Develop coordinated strategy to address widening skills gap

Experts from academia and the private sector have called for a strong three-way partnership among universities, industry, and the government to develop a coordinated national strategy to address Bangladesh's widening skills gap, warning that delays could undermine the country's economic ambitions.
The call came on Saturday during a discussion titled "Academia-Industry Discussion," organised by the School of Business and Entrepreneurship (SBE) of the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), held as part of the International Conference on Economics, Business and Technology Management (ICEBTM 2025) at a city hotel.
At the event, speakers highlighted a growing mismatch between academic training and industry requirements, particularly in soft skills and communication.
Presenting the opening remarks, Prof Dr M Tamim, vice-chancellor of IUB, said employers across sectors consistently report that fresh graduates lack essential workplace skills despite having academic qualifications.
He pointed out that shortages in verbal and written communication skills are among the most common complaints from employers, weakening graduates' ability to express ideas, work collaboratively, or adapt to real-world environments.
Dr M Tamim emphasised that the responsibility lies not only with students. "Universities and industries must take joint responsibility. Industries have not meaningfully contributed to shaping curricula or offering structured training opportunities," he said, adding that the absence of collaboration leaves graduates caught between outdated academic models and evolving job-market realities.
Dr Arif Dowla, managing director of ACI PLC, said Bangladesh urgently needs a clear government roadmap outlining which economic sectors will generate employment in the coming decade.
"Without such direction, students remain uncertain about which skills to pursue, universities fail to update programmes according to future demands, and industries face persistent shortages of job-ready workers," he added.
Dr Arif noted that countries in East and Southeast Asia that built globally competitive workforces successfully aligned industrial policy, education, and  training under a single national vision. Bangladesh, he said, lacks such an integrated framework.
Kabir Ahmed, former president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BAFFA), added that no academic institute focuses on developing human resources for the freight forwarding industry. He suggested the government mandate at least one-year internship programmes in public companies for fresh graduates.
Speakers warned that the urgency of reform has grown as Bangladesh seeks to transition toward higher value-added production, expand its service sector, and diversify exports. They stressed that these goals cannot be realised if the workforce lacks soft skills, digital literacy, and adaptability to rapidly evolving technologies. Global labour markets are also shifting due to automation and artificial intelligence, making communication, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills essential for employability, participants noted.
To address these gaps, the session recommended introducing communication labs in universities, increasing industry-led seminars, mandating internships, incorporating applied learning into course structures, and establishing structured graduate trainee programmes with institutionalised feedback.
A total of 24 participants from academia and industry spoke at the event, which was chaired jointly by Prof Dr Raisul Awal Mahood and Prof Dr Mamun Habib.
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