of ‘labourer’. The total number of people who left as labourers is 169,335 out of the total of 395,166. It was followed by the category of ‘driver’ who also left the country in large numbers to find jobs. Their number totalled 85,851 during 2023.

The category of driver is followed by the category of ‘manager’ in which 19,499 people left the country during FY23. Thereafter came the ‘salesmen’ with the total number of emigrants at 12,143. After the salesmen comes the category of ‘mason’ with the total number of emigrants at 11,792 followed by ‘technician’ at 11,264. For the category of ‘supervisor’, the total number of emigrants stood at 10,649 during FY23. It must be noted, however, that the total number of people who left the country over the previous fiscal year is much higher than the number given by the BE&OE since it does not include the students and other people who left the country without using the BE&OE channel. Moreover, the people who left under the BE&OE went for blue collar jobs mostly and not as white-collar employees. The ideal destination for these people has always been Gulf states especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The employability of skilled workers abroad is very low in the case of Pakistan. This is not to say that Pakistan does not have any pool of skilled workers who could be employed abroad. Pakistan does have its fair share of highly talented and skilled workers especially in the information technology (IT) sector. However, the demand for such skills is filled by people from other countries since they are seen as more competitive and having an agile work ethos. In the case of Pakistan, a lot of exogenous factors always play a very significant role in the employability of its workforce abroad. It is the responsibility of the government to make sure that workers from Pakistan get equal opportunity to be employed in other countries and for that purpose all the necessary policies must be instituted.

Credit: INP-WealthPk