Two major unemployment concerns for Bangladesh

Out of 28 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Bangladesh has the second highest educated unemployment rate. The report titled "Asia-Pacific Employment and Social Outlook 2018" also revealed youth unemployment in Bangladesh to have doubled between 2010 and 2017, in a short span of only seven years.

Typically, both these revelations should be surprising and of serious concern. The first because as Bangladesh slowly transforms into a middle-income country, one would expect the demand for highly skilled—more educated—workers to rise, not decrease. And the same should also apply with the greater infusion of technology into our daily lives and modes of production that we are experiencing, including digital. Why the second figure should be of concern is because one would expect young people, who are in their prime, to play a significant role in the country's workforce. Yet, what we are seeing in regards to both is the exact opposite.

The explanations for these trends are many and may vary. As some educationists have pointed out, our higher education institutions are failing to produce highly skilled workers, and as many entrepreneurs and economists have said, they are not providing students with the necessary skills that the market demands. The all-pervasive nepotism, especially when it comes to hiring for government jobs, would be another reason why educated unemployment is on the rise, as it shuns completely the idea of meritocracy.

Whatever the reasons may be, however, the fact is that these trends should not be taken lightly, which is why the government should urgently seek to create opportunities for employment, encourage self-employment and entrepreneurship. And ensure that our education is oriented towards the needs of the time and not to traditional systems.