Addressing unemployment of the higher educated

Bangladesh is a country that has a huge number of educated unemployed. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), we have nearly 800,000 graduates who were unemployed in 2022. This unemployment rate was 12 per cent in the tertiary level. It is the highest among all levels of education, says the Labour Force Survey 2022 of BBS that has been released recently. It is depressing that we are not yet able to ensure jobs for a large portion of our fresh graduates on completion of their campus life. Students are passing examinations but they are not getting their desired jobs because our education system is still theory-based rather than suited to demand of employment market. It does not provide students quality education let alone training needed for the job market. The system should immediately opt for a change and focus on providing students with entrepreneurial and other job-oriented skills.
Graduates are struggling hard in the job market as the conventional education system does not equip them with the skills the job market demands. According to the European Intelligence Unit statistics, around 47 per cent of graduate students in Bangladesh are currently unemployed. Many of them have already completed their education. When students complete their education, they are considered ready to enter professional life. However, when they go for a job, they are often asked for job experience as a requirement. There are only a few institutions and organisations in the country which hire fresh graduates. Thousands of university graduates are still jobless due to an absence of decent opportunities. The authorities concerned should address this issue and do the needful so that our university graduates can be easily picked up by recruiters.

Shahriar Bin Kabir,
Student of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Dhaka,
shahriarhossain340@gmail.com