Kathmandu, Oct 18 (PTI) With a whopping 93 per cent of the Nepalese labourers migrating abroad for employment being unskilled, the government is ramping up plans for their upgradation by setting up training centres across the country, Minister for Labour and Social Welfare Sher Bahadur Kunwar said on Tuesday.

Every year some 500,000 Nepalese youths go abroad, taking up low-paying menial jobs, according to a government report.

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Malaysia, Qatar and other Gulf countries emerging as the preferred destinations, the Kathmandu Post newspaper reported, citing annual data on the number of work permits issued.

"Out of the total number of Nepalese labourers going abroad for jobs, 93 per cent are unskilled, which is posing greater risk to their lives," Kunwar said.

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The Nepal government is working out plans to establish skill development and training centres across seven provinces in the country targeting foreign job seekers, the minister said.

It is also working to bring self-employed people and those working abroad under the ambit of the social security scheme.

Under this scheme Nepalese workers will be included in the social security fund through a bilateral agreement with the destination country.

Nepal heavily relies on remittance sent by those working abroad for its foreign exchange earnings.

The country's remittance earnings crossed Rs 1 trillion mark in the last fiscal year, ending mid-July, according to Nepal's central bank.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)