A revamped TVET system could provide more jobs
Monday, 15 November 2010
Mahmudur Rahman
There is a false aura about white collar jobs that has permeated the fabric of society to the extent of stigmatising blue collar and honest trade professions. Unfortunate as this is in terms of the public view of job esteem, the implications are not insignificant.
The one-sided system that hurtles relentlessly towards general education totally ignoring technical and vocational skills has resulted not only in a dearth of abilities in some of the simple but much sought after professions such as plumbing and masonry but also in providing the new entrants in to the labour market with appropriate skills to find relevant jobs in industries and business.
Bright-eyed graduates who entered universities are fast coming to face with the reality that the number of jobs for them are few. Those among them who have the foresight branch out into technical areas such as information technology (IT) for additional qualifications but there too, they prefer the more 'glamorous' side such as programming than in the more needed 'troubleshooting'. Even in the transport sector, with more modern technology being employed in vehicle manufacturing it stands to reason that workforce in garages and workshops will have understanding in and training for higher skills.
Even as this understanding sets in grim reality suggests that time is not on anyone's side. According to Bangladesh's Poverty Reduction Strategy Programme (PRSP) the current work force stands at 53.7 million (5.37 crore), 5.0 per cent of which is totally unemployed. Seven million (70 lakh) are currently working overseas, the bulk as unskilled workers deprived of better pay and perks that could have come their way had they had the appropriate skills. Forty-three per cent of this work force is employed in the agriculture sector and the worrying part is that this percentage has come down by 4.0 per cent as people face the crunch of higher cost of production, lower prices and the uncertainty that Bangladesh's climate provokes.
According to projections the labour force will almost double to 1.0 million (10 crore) by 2020 and that means creating 5.0 per cent additional jobs each year. Given that even industry and business isn't growing that fast the onus is on either creating jobs in newer sectors outside of farms or increasing manpower exports through more training and skills. The irritating sore is that the demand for unskilled workers abroad is declining with newer technological innovation in even the number intense sectors such as construction.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics suggests that unemployment for men in part time vocations have increased from 10.0.0 per cent to 27.5.0 per cent. Thankfully and purely due to the ready-made garments industry requirements, the numbers for part-time unemployed among women has reduced from 68.3 to 37.5 per cent. This in a patriarchal society has dangerous social implications.
And yet the thrust sector industries and business are crying out for adequately trained and skilled workforce for their expansion. Garments entrepreneurs have gone on record as saying they have more vacancies than they can fill at both blue and white collar levels that they currently have to outsource from abroad and the leather industry has no option but to send technicians abroad for training both at a not insignificant cost.
The technical training institutions set up eons ago are stumbling forward without any real direction oblivious to the fact that times have changed, so has the requirements of skills. The pinch is the hardest in the manpower export field where proportions of skilled: unskilled workers have gone negatively south. And businesses that are quietly looking to expand such as leather, ready-made garments, hospitality and IT, are finding it frustratingly difficult when it comes to recruiting workers with the relevant basic skills. Strange as it may be, these thrust sectors of economic growth, powered in most cases by entrepreneurs are not being provided with the back-up support required.
This is the backdrop against which the government has initiated two specific initiatives. One is the one-job-per-family project; the other is a revamp of the country's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system.
The TVET reform project has come up with a National Skills Development Policy that encompasses restructuring of the existing TVET institutions, upgrading skills of teachers and managers of these institutions and curriculum up gradation to bring these up to speed with the efficiency requirements of today. But perhaps the uniqueness lies in a totally new approach to make available basic skills training in rural areas to encourage self-employment that is rewarding and gainful especially among the physically challenged and the less privileged section of society. The new policy seeks to embrace all existing platforms of training and empowerment including streamlining efforts of different ministries, private initiatives as well as that of NGOs.
The framework has been established. The challenge now is in ensuring that a smooth, transparent and accountable mechanism is in place to implement the elements so as to obtain the desired results.
