Policy/Guidelines and Procedures for Overseas

Trainings and Visits

1 Introduction
Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is a diversified and considered as one
of the largest public sector development organizations of the country. LGED works in
different domain of development arena of the country such as rural infrastructure, urban
infrastructure, small scale water resources sector and social safety net or livelihood
development projects. The Government also assigns infrastructure development of other
ministries like Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Land, Ministry of Primary and Mass
Education, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, Ministry of
Chittagong Hill Tracts etc. During the last decade, the Government allocated 12-18 % of
Annual Development Program budget to LGED. It is one of the most important segments of
national budget and is gradually increasing with rapid economic growth and increase of ODA
from many development partners. In 2017-18, the size of allocated budget of LGED was 1.8
Billion US$. A major part of the budget is being spent in construction of rural/urban roads,
bridges, primary school buildings, functional buildings of LGls, water resource management
structures such as rubber dams, regulators, sluice gates, flood control embankment,
drainage structures, canal etc. to boost up the rural and urban economy as well as to
improve the livelihood of rural-urban people of the country.

With the progress in poverty reduction and economic growth of the country during the last
decade, Bangladesh has developed its country vision towards transformation from a low
income nation to the first stages of a middle income nation by the year 2021. At the same
time, the country has developed different strategies for two digit economic growth. Capacity
building at different sectors is one of the most prioritized strategies to achieve the vision. The
best approach of capacity development of an organization is investment in human resources
development through training.

The technical staff of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) are
responsible to plan, appraise, design, construction and maintenance of infrastructures. The
final output is the numerous numbers of infrastructures throughout the country that are
considered as the infrastructures for nation building. These nation building infrastructures
are deemed as national assets. Therefore, higher quality of construction works is strongly
needed from the economic point of view and sustainability such as lifecycle cost and
construction quality and safety is also vital. Higher quality of construction work needs
adequate knowledge, skill and commitment of supervising engineers and also strong
monitoring and construction management.

There are more than 10,000 technical officers and staff in LGED. Besides, LGED is
entrusted to build the capacity of huge number of LGIs elected functionaries including
officers and staff. On the other hand, there is a remarkable number of contractors and
masons that play important role in the quality control and sustainability of local level
infrastructures. LGED is expected to develop the technical skill of these huge workforces so
that they can deliver sustainable and quality infrastructures at local level. There are
significant challenges of quality control of works at local level where skill is also a major
concern. Therefore, training plays a vital role to fill the knowledge and skill gaps and
contribute to sustainable improvement of infrastructures.

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In order to be professionally competent, continuous domestic and overseas trainings are
being provided to LGED staff from foreign aided project and GOB funded projects. Without
having an overseas training policy within LGED, the overseas trainings are being provided
haphazardly without objectivity. Due to absence of accurate data base and selection policy,
some officials are getting repeated number of overseas trainings and some are not getting
at all. Right kind of candidates is not selected for the appropriate course. As a result, the
resources are being wasted and the trainings do not become useful for the organization. In
order to avoid the above discrepancies, a rational overseas training policy needs to be
developed within LGED to conduct the overseas trainings in a professional manner for the
betterment of the organizations.

2 Types of Overseas Training Courses

The different foreign training programs are broadly of the following kinds on the basis of their
duration and purpose:

1) Long Term Courses: The courses are designed for Master Degree and Advance
Diploma for a particular thematic area, such as Master Degree and Post Graduate
diploma course. Duration of the master degree may vary from 1-2 years whereas for
post graduate diploma courses it may vary from 9-12 months.
2) Short Term Courses: Certified courses are considered as short term courses. These
types of courses are designed for a particular subject matter and the trainees are
expected to be competent on that subject matter after the training course. The
duration of courses are designed for a maximum period of 6 (six) months.
3) Study Tour: The foreign tours are arranged to gather experience on particular
subject/issues. The duration of study tour/visit will be for a maximum period of 2 (two)
weeks.
4) Workshop/Seminar: To participate in the workshop or seminar on the particular
subject generally organized by the development partners/UN organizations etc.

