IANS/WAM | 22 Feb, 2012
To control the flow of unskilled workers into the country's construction sector and bypass private recruitment agencies, the UAE would set up training centres in their home countries, including India.

While India is the first country where centres will be established, both Pakistan and Bangladesh will also have these centres, the Gulf News reported Tuesday.

"The UAE will start by opening an office in India in early 2013 to train and rehabilitate workforce," said Saeed Abdullah, the National Productivity Improvement Programme manager at the Federal Demographic Council (FDC).

The ratio of unskilled labour in the construction sector amounts up to 85 percent, he said, adding that the "first batch of [trained] workers will be 5,000 in the first year, 20,000 in 2014 and 50,000 in 2015".

He said that the workers will have to bear the cost of the training estimated to be up to Dh6,000, but will no longer have to pay thousands of dirhams to recruitment agencies or private travel agents to get jobs.