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Regional News
The Bangladesh Caterers Association (BCA), UK Ltd. has been playing a vital role in promoting a ateral relation between Bangladesh and Great Britain since its inception in 1960. The Association is now roud to represent approximately 12,000 Bangladeshi restaurants and takeaways employing over 85 ousand employees with a turnover of £3.5 billion.
The Bangladesh Caterers Association (BCA), UK Ltd. has been playing a vital role in promoting a ateral relation between Bangladesh and Great Britain since its inception in 1960. The Association is now roud to represent approximately 12,000 Bangladeshi restaurants and takeaways employing over 85 ousand employees with a turnover of £3.5 billion.
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Restaurant News
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Community News
The Bangladesh Caterers Association (BCA), UK Ltd. has been playing a vital role in promoting a ateral relation between Bangladesh and Great Britain since its inception in 1960. The Association is now roud to represent approximately 12,000 Bangladeshi restaurants and takeaways employing over 85 ousand employees with a turnover of £3.5 billion.
The Bangladesh Caterers Association (BCA), UK Ltd. has been playing a vital role in promoting a ateral relation between Bangladesh and Great Britain since its inception in 1960. The Association is now roud to represent approximately 12,000 Bangladeshi restaurants and takeaways employing over 85 ousand employees with a turnover of £3.5 billion.
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BCA President meets Mr Damian Green MP, Shadow Immigration Minister and Conservative leader Ms Ann Main MP
BCA President Mr Bajloor Rashid made a call-on at the invitation of Mr Damian Green MP, Shadow Immigration Minister and Conservative leader at his parliamentary office at Portcullis House. The meeting was arranged at the behest of Ms Ann Main MP, a conservative leader and a well-wisher to BCA.
After exchange of pleasantries Mr Bajloor Rashid thanked Mr Green for inviting him and then gave a brief description on the activities of BCA. Mr Rashid said Times have not been easy for London restaurants in recent months as the credit crisis and a deepening recession have hit everyone, from ordinary city workers to highly paid bankers. He further added that Curry industry is a British industry and it is serving the interest of British economy by contributing 3.5 billion annually and employing 100,000 workers directly. BCA surveys showed that there was a vacancy of 30,000 skilled workers in the restaurants owned by the Bangladeshi restaurateurs.
Mr Rashid explained to the conservative leader the ordeal being faced by average restaurateurs in the day to running of their kitchens due to the acute shortage of staff. He said that curry industry was a skill-based industry and it required certain passion for the job. He added that due to BCA’s movement the UK govt has included Skilled Chef in the Shortage Occupation List. But it was of little worth as the corresponding pre-conditions made it difficult to bring workers from outside UK using SOL list.
He further added that BCA was always willing to recruit from within UK, but there is no facility here wherefrom trained curry-cooks could be produced. It was true there was no dearth of hospitality training institutes here but there was hardly any single institute that was exclusively focused on the need of curry restaurants. He also pointed that to increase the employability of the homegrown British Bangladeshis and to increase their level of expertise, BCA was planning to establish a curry-training institute in UK, preferably in East London.
Mr Sheikh Ahmed said that BCA restaurants prepare curry according to the taste of its British customers and hence BCA knows what exact skills to be imparted in the trainee chefs and cooks. A curry institute run by BCA could help train the skilled staff according to the demand and standard of UK market. All BCA needed was the required moral and financial support from the UK govt. Mr Bajloor Rashid said that BCA already prepared a Project Concept Paper on the proposed London School of Curry and handed over a copy of this to Mr Stephen Timms, the Financial Secretary to HM Treasury. Mr Timms assured that he would help BCA in managing funds from Govt’s training grants. But BCA feels that curry is a British national industry and every one from either treasury or opposition bench must have support to see this industry grow prosperous and contribute more to the British Economy.
Mr Green listened to the BCA leaders very attentively and passionately. He appreciated the idea of London School of Curry and asked Mr Rashid few questions on how it would contribute in upskilling local people thereby lessening the dependency on migrant workers. Mr Rashid assured him that BCA was not looking for a permanent root of migrant workers outside EU but to ease the present tensed situation migrant workers are needed. Idf there is training faciltilites, homegrown workers would be more interested to join in the curry industry if we could only add some glamour to it. Without standardising and upskilling the training needs, we can not attract them to this industry.
Mr Green promised that he would try to arrange a full-scale debate in the House of Commons on the needs of Bangladeshi catering community and especially on the establishment of a curry-training institute with govt funding.
The meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere and ended with a photo session.
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