Presentation by Dr Imran Matin | Presentation by Joydeep Sinha Roy
UNESCO-UNEVOC celebrates World Youth Skills Day on 15 July every year to raise awareness about the importance of youth skills development. The United Nations General Assembly has designated this day to increase prospects for youth to gain access to quality training and skills development.
BRAC Skills Development Programme (SDP), in partnership with BRAC Institution of Governance and Development (BIGD), hosted a webinar this Sunday, 11 July at 5pm GMT+6 to celebrate the World Youth Skills Day. The aim was to generate greater awareness on the importance of technical and vocational education, and training and development of other skills relevant to both local and global economies.
Youth participation, and especially female participation, in rebuilding the pandemic-hit economy of Bangladesh through workforce integration is paramount. Female labour participation in Bangladesh has historically been low. Evidence suggests this is not just due to poor education quality but also because of social and cultural stigma of women working. As a result, the quality of female employment too is very poor, with the majority of women employed in low-productivity, informal sectors. As an economy trying to cope with the shocks of an ongoing pandemic, providing women with opportunities to acquire employable skills is pivotal for equality and long-term development.
BRAC SDP has always designed evidence-based projects to increase youth resilience by enhancing their skills and empowering them with financial freedom. Over the years, BIGD too has conducted various studies on skills and jobs in Bangladesh, including program evaluations of multiple SDP interventions, which have identified the positive impact of skills training on the lives of women and the youth.
At the online event, Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director of BIGD, presented evidence on the scenario of skills and employment in Bangladesh and the impact of skills training on developing our human capital. Following this, Joydeep Sinha Roy, Head of Operations of BRAC SDP, presented findings from SDP’s implementation experiences over the years. This was followed by a discussion including the rest of our distinguished panelists: Nobonita Chowdhury, Director of Preventing Violence Against Women Initiative, BRAC; Tahmid Arif, Programme Officer (M&E) of Skills 21 Project, International Labour Organization; and Jahanara Beauty, Executive Director of the NGO Neda Society. The webinar was moderated by Tasmiah Tabassum Rahman, Current Incharge, BRAC Skills Development Programme.
