Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training

department · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head: Saleh Ahmed Mujaffar
Role: Director General
Annual budget: —
Staff: —
Established: 1976
Legal basis: Overseas Employment and Migrants Act 2013 (Act No. 48 of 2013); Overseas Employment Policy 2016; Emigration Ordinance 1982 (predecessor); Rules of Business 1996 (Schedule II, Entry 37). BMET was established in 1976 under the then-Ministry of Manpower Development and Social Welfare.

BMET is operating its own free clearance portal (oc.bmet.gov.bd) after terminating the Ami Probashi contract in April 2025. In 2025, BMET recorded 1,132,519 workers deployed abroad -- an 11.27% increase year-on-year -- with 750,967 (66%) going to Saudi Arabia. Total cumulative stock abroad stands at 15 million (1.5 crore) in 176 countries per Minister's April 2026 Parliament statement. Malaysia re-opening agreement (April 8, 2026) targeting 30,000-40,000 workers in 2026 is the primary near-term deployment expansion. Saudi Arabia's block work visa quota hold (imposed 2024-25 Hajj season) was lifted in June 2025; visa processing scrutiny and Saudi skill-tier classification introduced July 2025 pose ongoing throughput risk. National Action Plan 2026-2030 (GCM framework) adopted May 2026 frames BMET's skill-testing and migration-cost-reduction reform agenda.

Recent activity

2026-02-17 appointment BNP-led cabinet under PM Tarique Rahman took office; Ariful Haque Chowdhury (BNP, Sylhet-4) became the dual-portfolio minister overseeing both MOEWOE (BMET's parent) and the Ministry of Labour and Employment -- directly affecting BMET's operational priorities and policy direction. ↗↗
2026-04-05 statement Minister told Parliament that more than 1.5 crore (15 million) Bangladeshi expatriates are currently working in 176 foreign countries; Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait collectively account for 86 percent of workers deployed abroad in FY2024-25 per BMET records. ↗
2026-04-08 international Minister Ariful Haque visited Malaysia alongside PM adviser Mahdi Amin; bilateral agreement reached to fast-track reopening of the Malaysian labour market for Bangladeshi workers -- targeting 30,000-40,000 recruits in 2026, with BMET to support an AI-based recruitment platform to eliminate intermediaries and an 'employer pays' migration cost model aligned with ILO guidelines. ↗↗↗↗
2026-04-20 reform BMET's government-built online clearance portal (oc.bmet.gov.bd, developed by BUET, free of charge) became the sole route for new emigration clearance applications following the non-renewal of BMET's two contracts with Ami Probashi -- both of which had expired 20 April 2025. Manual counter service at BMET offices remains available as an alternative. ↗↗↗
2026-05-05 international Bangladesh attended the UN International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) in New York (5-8 May 2026) and announced it had fulfilled 7 of 10 GCM commitments from the first review; submitted 6 new pledges and adopted a National Action Plan 2026-2030 for safe, orderly, and regular migration -- framing BMET's skill-testing and clearance reform agenda under the GCM framework. ↗↗↗

Provenance & notes

BMET was established in 1976 under the then-Ministry of Manpower Development and Social Welfare and is now under the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment (MOEWOE). Director General is Saleh Ahmed Mujaffar (also rendered 'Mojaffar' or 'Mujaffor' in English transliterations); head_since is null because the exact appointment date was not found in two independent primary sources. The 15 million (1.5 crore) cumulative stock figure is from Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury's April 5, 2026 Parliament statement cited by BSS News (bssnews.net/js-session/374859); cross-checked against MOEWOE's own ministry description which uses the same figure. Annual 2025 deployment figure of 1,132,519 is from TBS News (tbsnews.net) and The Financial Express citing official BMET statistics; 750,967 Saudi-bound from TBS News citing BMET/MOEWOE official. The Ami Probashi contract expiry date (April 20, 2025) is from TBS News investigative piece; oc.bmet.gov.bd confirmed live and listed as BUET-built. Malaysia agreement date (April 8, 2026) confirmed by four independent sources including Free Malaysia Today, The Daily Star, and BSS News. Saudi block work visa quota hold and June 2025 reinstatement confirmed by Fragomen and TBS News. annual_budget_bdt is null: BMET does not have a separately published budget line; expenditure is embedded in MOEWOE's Tk 855 crore FY2025-26 envelope. staff_count is null: no sanctioned-post figure found in primary sources; figures circulating in secondary sources lack primary document citations. BMET operates 64 Technical Training Centres (TTCs) and 6 Institutes of Marine Technology (IMTs) per bmet.gov.bd TTC listing page; a government ADP project adds upazila-level TTCs bringing projected total to 104 TTCs + 7 IMTs when complete. Verification based on 2+ primary sources for all named events, figures, and personnel.

Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training

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