Dialogue with private sector highlights collaborative approach to skills development in Bangladesh

DHAKA (ILO News) – With over 26 million young people ready to enter the workforce, Bangladesh stands at a crossroads. Many do not yet have the skills demanded by modern industries — both at home and abroad. At the same time, the country is seeing a rise in investment in special economic zones and technology driven companies. It’s a perfect opportunity to close the skills gap and unlock the country’s full potential.

To help make this a reality, the ILO’s ProGRESS project — funded by the Government of Canada — convened a high-level dialogue that brought together government officials, business leaders, and development partners to explore ways to prepare Bangladesh’s youth for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

The dialogue, themed “Shaping Bangladesh’s Future Human Capital for Investment & Growth”, provided a platform to reflect on policy reforms, education and training strategies, and industry engagement in developing a skilled workforce.

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The session had representations from government authorities like Technical and Madrasah Education Division, National Skills Development Authority, Bangladesh Technical Education Board etc. and leading private sector bodies like Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries and Korea Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries and reputed business enterprises such as ACI group, Square group, Monno Ceramics, Tampaco Group, Elite-Hi Tech Industries, IT Startups like Auleek, Ikori etc. along with development partners such as European Union and Global Affairs Canada. 

Mr Tuomo Poutiainen, ILO Country Director for Bangladesh, stressed the urgency of transforming the skills ecosystem. “To realize Bangladesh’s development goals and attract greater investment, we need a workforce that is adaptable, skilled, and ready for future jobs. That means we must move away from fragmented, supply-side training and instead empower industries to drive the skills agenda.”- he said. 

Ms Fatema Jahan, Joint Secretary of TMED, emphasized the importance of investing in teacher training and strengthening the current practices of industry attachment and exposure across the TVET system to better align skills development with industry needs. Meanwhile, the representative from NSDA underscored the need to enhance the capacity of Industry Skills Councils to support this alignment effectively.

Private sector representatives collectively expressed a strong commitment to collaborate across the entire skills development process—from curriculum design to workplace-based training—to ensure education leads to meaningful employment. They emphasized the urgent need to strengthen the capacity of trainers and institutions, and called for a structured roadmap to facilitate regular, systematic information exchange between industry and educational institutes. This, they noted, is essential to align training with evolving industry demands. In addition, they stressed the importance of developing not only technical or hard skills, but also soft and digital competencies, including discipline, communication, and foreign language proficiency.

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Ms Monami Hoque, Human Resources Director at Square Group, explained, “Training must be designed in collaboration with companies who know exactly what skills are required on the factory floor and in growing sectors. We need to train not only workers but also the trainers who will pass on these skills.”

Mr Safius Sami Alamgir, Managing Director at Tampaco Group, said, “There should be a clear framework to align training with industry needs. The private sector is ready to collaborate — from designing curricula to delivering workplace training — to make sure education translates into employment.”

At the discussion Mr Tareq Bhuiyan Jun, President of the Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry, also described opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in Japan and Japanese companies in Bangladesh. He stressed the importance of developing not only technical skills but also soft skills, discipline, and Japanese language ability.

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Development partners recognized the need for policy reforms and strong partnerships. They committed to designing future projects in collaboration with businesses and the government, reflecting the private sector’s role in developing a skilled workforce.

The dialogue identified key actions for policy makers, businesses, and training providers:

• Connect training centres with industries for real workplace learning 
• Create a system to share information on skills demand and supply 
• Develop a workforce that has both technical expertise and soft skills.
• Involve the private sector from the outset when designing education and training initiatives.
• Support lifelong learning to help workers adapt as jobs evolve.

The ILO’s ProGRESS project is leading these initiatives to help Bangladesh become a knowledge-rich, export-oriented, and skills-strong hub for employment and investment.