Nearly 700 Bangladeshi workers who completed technical training under an EU-funded talent partnership project have been certified fit for deployment to Europe, mainly Italy, as the initiative marked two years of implementation.

The "Supporting a Talent Partnership with Bangladesh" project, backed by €3 million in European Union funding with technical assistance from the International Labour Organization (ILO), is being carried out from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2027, a ministry press release said Thursday. 

According to its June 2026 progress report, 698 trained workers have received final certification from the National Skills Development Authority under international standards, covering eight trades, and are ready for deployment to the European labour market.

Officials said they are in ongoing contact with the Italian embassy in Dhaka to facilitate the workers' departure, and many are currently awaiting interviews.

The project is jointly overseen by the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment and the Technical and Madrasah Education Division and is being implemented through the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET). Partner agencies include the National Skills Development Authority, the Directorate of Technical Education, the Bangladesh Technical Education Board, and the Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL).

A high-level review meeting was held Thursday to discuss integrating trainee data into the Overseas Employment Platform in line with labour demand from Italy and other European countries. State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Md. Nurul Haque told the meeting the platform needed further improvement to ensure sustainable and ethical migration, stressing the need to make it mobile-friendly as quickly as possible.

He also said that since the workers were being trained to European standards, arrangements should be made to send them to other European countries in addition to Italy, adding that the project would strongly encourage skilled workers to migrate to Europe through legal channels.

Officials said the project's upcoming priorities include Italian language training alongside technical instruction, finalising a 10-day Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) manual, and setting up an employer-matching pipeline to directly connect certified graduates with international recruitment agencies.

The meeting was attended, among others, by ILO Chief Technical Advisor Lotte Kejser, Additional Secretary Md Saiful Haque Chowdhury of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, BOESL Managing Director Md Saiful Islam, BMET Director General Jamil Ahmed.