2.1 Master Degree and Post Graduate Diploma

This is long term course. Basic subjects of civil engineering have been included under this
program. The duration of the course may vary from university to university depending upon
the subject. The engineer having bachelor degree is the basic requirement of the course.
Potential universities will be selected considering cost, time and other facilities. A few
courses have been suggested as below:

i.) Transport and Planning Transportation Engineering

ii.) Geotechnical Engineering and Management
iii.) Structural Engineering
iv.) Building Engineering
v.) Water Resources Engineering and Management
vi.) Environmental Engineering /Environmental Engineering and Management
vii.) Construction Management
viii.) Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System
ix.) Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development
x.) Urban and Regional Planning
xi.) Management Information Technology/System
xii.) Government Procurement Management
xiii.) Road Engineering

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 xiv.) Bridge Engineering
xv.) Transport Economics

2.2 Certified Courses

This is short term course. The duration of the course may vary from 3-6 months. Potential
universities will be selected considering cost, time and other facilities. A few courses have
been suggested as below:

i.) Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure Management

ii.) Structural Engineering
iii.) Transportation Engineering
iv.) Water Engineering and Management
v.) Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System
vi.) Geotechnical Engineering
vii.) Planning & Design of Small Scale Water Resources Structures
viii.) Sanitation and Plumbing
ix.) O&M of Construction Equipment
x.) Pre-stressed Concreting
xi.) Gender and Development Studies

2.3 Short Courses

This is also short term course of duration from few days to 2-3 weeks. These are customized
courses will be set after discussion with potential universities A few courses have been
suggested as below:

i) Traffic Sign and Road Markings

ii) Highway Maintenance
iii) Asset Management
iv) Water Resources Management
v) Urban Waste Water Management
vi) Solid Waste Management
vii) GIS and Remote Sensing
viii) Bridge Maintenance
ix) Building Maintenance and retrofitting
x) Knowledge Management
xi) Urban Environment Management
xii) Policy Development
xiii) Leadership

2.4 Workshop/Seminar
This is also short term program of duration less than 15 days depending on course schedule,
travel time etc.

3 Principles
The overseas training program shall be based on the following principles:
i.) Training shall be seen as a sound investment in the developments of the
department;
ii.) Training needs shall be aligned to the objectives and priorities of the LGED and the
sectors in general;

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 iii.) There is equality of training opportunities and access for employees at professional
levels;
iv.) All training must be directed by a training plan. (Implementation plan);
v.) Training program must be coordinated in such a way that they assist previously
disadvantaged persons to overcome obstacles to their own development;
vi.) Participants must take part in the training programs that are relevant to their
functions;
vii.) Participants should be selected based on merit and performance;
viii.) Repetition of selection for a particular official will be discouraged;
ix.) Training course will be designed as per the requirement of the organization;
x.) On return, posting of the participants in the areas of specialization will be continued
for at least 3 years so that he/she can contribute the organization with the learning;
xi.) Course will be selected based on expense and duration of the course. There may be
some institutions who may waive tuition fees. Approach of least cost and less
duration may be looked into;
xii.) Some of the training courses related to social, climate, environment, gender related
subjects can be organized within the country and also in foreign countries if
required;
xiii.) Detailed information on foreign training program shall be kept in the data base.

4 Fund for Foreign Courses/training

There is no or little fund for foreign training/courses under revenue budget in LGED. But
there are training fund under revenue budget for in-country trainings, workshop, seminar etc.
Under development budget, there are also fund for local as well as foreign courses. These
training fund under development project are generally channeled by the respective Project
Directors. In development projects, project identifies foreign courses as per requirements of
the project instead of global requirement of LGED. It has been agreed that global
requirement of foreign trainings in LGED will be assessed, and project fund will be utilized
for participants from both project and non-project area. If required participants from project
area for such courses will be given priority. At present foreign courses are limited to study
visit, workshop, seminar etc. but degree like master, post graduate degree, certified course
etc. will be considered under projects in future. During preparation of project, it is suggested
that Project Directors will discuss with Superintending Engineer (Training) in finalizing
foreign trainings. The accumulated fund from several projects will be used by the CTU for
implementation of foreign training courses. In the interim period, status of fund for foreign
training will be checked with different on-going projects in LGED and Central Training Unit
will harness the universities, institutes, courses, and even participants with the view of global
consideration.

5 Eligibility for Nominations

All LGED Engineers appointed on regular basis shall be eligible for nomination provided that:
a) The employees will have at least 2 (two) years of service length or permanent
b) Relevant officials will be selected for the relevant training and their posting will be
continued for at least 3 years so that he/she can contribute the organization with the
learning.

