Only one percent of the total workforce bound for foreign land for employment from Nepal is skilled manpower, according to the Economic Survey 2013/14 released by Ministry of Finance on Thursday. 

 

It is estimated that around 1,500 people leave the country in search of jobs in foreign countries, mostly in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Similarly, the government report says that 74 percent of the workers bound for foreign employment are unskilled while 25 percent are semi-skilled. 

 

The government allows Nepalis to go to work in 109 countries. According to the data of first eight months of the current fiscal year -- 2013/14, Qatar is at the top of the table in terms of hosting Nepali workers. A total of 226,707 Nepali workers have taken pre-approval from Department of Foreign Employment to work in Qatar. This is followed by Malysia (168,071), Saudi Arabia (73,297), the UAE (95,587), and Kuwait (11,204). 

 

Out of 11,0929,24 aspiring Nepali workers who took pre-approval for foreign employment, 61,087 are women. The report has pointed out that reducing the dependency on foreign employment is a challenge for the country.

 

“In a situation when a large portion of the economy is sustained by foreign employment, we need to reduce dependency on foreign employment by creating employment opportunities back in the country to ward off any crisis in the foreign employment sectors,” says the report. 

 

Nepal is one of the highest remittance-receiving countries in the world. According to data from Nepal Rastra Bank, in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, Nepal received Rs 357.7 billion in remittance.