Bangladesh’s economy has seen consistent and rapid growth over the last decade, with our GDP growth being over 7.6%, exceeding expectations.
But it is important to not let economic growth be conflated with two crucial aspects of sustainable development: Employment and job creation.
Increase in youth unemployment remains one of the most worrying trends in a developing county such as Bangladesh.
While the RMG sector has proven instrumental in our rapid economic growth, it is also important for us to diversify the economy and, in this regard, we have succeeded to a good degree, especially with the rise of our IT industry.
But, considering our growing population, perhaps we need to look farther away from home for solutions.
Over a million people went overseas last year for jobs, and experts believe that focusing overseas as a source of continuous employment might serve as a solution for increasing rates of youth unemployment.
The government has a significant role to play in this regard, by providing the new generation with the training it needs to succeed on the global stage.
The Bureau of of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET) is already providing essential skills development training -- over 800,000 people were trained in 2017 alone -- but it needs to bring more people into this fold.
With almost half a million jobs needing to be created to employ the emerging generation of young men and women, Bangladesh needs to tap into all potential sectors and open doors to alternative avenues so that they can take advantage of every opportunity available.
Moving forward, it is important for the government to capitalize on the youth’s potential, and to prevent youth unemployment from taking root.
