Every year, nearly two million people -- most of them young -- enter the job market.
They are hungry to make a difference, and to earn a living, but do they have the right kind of skills?
Workers with vocational and technical skills -- such as electricians, plumbers, and nurses -- are essential for any developing nation, and the current government’s willingness to take an initiative in this regard is nothing short of laudable.
Over the last 10 years, Bangladesh has seen a remarkable rise in the number of students in technical education, from 1% in 2009 to 14% today.
It is good to see that the Education Ministry is also looking to the future, having set a target of pushing this percentage up to 20% by 2020.
This is a boon especially for our nation, which has a disproportionately high youth population.
Not everyone has to pursue an expensive university degree to be productive -- with the right kind of attention on vocational education, we can ensure no one gets left behind.
The government has already set up a project which would continue to expand vocational education -- the project will see the establishment of 389 technical schools and colleges at each upazila alongside a polytechnic institute in each of the 23 districts.
But in conjunction, we must also strive to reduce the negative and condescending social attitudes attached to jobs such as these, thereby creating a vacuum in the number of people willing to provide these services.
These services, at the end of the day, are the bedrock on which a country stands.
Ensuring that Bangladesh boasts a healthy and diverse workforce with the skills and technical knowledge to propel the country forward is essential for the nation’s continued progress and development.
