Technical training the answer to skilled worker deficit

Need-based technical training could provide a steady supply of skilled workers during the post-pandemic era, when sustaining the existing job market while also creating new opportunities for employment will be a big challenge, according to various speakers at a webinar.

Besides, courses on skills development taught with modern curriculums will be vital for the re-assimilation of returning migrant workers.

"We need to ensure quality technical education, structural changes in the education system, maximum utilisation of ICT services and smooth adaptation to the fourth industrial revolution," said Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury, deputy minister of the Ministry of Education. Universities in Bangladesh should focus on creating skilled workers as per the needs of the manufacturing sector amid the coronavirus fallout, he added.

Chowdhury's comments came yesterday at a webinar styled 'Post-COVID-19 Bangladesh Industry Readiness: Investment & Skills', organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

The deputy minister also informed that the age-restriction on applicants for diploma courses at polytechnic institutes have been lifted in a bid to increase the enrolment rates and expand technical education.

"We are thinking about raising the ratio of general to technical education students to 50:50 since it is currently very low," he added.

A solid education system would help cultivate a skilled workforce that could address the dip in exports and the overall economy due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

However, Md. Sirazul Islam, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), alleged that the universities in Bangladesh have so far been incapable of producing quality graduates.

"Our industries are expanding at a fast pace, but the development of soft managerial skill has not risen in line with that," said Islam, adding that the DCCI's 'Research and Innovation' initiative could be a game-changer.

The initiative is a platform for local businesses, educational institutes and policymakers to come together and formulate plans to turn Bangladesh into a knowledge-based economy, in line with the government's vision.

Since most graduates from the country lack proper communication and managerial skills, BIDA provides work permits to foreigners who are recruited by local firms to fill the gap.

To survive the coronavirus fallout, companies need to adapt to the fourth industrial revolution, maintain good communications and improve the ease of doing business.

"If we want to attract the factories relocating from China, we have to compete with countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan. And the only way to do that is to help facilitate the move," Islam added.

Bangladesh has a competitive advantage over the other possible destinations for companies relocating from China as the country with its 63.5 million-strong workforce has a favourable demographic dividend, said DCCI President Shams Mahmud.

Due to the lack of working capital following reduced exports, many people have lost their jobs in the SME and informal sectors, he added.

Creating new opportunities for employment will be a major problem in the post-pandemic period, said Md. Shahidul Alam, additional secretary of the ministry of expatriates' welfare and overseas employment.

To tackle the problem before it arises, strong collaboration between the government and the private sector will be needed.

Stressing on how crucial it is to make technical training attractive for students by immediately absorbing trained manpower into the economy, Alam suggested forming links between educational institutions and various industries.

The National Skills Development Authority is already formulating a strategy to raise quality technical professionals, said Md. Abdur Razzaque, a member of the planning and research division of the National Skills Development Authority.

However, the process could take some time due to the coronavirus situation, he added.

Meanwhile, Md Sakawat Ali, director of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), said they are assessing the skilled manpower requirements of different sectors to provide training on a need basis.

Through 70 BMET institutes, training will be provided to the returning skilled migrants in a bid to convert them to entrepreneurs, Ali added.

Shaquib Quoreshi, enterpriser of Business Intelligence Limited, presented a keynote paper while Atique-e-Rabbani, managing director of The Computers Limited; DCCI Vice-President Mohammad Bashiruddin; Asif Ibrahim, chairman of the Chittagong Stock Exchange; Khairul Majid Mahmud, former DCCI director; and Humayun Rashid, former DCCI senior vice-president, were present, among others.