08 July 2013, Dhaka. A round table discussion on 'Innovations in skill development training for youth: effective planning and implementation’ was held on 7 July at Spectra Convention Centre organised by BRAC Education Programme. The discussion focused around understanding the achievements of the government’s and the NGOs so far, in the skills development training initiatives for the youth, and future prospects of scaling up.
Participants included representatives of Bureau of Non-formal education, national skill Development Council, ILO, FBCCI and concerned partners. S.M Ashraful Islam, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Primary and Mass education emphasised that “skills training should now be more focused on demand driven then supply driven”. He also mentions that overseas job opportunities should also be explored when speaking of skills development for the youth.
Jibon Kumar Chowdhury, CEO of National Skills Development Council, raised the concern of a lack of certified assessors in the country, who can efficiently validate the skills of development trainees in order to certifying them. NSDC is currently working on capacity building of assessors so that trainees could be certified through proper authority.
Dr Mahabub Hossain says, “according to the projected population dividend, youth will be more dominating in our population. Without proper skill development training we cannot expect to have an efficient workforce which would help the country to become one of the middle income countries by 2021”.
So far BRAC’s Skills Training for Advancing Resources (STAR) initiative, in partnership with GoB, ILO and UNICEF, worked with 1000 youths in the first phase, of whom 992 have successfully completed their respective skills training and of them 968 have been placed in proper jobs. STAR now is at its second phase and hopes to cover 3000 and more youths, with the support of the government and BRAC’s self initiatives, by the end of 2016.
