Skill Passport for Returnee Foreign Workers: Benefits and Implementation Plan

The concept of a skill passport has been introduced to facilitate the effective use of the skills and capital of Nepali workers returning from overseas employment within Nepal. The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security has held discussions and formulated plans to implement this initiative. In a policy and program presentation to Parliament last Monday, the government noted its intention to register returnee foreign workers through a skill passport system to provide them with internationally recognized professional certification.

While this system aims to help validate skills at an international level, labor experts have pointed out that the target group is relatively small and there are some complexities in implementation. A significant number of Nepali workers go abroad primarily to South Korea, Israel, and Japan for employment. Some of these workers, upon return, have already begun applying their skills within Nepal. The ministry has also stated that local governments have started collecting data on returning migrants.

The government has been gathering data on ‘returnee migrants’—Nepalis who have gone abroad for work and come back—and collaborating with local authorities to integrate them into various businesses. Ministry spokesperson and joint secretary Pitambar Ghimire said the skill passport concept will be further refined and implemented. He emphasized, “The main objective is to identify the skills, knowledge, and capital that people acquire while working abroad and create a supportive environment where they can live and contribute in Nepal.”

The government’s policy framework targets Nepali workers returning from foreign employment by instituting arrangements that enable them to apply their skills domestically. So far, assistance to returnees has been limited in scale, but there is now a need to expand these efforts comprehensively. Labor experts note that although the skill passport concept has been discussed for some time, successfully implementing it would be a valuable initiative.