Facing the challenges of technological revolution
A recent study has revealed that some 53.8 lakh jobs will be lost within the next two decades because of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution". According to the study, five specialised industries—garment, food and agriculture, furniture, tourism and hospitality, and leather and footwear—will be at risk because of the adoption of new technologies. And of the five sectors, garment will be the worst hit, with as many as 27 lakh jobs likely vanishing by 2041. Such predictions are worrying since we do not seem to be prepared to face the challenges of technological advancement. So determining how we would respond to these new challenges is of crucial importance.
We have to face the fact that despite a satisfactory economic growth, we could not lower the growing unemployment rate in the country. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), of the total 63.5-million-strong labour force in the country, 2.7 million are unemployed. Apparently, the unemployment rate would further increase because we lack a skilled workforce. At present, there are lakhs of jobs that are held by foreign nationals because we do not have the trained workforce to compete with them. The picture is, no doubt, worrying.
However, we can change the trend by taking an integrated and comprehensive approach involving all the stakeholders. We need to provide skills development trainings to our workers so that they do not lose jobs because of automation, among other things.
Most importantly, we need to overhaul our education system to face the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution. While upgrading the curriculum at the school and college levels is of vital importance, incorporating technology-based education, including robotics, should be considered at the higher level. At the same time, students should be encouraged to have vocational education so that they become skilled for particular jobs. The bottom line is, there is no alternative to a skilled and trained manpower to cope with the jobs of the current world.
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