Abu Dhabi: Domestic workers from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, who constitute a large proportion of housemaids in the UAE, are receiving occupational training before they go for foreign employment.
More Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi housemaids have been coming to the UAE in recent years due to the shortage of housemaids in the market following a ban imposed by some other Asian nations on emigration of housemaids.
Household workers from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh undergo a few weeks-long training that prepares them to take up the job abroad, top diplomats of those countries told Gulf News.
The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBE) at Colombo offers training to non-professional job seekers before they go for foreign employment, said Sulaiman J. Mohideen, Sri Lankan Ambassador to UAE.
Housemaids are trained how to use electric and electronic home appliances. First-aid training is also part of the curriculum, he said.
All job seekers registered with SLBE must go through this training process. Without registering with the bureau, no one can get permission to go abroad, the ambassador said.
Bangladeshi housemaids undergo a 21-day-long training before they go abroad, said Mohammad Imran, Bangladeshi Ambassador to the UAE. This is part of the occupation training given by Bangladesh’s Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) to all skilled and unskilled workers seeking foreign employment, he said. Housemaids get hands-on training on basic requirements of their work, including first aid, he said.
Traditionally, housemaids coming into the UAE were from the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Nepal and Ethiopia. The Philippines, Indonesia and Nepal banned the emigration of housemaids in the recent past. The number of Indian housemaids coming to the UAE went down drastically following stringent restrictions imposed by the government of India. Although Ethiopia had banned emigration of housemaids, it was lifted recently.