E-mail: mahmudrahman@gmail.com
There is a false aura about white collar jobs that has permeated the fabric of society to the extent of stigmatising blue collar and honest trade professions. Unfortunate as this is in terms of the public view of job esteem, the implications are not insignificant.
The one-sided system that hurtles relentlessly towards general education totally ignoring technical and vocational skills has resulted not only in a dearth of abilities in some of the simple but much sought after professions such as plumbing and masonry but also in providing the new entrants in to the labour market with appropriate skills to find relevant jobs in industries and business.
Bright-eyed graduates who entered universities are fast coming to face with the reality that the number of jobs for them are few. Those among them who have the foresight branch out into technical areas such as information technology (IT) for additional qualifications but there too, they prefer the more 'glamorous' side such as programming than in the more needed 'troubleshooting'. Even in the transport sector, with more modern technology being employed in vehicle manufacturing it stands to reason that workforce in garages and workshops will have understanding in and training for higher skills.
Even as this understanding sets in grim reality suggests that time is not on anyone's side. According to Bangladesh's Poverty Reduction Strategy Programme (PRSP) the current work force stands at 53.7 million (5.37 crore), 5.0 per cent of which is totally unemployed. Seven million (70 lakh) are currently working overseas, the bulk as unskilled workers deprived of better pay and perks that could have come their way had they had the appropriate skills. Forty-three per cent of this work force is employed in the agriculture sector and the worrying part is that this percentage has come down by 4.0 per cent as people face the crunch of higher cost of production, lower prices and the uncertainty that Bangladesh's climate provokes.
According to projections the labour force will almost double to 1.0 million (10 crore) by 2020 and that means creating 5.0 per cent additional jobs each year. Given that even industry and business isn't growing that fast the onus is on either creating jobs in newer sectors outside of farms or increasing manpower exports through more training and skills. The irritating sore is that the demand for unskilled workers abroad is declining with newer technological innovation in even the number intense sectors such as construction.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics suggests that unemployment for men in part time vocations have increased from 10.0.0 per cent to 27.5.0 per cent. Thankfully and purely due to the ready-made garments industry requirements, the numbers for part-time unemployed among women has reduced from 68.3 to 37.5 per cent. This in a patriarchal society has dangerous social implications.
And yet the thrust sector industries and business are crying out for adequately trained and skilled workforce for their expansion. Garments entrepreneurs have gone on record as saying they have more vacancies than they can fill at both blue and white collar levels that they currently have to outsource from abroad and the leather industry has no option but to send technicians abroad for training both at a not insignificant cost.
The technical training institutions set up eons ago are stumbling forward without any real direction oblivious to the fact that times have changed, so has the requirements of skills. The pinch is the hardest in the manpower export field where proportions of skilled: unskilled workers have gone negatively south. And businesses that are quietly looking to expand such as leather, ready-made garments, hospitality and IT, are finding it frustratingly difficult when it comes to recruiting workers with the relevant basic skills. Strange as it may be, these thrust sectors of economic growth, powered in most cases by entrepreneurs are not being provided with the back-up support required.
This is the backdrop against which the government has initiated two specific initiatives. One is the one-job-per-family project; the other is a revamp of the country's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system.
The TVET reform project has come up with a National Skills Development Policy that encompasses restructuring of the existing TVET institutions, upgrading skills of teachers and managers of these institutions and curriculum up gradation to bring these up to speed with the efficiency requirements of today. But perhaps the uniqueness lies in a totally new approach to make available basic skills training in rural areas to encourage self-employment that is rewarding and gainful especially among the physically challenged and the less privileged section of society. The new policy seeks to embrace all existing platforms of training and empowerment including streamlining efforts of different ministries, private initiatives as well as that of NGOs.
The framework has been established. The challenge now is in ensuring that a smooth, transparent and accountable mechanism is in place to implement the elements so as to obtain the desired results.
E-mail: mahmudrahman@gmail.com