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 c) Candidates shall have within the prescribed age limit.
i.) For master degree course upper age limit shall be below 40 years as on
nomination time,
ii.) For post graduate diploma and certified course upper age limit is 45 years as
on nomination time,
iii.) There is no age limit for the short-term program such as short courses,
seminars, visits, tours, symposia, conferences, workshops, etc.
d) The participants who have already completed Master Degree or Post Graduate
Diploma in overseas, they will not be eligible for study again in Master Degree or
Post Graduate Diploma in foreign countries.
e) The department shall ensure that the candidates who fulfill the specific requirement
of a course as defined by the universities, such as academic background,
experience, age, etc. are nominated. In case where no age limits have been
specifically prescribed by the institutions, the above upper age limits shall apply.
f) Female candidates will be given priority to balance gender equity.
g) The officials having charge with departmental case or criminal case would not be
eligible for the course.

6 Universities and Countries for Overseas Training

Appropriate universities/institutes will be selected at the time of offering the program. In
selecting universities, it would be required to check language of course delivery.

For master degree and certified courses preference will be given in the
universities/institutions located in the developed country, like United Kingdom, Netherland,
Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Vietnam, India (IIT), Thailand (AIT), Malaysia (UM) etc.

Short courses or study tour/visit will be arranged in all countries preferably in India, Srilanka,
Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, China, Japan, Europe, USA,
Africa, Australia, New Zealand etc.

There will be no confinement of countries for participants attending workshop/seminar in

foreign countries except Israil.

7 Advertisement and Selection Procedure

A systematic procedure will be followed for selection of candidates for overseas training. As
per scope, information of the training program will be circulated in the LGED web site as well
as web mail mentioning courses to be offered. Interested candidates will submit their
candidature in the prescribed form (Format A) to the Superintending Engineer (Training)
through supervisor (Superintending Engineer). The supervisor (Superintending Engineer) will
forward the application to SE (Training) with recommendation using format B. For M.Sc,
diploma, certified and short courses shall be placed before the Provisional Selection
Committee (PSC) for selection provisionally as per fixed criteria.

7.1 Provisional Selection Committee

There shall be a Provincial Selection Committee (PSC) as below for the purpose of selection
of provisional nominees for overseas training, tours and visits.
- Additional Chief Engineer (HRD, QC & Env.) Chairperson
- Superintending Engineer (Administration) Member

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- Superintending Engineer (Planning) Member
- Project Director, respective project sponsoring the program Member
- Superintending Engineer (Training) Member- Secretary

The Committee will recommend the provisionally selected nominees to the Chief Engineer,
LGED for approval.

7.2 Interview
If required the Provisional Selection Committee (PSC) will arrange an interview for review of
candidatures. The committee will assess the qualification, interest, English proficiency etc.
The committee will also ensure that candidates who fulfill the specific requirement of a
course, such as academic background, experience, age, etc., are nominated. The PSC will
always propose 2 candidates for each position of study/visit.

7.3 Selection Criteria

The following criteria shall be considered while scrutinizing for selection of candidates by the
PSC:
i) Education Background: She/he has a good academic record and meets the
minimum requirements for admission set by a training institution.
ii) Service Length: Minimum 2 years of continuous service in the department is
mandatory.
iii) Frequency of Visit: A person will not be sent frequently. The persons who have not
visited abroad earlier will be given more priority than who have visited earlier. At least
three years frequency period will be followed for persons visited earlier, unless
exceptional cases.
iv) Job Area: The study direction/program is relevant to her/his current job, and/or will
enhance her/his career prospects.
v) Interest on the Subject: Employees must be in possession of scarce/
critical/valued/specific skills and be able to transfer these skills to their colleagues
vi) Service Record: Persons having good service records will be treated as preferred
candidate
vii) Age Limit: as specified above in article 4.
viii) Language: Good English proficiency/IELTS score is mandatory for foreign training.
ix) Performance: Employees must obtain either “performance above agreed standard”
or an “outstanding performance” rating. Performance record using format B
(attached) can be obtained from the supervisors (Superintending
Engineers/Executive Engineers).

8 Authority for Approval

After detailed scrutiny by the PSC, a proposal will be sent to Chief Engineer, LGED for final
approval. After approval of the candidates, it will be sent to the universities/institutes.

9 Legal Declaration
Candidates must submit a legal declaration jointly signed by candidate and his/her parent
during nomination process mentioning that he/she will return and provide services to LGED
on completion of the degree/visit. .

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If an officer does not attend the course or withdraws his request at any stage after getting
nominated for a course, he/she will be excluded from selection of foreign training for some
period. The debarment will be for two years for a short-term training program and for three
years for a long-term training program.

