Bangladesh’s incredibly sizable youth population is one of the biggest advantages that the nation possesses, an advantage that we continuously fail to grasp let alone capitalize on. But that prospect becomes even worse when we realize that, even when armed with a degree, our youth find it harder and harder to find employment, gainful or otherwise.
Indeed, the number of unemployed graduates -- those with a bachelor’s degree or higher -- has been on the upswing over the years in the nation, with the recent numbers shared by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics showing around 800,000 by the end of the last year.
Such high numbers of unemployed graduates casts a shadow over Bangladesh’s imminent graduation from LDC status and the nation’s long-term goal of becoming a middle-income economy over the next few decades -- it is impossible to envision a prosperous future when our best and brightest are left without employment.
The issue becomes even further dire when we realize that official numbers are, more often than not, unreliable and that the actual number of unemployed graduates could be order-of-magnitudes higher.
It’s clear that there is a glaring disconnect at play here.
The government cannot expect the youth to lead the nation while simultaneously ignoring key issues such as educated unemployment. Last year the government expressed that it wants to create an average of more than 2.2 million new jobs in the next five years, but the official numbers themselves point to a failure in that regard.
Our youth are educated, capable, and more than ready to prove themselves in the job market, but when the job market itself has been experiencing severe stagnation in terms of the kind of skills they can house the onus then is on the administration to ensure that there are opportunities present for our graduates.
Attracting more foreign investment, providing support to our entrepreneurs, and, most importantly, reforming our education system would be great first steps to that end.
Indeed, the number of unemployed graduates -- those with a bachelor’s degree or higher -- has been on the upswing over the years in the nation, with the recent numbers shared by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics showing around 800,000 by the end of the last year.
Such high numbers of unemployed graduates casts a shadow over Bangladesh’s imminent graduation from LDC status and the nation’s long-term goal of becoming a middle-income economy over the next few decades -- it is impossible to envision a prosperous future when our best and brightest are left without employment.
The issue becomes even further dire when we realize that official numbers are, more often than not, unreliable and that the actual number of unemployed graduates could be order-of-magnitudes higher.
It’s clear that there is a glaring disconnect at play here.
The government cannot expect the youth to lead the nation while simultaneously ignoring key issues such as educated unemployment. Last year the government expressed that it wants to create an average of more than 2.2 million new jobs in the next five years, but the official numbers themselves point to a failure in that regard.
Our youth are educated, capable, and more than ready to prove themselves in the job market, but when the job market itself has been experiencing severe stagnation in terms of the kind of skills they can house the onus then is on the administration to ensure that there are opportunities present for our graduates.
Attracting more foreign investment, providing support to our entrepreneurs, and, most importantly, reforming our education system would be great first steps to that end.
