Enhance employment & competitiveness for 300 youths in Dhaka

Educo Bangladesh, in partnership with Child Fund Korea (CFK) and co-implementer ESDO, has launched the Leveraging youth employment in Bangladesh through improving their employability and competitiveness to fit with the 21st century job market (LIFT) project.

The initiative aims to address youth unemployment by enhancing employability and skills development in Dhaka and surrounding regions. The launch event took place at the Hotel Lakeshore, Gulshan, Dhaka, attended by notable media, government officials, and stakeholders.

The LIFT project will provide Technical and vocational training, soft life skills and career guidance to 300 most vulnerable youth across various sectors. By improving their employability, the project seeks to align the skills of young people with the demands of the modern job market. Additionally, it will also focus on providing career guidance, and linkage to employers. Moreover, it will work industries to ensure that training programmes align with their workforce needs, said a press release today.

In this event, Educo Bangladesh's Country Director, Mr. Abdul Hamid, stated, ‘With the LIFT project, our objective is to equip the youth of Bangladesh with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the competitive 21st-century job market. Our focus is not only on creating employment opportunities but also on promoting a sustainable work environment where young people can shape their own futures. We believe this project will open new opportunities for the youth and play a crucial role in reducing unemployment, ultimately contributing to the country's overall economic development.’

The Chief Guest, Mr. A.H.M. Shafiquzzaman, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, underscored, ‘Technical education equips individuals with practical skills and unlocks considerable opportunities for entrepreneurship. This allows young people to generate their own employment rather than depending solely on the job market. Our goal is to provide training that enables them to establish themselves as skilled professionals abroad, while also fostering their potential to grow as entrepreneurs within the country.’ As the special guest of this event, Mina Masud Uzzaman, Member (Planning & Skills Standard), National Skills Development Authority (NSDA), Engr. Md. Salah Uddin, Director (Training operation) of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET), also delivered their speech.

During the event, a youth, Foysal Ahmed, said, ’During the COVID-19 pandemic, my family experienced financial hardships, which forced me to discontinue my studies. Now, I wish to pursue technical and vocational training in mobile servicing and open a mobile repair shop in my village.’

The LIFT project is set to be a milestone in Bangladesh's journey toward sustainable economic growth, driven by an empowered and skilled youth workforce.