As a relatively young nation, Bangladesh is blessed with a high concentration of young people in its overall population, a segment that has only increased over the last decade by close to 16% -- the unlimited untapped potential offered by our youth is undoubtedly our nation's greatest resource.
To that end, it is unfortunate that the nation they stand to built has consistently failed them in many avenues, from political inclusion to economic inclusion, with the latter being the most glaring example. The number of unemployed youth continues to be a sticking point for Bangladesh -- which is unfortunate since, despite an ever-climbing literacy rate, the educated unemployment rate remains unprecedented.
While it is true that we are in the midst of a global economic crisis that has affected each and every nation on earth, our issues of youth unemployment have persisted for a long time. Despite plenty of assurances made by the administration that all relevant ministries are heavily invested in creating skilled manpower, that there is still a lack of any coordinated initiatives to figure out the kind of degrees, skills, and specializations that the current job market demands is unacceptable.
For a nation with aspirations of becoming a middle-income economy within the coming years, such obvious drawbacks push these goals farther and farther away from our grasp.
It is absoluitely crucial for us to utilize our demographic dividend, so that we can take that next logical step in achieving our economic ambitions and also achieve the kind of social progress that we aspire to.
The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and it is absolutely incumbent on the leaders of today to facilitate the kind of environment, economic and social, that would enable them to take up the mantle.
