In an initiative to develop the capacity of the light engineering (LE) sector in Bangladesh and help young people gain valuable skills for employment, BRAC undertook a program titled, “Pro-poor Growth of Rural Enterprises Through Sustainable Skills Development (PROGRESS)”. In this study, the researchers are evaluating the program using a randomized control trial.
Researchers: Dr Asadul Islam; Dr Narayan C. Das; Ikhtiar Mohammad
Partners: Monash University
Timeline: 2017 – 2020
Status: Completed
Contact: Dr Narayan C Das; narayan.das@bracu.ac.bd
Context
The light engineering (LE) sector holds a unique position in the economy of Bangladesh. It is considered one of the sub-sectors of small and medium enterprises (SME) and employs over 600,000 people who are working in over 50,000 micro-enterprises and 10,000 SMEs. The majority of the LE firms in Bangladesh, however, are informal in nature. Higher dependency on a semi- to unskilled labor force, absence of formal rules and regulations, long and strenuous working hours, lack of innovative work practices, and lack of labor rights are some of the typical features of this sector.
In an attempt to change this scenario and catalyze the development of micro and cottage enterprises in the light engineering sector, in collaboration with the European Union, BRAC has undertaken the PROGRESS program. It leverages BRAC’s experience with successful apprenticeship models to support 5,000 enterprises and bring them together with 10,000 young people. Through creating these partnerships, BRAC aims to improve Bangladesh’s light engineering capacity and help young people gain valuable skills for employment. For the evaluation of PROGRESS, in collaboration with Monash University, we conducted a baseline survey.
Objectives
The broad objective of this study was to conduct an experimental evaluation of the PROGRESS program. The specific objective at an enterprise level was to estimate its impact on decent work and business practices.
This study is relevant to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), particularly to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
Methodology
For this study, we surveyed 2,451 light engineering firms from 1,356 markets using a structured questionnaire. These firms were spread across 79 sub-districts of 20 districts. Among all the selected markets, we selected 650 markets for the treatment group and 706 markets for the control group on a random basis and all the firms in a market fell under either the treatment or the control group. All the important events, key actions, and interventions, as well as major decisions taken by the management, were captured through participant observation and informal discussions.
Findings and Recommendations
Study ongoing.
