Statement as Chief Guest by
H.E. Md. Shahriar Alam, MP
Hon’ble State Minister for Foreign Affairs



Distinguished Panellists, 

Ladies and Gentlemen

Assalamu Alaikum, and Good Evening.

I am delighted to join the Policy Dialogue on “Skill Development of Youth for Better Employment Opportunity”. I would like to welcome the Junior Chamber International (JCI) for organising this dialogue. This kind initiative definitely enhances the opportunities of our youth to advance their participation in the development momentum of Bangladesh through their knowledge and innovation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

2.    Youth can play a pivotal role in fostering social transformation, economic development, and political stability in a country. Their participation in the development efforts is essential for global peace, solidarity, justice and prosperity.

3.    As we are now passing through a very critical time due to COVID19, there is no alternative but to ensure active and inclusive participation of our young generation in the fight against this and other challenges. We need to adopt a holistic and universal approach at the national, regional and international level in this regard.

Dear Audience,

4.    We are aspiring to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. However, most of the SDG targets include youth emphasising on relevant skill development for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship (SDG 4.4) and full and productive employment and decent work (SDG 8.5).

5.    You are aware that one-third of Bangladesh’s population is youth who belong to the age group between 15 and 35 years. They will be the invaluable human resource for Bangladesh if we can nurture them properly. They can make significant contribution with their innovative ideas in the attainment of the sustainable development goals on time.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

6.    Our Government possesses clear political will for youth empowerment. Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly mentioned and has proved her strong commitment for youth development and she sincerely believes that the youth are entitled to get opportunities to flourish and contribute in national development. The manifesto of the ruling government sets 21 priority areas in the form of special pledges, one such area is youth. It aims to harness the strength of youth for the continued prosperity of the country.

7.    In Bangladesh, every year, two million young people enter into the national workforce. Among them 0.6 million are from mainstream education, whereas 1.1 million receive training from the government or from private institutions. The rest of them are classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment and Training). It is high time to highlight some major components, such as skills-based education, producing trained workforce, financial support for start-ups, and fair access to information and services to convert our youth into potential resources.

8.    We are now in the era of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Bangladesh stands ready with its aim of shaping the economy digitally to fully implement its vision of “Digital Bangladesh”. Moreover, digitisation, automation, urbanisation, climate change, and the growth of new economies like the gig economy are already shifting the concept of labour and are expected to have far-reaching consequences in the future. The rapid rise in the youth labour force, a notable demographic feature in Bangladesh, is holding the potential of being well trained for digital applications and innovation that are the precondition to adapt in the world market full of competitiveness.

9.    We are happy to see that our youth are also conscious and active in the area of addressing the challenges of climate change. The different initiatives by the youth of Bangladesh, along with global collaboration, can indeed bring changes in the not-so-promising actions that we are seeing in this area globally. Their persuasion with the major emitters can help us to avoid the climate crisis that we are walking into.

Dear Friends,

10.    The government of Bangladesh has already taken numerous initiatives to ensure maximum utilisation of our youth potential through promoting their empowerment, morality, humanity and commitment to uphold the responsibilities and glory of Bangladesh.

11.    The Government has adopted National Education Policy 2010 focusing on equal educational opportunities for all and building productive and skilled work force through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to compete in the global economy. Over the last few years, the country has been making progress on TVET reform, for instances, a new TVET Act, National Technical and Vocational Qualification Framework (NTVQF), National Skills Development Policy (NSDP) 2011, National Skill Development Authority, Industry Skills Council, Competency-based Training and Assessment (CBT&A) have been introduced. 
        
12.    Furthermore, the education sector in Bangladesh is experiencing a remarkable paradigm shift through digital transformation. It is pertinent to mention that nowadays, education and training institutes in Bangladesh have transformed their delivery strategies for the youth according to the current demand.

Dear Audience,

13.    Bangladesh has also adopted the National Youth Policy 2017 with a vision to develop moral, humane and forward-looking youth capable of boosting prosperity and glory of Bangladesh. We may consider the development of the CMSME (cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises) sector and rural technology-based employment for youth empowerment during implementation of this policy. 

14.    Currently the government is implementing the National Skill Development Action Plan Phase 2 (2017-21). In total, 19 Ministries and 18 Departments, private institutions, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), both local and international, are directly involved with skill development programme. The National Skill Development Council (NSDC) is playing a key role in coordinating among various implementation agencies. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

15.    In addition, the Government with support from development partners, has taken some programs and projects to strengthen the skill development of our youth. They are inter alia, Skills for Employment Investment Program (SEIP), Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (BSEP), Skills and Training Enhancement Project (STEP).

16.    The National Service Program (NSP) is a top priority programme of the Government, implemented by the Department of Youth Development (DYD) to create opportunity for youth to get employed. Moreover, the Bureau of Manpower and Training (BMET) of the Ministry of Labour & Employment also provides training to about 50,000 youths per year through its 47 Technical Training Centres (TTCs) and 6 Institutes of Marine Technology (IMTs).

Dear Friends,
  
17.    Creating an ICT-enabled workforce will be an important requirement for building digital Bangladesh. Therefore, the Government has also taken initiatives to reduce the digital divide between urban and rural youth and make them technologically competent through numerous projects. It is now working to create a large pool of ICT skilled workforce and digital technology friendly environment where children can learn ICT by using devices. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

18.    The progress for woman empowerment especially in rural areas unfortunately had been lagging behind the expected pace. It was found that there is little involvement of women in formal economic activities despite their contribution in every sphere. Considering this issue with utmost priority, necessary steps have been taken to set up centres for skill development and production of competent young women entrepreneurs and workers. Intensive training, employment opportunities and financial support are being provided to young women entrepreneurs under different programmes. For instance, the Northern Areas Reduction of Poverty Initiative (NARI) provides training and employment opportunities for young women. 

Dear Audience,

19.    “Young Bangla” is a special initiative taken by the Government of Bangladesh in 2014, under which the Government is hosting “Joy Bangla Youth Award” to increase youth participation and innovation in different sectors, including youth employability, ending violence against women, child and adult education, cultural activities, sport, ICT, environment and climate change, renewable or green energy and disaster management.

20.    Bangladesh was announced as the “OIC Youth Capital 2020” marking a significant recognition for the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Government in the youth sector. The Istanbul based Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), an entity affiliated to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), made this declaration on 25 December 2019. The recognition of Dhaka as the “OIC Youth Capital 2020” is a significant achievement to enhance image of Bangladesh globally specially among the youth. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

21.    In order to ensure the desired outcome, we need strong political leadership, adequate resource allocations, knowledge, experience and expertise of young population in all phases of planning, implementation and monitoring of national policies. Our government has provided highest priority to youth in its development, policy plans and programmes. During the three successive tenures, our Government has endorsed a number of pro-youth policies and has been implementing those policies with specific action plans. 

22.    However, there are certain challenges that we need to combat together. We need to ensure full employment and decent work for all men and women including the youths by 2030. Global standard education and skill development are twin key factors to this endeavour. The government has to strengthen its action plan to undertake more programmes with sufficient resource allocations for your development in education, health, skills, sports and culture.

23.    It is time to allow our young generation to dream large and address any skills gaps in their career path through training in communication, cooperation, and leadership. I request support and cooperation from all the stakeholders including private sectors, NGOs, development partners in the forms of knowledge, skills and technology as well as investment in the employment generation and skill development of our youth to utilise their full potential. 

24.    Finally, I wish our youth voices will bring the real change to our planet.