Ethiopia's Labor and Skills Ministry Sets Plan to Secure 800,000 Overseas Employment Opportunities

The Ministry of Labor and Skills is pursuing an ambitious target, aiming to facilitate overseas employment for 800,000 Ethiopian citizens during the current fiscal year, Labor and Skills Minister Muferihat Kamil said.

Minister Muferihat Kamil made the remark at a meeting of Public Expenditure Administration and Control Affairs Standing Committee of the House of People's Representatives (HPR), where the performance audit report of the ministry was reviewed.

Muferihat said that the Ministry actively facilitates overseas employment as a key part of its job creation strategy, securing opportunities for a significant number of citizens in foreign countries while ensuring the safety, benefits, and rights of these workers.

She emphasized the remarkable growth in overseas job placements, noting that opportunities surged from 40,000 in the 2014 EFY (Four Years ago) to over 500,000 by 2017 EFY, last June.

"In 2014, only 40 Ethiopians secured job opportunities abroad. However, that number skyrocketed to 503,000 citizens employed overseas. The ministry is now actively working to send an additional 800,000 Ethiopians to work abroad in the current fiscal year," she stated.

In addition to increasing job opportunities, the ministry has entered into agreements with various destination countries over the past three years, including recent collaborations with Italy and a German company.

She added that a satisfaction survey conducted among citizens working abroad is significantly increasing with their new found jobs.

"We conducted a satisfaction survey among citizens working in Saudi Arabia, a key overseas job destination for Ethiopia. The results revealed that 90 percent of employees are satisfied with their jobs," Muferihat said.

Public Expenditure Administration and Control Affairs Standing Committee at the Ethiopian House of People's Representatives, Yeshemebet Demsie commended the ministry's efforts, noting that the rise in legally employed Ethiopians overseas is encouraging.

However, she emphasized the need for extensive work in deploying skilled manpower, enhancing training quality, and coordinating with relevant stakeholders.

Yeshemebet also stressed the importance of leveraging local resources to create job opportunities, expanding training centers, and improving the data management of job seekers.

Read the original article on ENA.