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The domain of employment generation in Bangladesh is mostly confined to a few traditional and informal sectors. The major players in the area are agriculture, services, consumer goods production, readymade garments, wage-based labour, and overseas employment. Besides, there are some promising sectors where the supply of labour is not adequate. However, most of the jobs generated in the traditional sectors are not skill-dependent. Consequently, there remains a significant shortage in skilled manpower.
In recent years, the labour market of Bangladesh has been facing difficult times, as the employment growth has not been able to keep pace with growth in population, GDP, and investment.
In spite of policy-level efforts spanning over many decades for improving the situation, not much headway could be made as the domestic market is still dominated by unskilled labour concentrated in a few sectors. For example, despite being export-oriented, the readymade garments (RMG) sector has not been able to generate highly skilled workforce as per requirement. On the other hand, employment generation in other export-oriented industries has been hindered due to dearth of foreign direct investments. Moreover, a kind of stagnation appears to be prevailing in the labour-intensive manufacturing sector, thereby exacerbating the situation.
In the above backdrop, the unemployment problem among the youths of Bangladesh has been worsening in recent years, as evident from a rise in the number of university degree-holders amongst the long-term unemployed manpower. This has been creating frustration in society, especially among the new generation regarding the nation's future. The situation is deteriorating further owing to anomalies and loopholes in the country's flawed education system and its weak linkage to real-life vocations.
Consequently, alongside medium and long-term reforms, short-term smart policies for enhancing employment and skills are needed now for catering to the needs of about 2.40 million youths who enter the country's labour market each year, in order to make sure that our demographic assets do not become liabilities. Expeditious generation of employment opportunities and linking up potential workers to jobs are urgently required for overcoming the crisis. Some policy measures mentioned below can be adopted for addressing the situation.
Although agriculture still accounts for around 40 percent of employment in the country, it lags behind in terms of productivity and formality. More emphasis should be placed now on value-added and processed products, and their proper packaging cum distribution. Besides, more efforts should be made for generating additional rural employment in formal jobs.
Another area of focus can be the diversification and expansion of the manufacturing cum services sectors, especially those related to information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO). Incentives can be offered to overseas IT firms for establishing branches in Bangladesh that can create thousands of jobs for Bangladeshi youths. Besides, the government can execute additional measures for enhancing the digital skills of youths through extensive training programmes across the country.
Another fertile area for boosting employment generation can be technical and vocational education cum training (TVET). The rate of youth participation in TVET needs to be raised to 20 percent from the existing 1.0 percent. Besides, TVET courses should be designed in such a way that these are consistent with the needs of entrepreneurs. For example, there can be more focus on IT assembly and maintenance of electrical cum electronic equipment, machine tools, and construction activities.
Skill development is an essential ingredient for employment generation. Therefore, the existing skills ecosystem and its administrative structure should be reviewed and revamped. The 'National Skills Development Policy 2020' and the 'National Action Plan 2022-27 for Skills Development' should be re-modelled and upgraded for better outputs and outcomes with regard to employment generation.
At present, around 61 public and private sector organizations are engaged in various types of training related to imparting new skills, up-skilling, re-skilling, internship, and entrepreneurship. Coordination among these organizations should be bolstered. Apart from verifying the standards of these training courses, their quality, effectiveness, accreditation, and recognition should also be addressed. Awareness generation initiatives like job fairs should be increased for boosting participation in these trainings.
Despite Bangladesh's huge success in micro-credit programmes pioneered by Professor Muhammad Yunus, access to credit still remains a problem for aspiring youth entrepreneurs. This needs to be resolved urgently through policy measures in the banking sector, targeted start-up loans, subsidised training for skills development, and tax incentives for potential entrepreneurs. Industry-specific trainings can be designed through collaborations with foreign investors, which would cater to their needs. Through updated labour market policies, the related ecosystem can incorporate job-matching, career counselling, and training for re-skilling; digital platforms can be deployed for the purpose. Communication skills and foreign language training programmes, ICT, data management, and teamwork skills should also be emphasized in this eco-system.
There are regional disparities with regard to employment in Bangladesh. Programs can therefore be launched for workers who migrate from the villages to towns and cities. At the same time, initiatives should be taken in the rural areas for flourishing of agribusinesses, renewable energy applications, and eco-tourism, which would create job opportunities in villages. Additional investments in rural infrastructures like irrigation and communication networks, as well as mills, markets, and cold-storages will not only boost agricultural productivity, but also generate employment for the rural youths.
Accounting for half of the country's population and having a major share in informal sector jobs, policy measures for protecting women in the employment market should also be formulated. Steps should be taken for reducing the disparities and harassment they face at the workplace. They should also be extended facilities like day-care centres for children, required legal assistance, and targeted trainings in areas like ICT and healthcare.
The expatriate Bangladeshis now play a prominent role in earning foreign exchange for the country; and overseas employments act as a safety-valve for Bangladesh economy. The language and skills training programmes for potential migrant workers should therefore be reinforced alongside raising awareness about their rights and obligations in foreign lands. The government should also undertake diplomatic initiatives to sign bilateral agreements with destination countries for protecting these workers and upholding their rights.