Bangladesh has, in recent years, shown tremendous vitality in its exporting sector, particularly when it comes to ready-made garments.
And yet, something stands in the way of Bangladesh achieving its ambitious export target of $50 billion by 2021 -- a shortage of skilled labour.
There is simply no scope to underestimate the importance of creating a large pool of skilled workers domestically.
A shortage in skills adversely affects efficiency, quality, and productivity.
When it comes to skilled workers in RMG, right now we are falling short by about 25%.
If we could close this yawning skills gap, which exists on all levels from workers, to supervisors, to middle management, we could reduce our dependence on the some 20,000 foreign workers who cost us a staggering $5bn per year.
The global economy is a fast-moving ecosystem, and Bangladesh must keep up.
This means keeping our workers and management updated about new technologies and knowledge of the industry. In-depth research and training is needed to make sure we do not fall behind.
There is enormous potential within Bangladesh to develop skills in a way that improves productivity by leaps and bounds.
The days when Bangladesh could compete on the basis of low prices alone are behind us. We must innovate, we must adapt, we must move into high-end and branded fashion segments of the market.
This will not just be good for the industry, but for the lives of workers as well, as they will earn higher wages by working to higher standards.
It is only through a systematic approach to training and skill-building that we will meet our full potential.