10 Feedback
On return, it is mandatory for the officers attending long term and short term programmes to
give their feedback about the programme attended through presentation to the respective
audience. Soft and hard copy of short program will need to be submitted to TU.

11 Role of Individual Participants

Each participant of the Overseas Training Programs has a responsibility towards his/her own
self-development, which includes the following:
- Utilize fully the opportunities offered by the international training providers.
- Apply the newly acquired knowledge, skills and attitude to his/her work situation.
- Complete the contract forms prior to departure.
- Submit back to office reports upon return, indicating clearly how the newly acquired skills
and knowledge will be implemented in the workplace as well as the time frame.

12 Notification of Foreign Trainings

The Planning Unit and the respective Project Director will inform the foreign Training
provision to the Training Unit as soon as the project is approved. The Training Unit will
prepare a training plan based on the DPP provision.

13 Processing and Management

The CTU will be responsible for all overseas training and visits. All correspondence with
universities / institutions for the purpose of admission or with institutes/organizations/
departments etc. for the purposes of experience sharing visit or for attending seminar,
workshop etc. will be made from the CTU. Selection and interview by the PSC,
processioning of file for departmental approval, issuance of GO from the ministry, purchase
of air ticket and other works as necessary for the trip will be done from Central Training Unit.

Each Unit and project will submit their Foreign Training Road Map of Capacity Development
plan to CTU. Finally, the CTU will prepare yearly Foreign Training Plan (FTP).

Short visit program i.e. seminar/workshops, study tours, visits, symposia, inspection, etc.
whose duration is not more than 2 weeks may be processed directly from the Project with
intimation to the CTU/PSC by the Project Director.

14 Data Management
The CTU will coordinate all the foreign trainings and maintain data base of foreign training
including master degree, post graduate diploma, certified courses and even short courses
and visits. Two types of data on foreign training will be maintained, one sorts of data will
specify persons who have participated in the foreign courses and another sorts of data will
identify advanced potential candidates for foreign courses. For this purpose of data base, a

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format of foreign training will need to be filled in by the candidates just after return from
abroad (Format B).

In addition, CTU will develop a list of potential candidates from concerned units who will be
selected in shortest possible time for foreign training. In this regard, concerned unit will
primarily propose a list of participants using format A.

15 Procurement Process
Different approaches may be followed in procuring foreign courses/training. The suggested
approaches are -

1) Direct contact with the universities or specialized training institutes will be made by the
CTU for implementation of the course/training under master, diploma and short courses.
Direct contact will also be made in case of workshop and seminars. Participants will be
selected as per guides and course will be implemented in the country where selected
universities/institutions are located.

2) Appropriate vendor (service provider) will be selected (as per government policy) to
identify universities/institutes for certain courses and visits. In such cases, country of
study/visit, universities, course contents, duration etc. will need to be submitted by the
vendors which shall be critically examined / checked by the CTU before submission to
Chief Engineer for approval. Foreign training employing vendors is will gradually be
reduced. In such cases, vendor has to submit a contract completion report after
fulfilment of the degree.

3) Foreign training is very expensive. Some of the courses can be arranged within the
country (Bangladesh) hiring expatriate resource persons/trainers who will conduct the
course in Dhaka. Agreed wages, fees, accommodation, transport and freight will be
given to the resource persons/trainers by the CTU on completion of the course.

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 Form A: Application Format for Foreign Training/Courses

SN Name of Designation Place of Mob no. Date of Date of Joining Academic Present Interest in Service Record Proficiency in Record of Foreign Visit Remar
Applicant posting birth in LGED qualification Job Area subject (ACR) for last English (dates, duration, country, ks
2 years language course title etc.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

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 Form B: Format for Participant Assessment by the Supervisor (Superintending Engineer) (during submission of application)

SN Name of Date of birth Mob no. Place of Designation Selection Criteria (Grading scale @ 10 mark) Remarks
Applicant posting Professional Office Time bound Sincerity and Leadership
Skill Management skill work Integrity quality
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13

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 Form C: Format for Foreign Training Information (after completion of course)

SN Name of Date of Mob Place of Designation Name of Name of Program Duration Start Date End Date Name of Organizing Funded Expenditure Remark
Person birth no. posting (at (at the time Project (MS/Diploma/Certified /Short Country agency by (if known) s
the time of of training) offering the course/ study visit/
training) program seminar/workshop
etc.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

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