EU, ILO announce €20m project for skills
The European Union and the International Labour Organisation yesterday announced a €20 million project to build Bangladesh's vocational education infrastructure as there is a big mismatch between supply and demand for skilled workforce.
Training the young people in different sectors is not the main purpose of the initiative, known as the Skills 21 Project, said Pierre Mayaudon, the EU ambassador in Bangladesh.
The project is designed to further allow the Bangladesh government to develop its own effective and efficient vocational training model, which does not exist today.
For instance, there are tried-and-tested vocational training models in Germany and Switzerland but those cannot be applied to Bangladesh, Mayaudon said at the launch of the Skills 21 Project at a ceremony held at the capital's Sonargaon Hotel.
“They need to be customised to the Bangladeshi reality. This is not a simple process at all.”
Mayaudon said the EU has identified the priorities in Bangladesh -- education and skills development.
Of the total project cost, the EU will provide €19.5 million and the ILO will chip in with the remaining amount.
Mayaudon said the ILO will bring its expertise for implementation of the project.
The UN agency will implement the four-year project starting in January next year, with the ministries of education and labour being the beneficiaries.
The project will cover all sectors and not for any specific sector like the garment. The ILO will strengthen the vocational training institutions that the government owns.
After proper implementation of the projects the labour force of Bangladesh will no longer be cheap; but, Bangladesh will have a more trained and skilled workforce, Mayaudon added.
“The ILO has been playing an important role in different sectors of Bangladesh over the years and now the moment has come to build the national skills development system,” said Guy Ryder, director general of the ILO.
The Skills 21 Project will build on the past achievements and ultimately provide greater access to quality vocational training for men and women alike.
“A modern and inclusive skills system will provide a solid base for the future development of Bangladesh.”
The ambition of the project is to strengthen the institutions of vocational education in Bangladesh with the view to building a qualification of framework and engaging the private sector actively, Ryder added.
“This initiative will support the government's commitments toward inclusive economic growth and full and productive employment for all,” said Nurul Islam Nahid, education minister.
A skilled and productive workforce will make a major contribution toward Bangladesh's goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2021.
The project will help in creating an effective, demand-driven skills system that will meet the needs and aspirations of Bangladeshis, especially the two million who enter the workforce every year, Nahid added.
The EU earlier ran a programme to reform the country's technical vocational education and training system.
The programme, which ended in December last year, successfully established the foundation for the new, demand-driven, competency-based system for skills development in Bangladesh, the ILO said in a statement.
Md Sohorab Hossain, education secretary, signed the partnership agreement on behalf of the Bangladesh government, and Mayaudon and Ryder on behalf of the EU and ILO respectively.
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