PPP opens path for skills development: economist
An economist yesterday called for public-private partnership between the government and employers for training -- a must for skills development, especially for apprentice and mid-level employees.
“PPP was a good idea, but the government couldn't move ahead much with the idea. I don't know where the problem is,” said Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, chairman of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation.
Ahmad was speaking at a technical session on an employer-led initiative for promoting inclusive youth employment, organised on the sidelines of a three-day Dhaka Summit on Skills, Employability and Decent Work at Sonargaon Hotel.
“Maybe there is a lack of trust between the government and employers. If there is any lack of trust, it should be eliminated for the interest of the country, its people and the future of the country -- we should make the PPP more effective.”
The finance minister keeps a big amount of money for this purpose, but at the end of the year that money is not spent, he said.
The government puts in efforts but somehow it does not work. “But the PPP is very important in the context of training.”
The economist also said training should be given in such a way that it can bring in the expected results. “It has to be appropriate at each level.”
He also suggested taking a “strategic approach” by doing a survey on what types of skills are needed within the country. “It's the duty of the government as well as the employers,” he added.
Begum Shamsunnahar, expatriates' welfare and overseas employment secretary, requested all the skills development councils and other industry associations to come up with proposals on training.
“We have the ability to accommodate your proposals, and we can solve the problems in public-private partnership,” she added.
Almost 2 million people are entering the job market every year, but the fact is that many of them are not skilled, said Moinuddin Ahmed, first vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
The main reason is that there is a missing link between the industry demand and the country's educational system, he said, citing the case of the garment sector in 2014.
The sector was searching for around 70,000 textile engineers in 2014 but managed to get about 5,000 in the end.
“We need to identify the reasons for the huge gap between the demand and supply.”
Conventional education for medicine and engineering is still popular in the country.
“But we need to popularise the vocational and technical education, which is popular in many developed countries. We have to convert our population into a skilled labour force,” Ahmed said.
Employers usually do not want to recruit those who do not have prior experience, said Benjir Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies. “It's a major problem and it has to be addressed.”
The country's educational system is based on certificates and not on acquiring a certain level of technical ability. “The whole educational system should be reorganised so that everyone can get a job,” he added.
Ejaj Ahmed, founder president of the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre, stressed family-level awareness and motivation for adopting vocational or technical education. “Why would everyone have to study on MBA?” he questioned.
Anir Chowdhury, policy advisor of a2i programme, presented a keynote paper on apprenticeship development in Bangladesh, while Eva Majurin, enterprise specialist of ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia, and Francis De Silva, senior specialist of Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity Project of ILO Bangladesh, presented two papers on youth entrepreneurship.
Arif Dowla, managing director of ACI, moderated the session.
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