NATION BUSINESS REPORT
The Bangladesh Caterers’ Association, UK announced Wednesday that it would set up a chef-training institution in London, with a campus in Dhaka, to fill the shortage of skilled chefs in UK curry industry.
Bazlur Rashid, president of the BCA, UK and a director of the British Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce, made the announcement while briefing newspersons at the National Press Club in the city.
‘Mainly expatriate Bangladeshis control the restaurant industry in the United Kingdom and the bulk of the 100,000 direct restaurant workers are Bangladeshis. But the industry is facing a serious shortage of workers at the moment,’ he said.
With an annual turnover of 3.50 billion pound, the curry industry has emerged as a large sector in the UK, but the 12,000 restaurants run by the BCA members are incurring hefty losses due to an acute shortage of skilled chefs.
Bangladeshis can easily use the opportunity to get jobs in UK restaurants, but there is no institution in Bangladesh to supply skilled workers for British restaurants, he said, adding that, in such a situation, the BCA had decided to set up a chef-training institution in London, which would have a campus in Dhaka.
‘The BCA will run the institution’s Dhaka campus jointly with a reputed private university. After completing their studies in Dhaka, the students will take admission to the London institution and after graduation will work at restaurants in the UK,’ Bazlur Rashid said.
A BCA delegation has already discussed the issue with Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Annisul Haque, the British high commissioner in Dhaka, Stephen Evans, and adviser to the prime minister, Modasser Ali.
All of them promised to cooperate with the BCA in this endeavour, he told newsmen. BCA leaders Abdul Malik, Kamal Yakub, Mahmudur Rashid, MA Rouf, and MA Mubin Khan and FBCCI director Shafqat Haider, among others, were present at the briefing.
Courtesy: nation.ittefaq.com
