Nearly 0.37 million young people to get short-term training in 505 upazilas

The government plans short-term training programmes for 366,540 young people in 505 upazilas nationwide to help half of them become self-employed by June 2028, planning ministry sources say.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports recently submitted the proposal of a project titled "Strengthening Upazila Level Training for Employment and Self Employment (Phase II)" with an estimated cost of Tk 2.75 billion, they say.
The project is to be implemented by the Department of Youth Development (DYD).
"The project is expected to reach around 13.88 per cent of the country's 2.7 million unemployed, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics," says a senior official at the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division of the Bangladesh Planning Commission.
The official adds that the plan aligns with the employment creation pledges made by the ruling party BNP in its election manifesto.
The project will provide practical, demand-driven skills to unemployed youths aged 18 to 35 and who have passed at least grade five, encouraging entrepreneurship and reducing poverty, reveals the proposal.
Training programmes will last 14 or 21 days depending on the trade and include cooking, street food preparation, dairy and poultry farming, nursery management, vermicomposting, handicrafts, garment making, block and batik printing, tourist guiding, mobile and vehicle repairs, agricultural machinery maintenance, and freelancing, it adds.
Family-based integrated training will also be offered to involve other family members in productive activities, such as livestock, poultry, fish, vegetable, fruit, and flower cultivation.
A DYD official says widows, divorced women, marginalised communities, tea garden workers, transgender individuals, persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities will be prioritised for training.
He also says each batch will include 25 participants in flat upazilas and 20 in haor, coastal, and hill areas.
Each trainee will receive a daily allowance of Tk 150 and Tk 50 for refreshments.
The initiative seeks to create skilled and entrepreneurial youths who can contribute to local economies, reduce rural-to-urban migration, and engage in socially constructive activities, the proposal says.
By promoting self-employment, the project is expected to increase agricultural investment, boost food production and security, expand livestock and fisheries output, and create export opportunities, it adds.
Officials say the government earlier implemented the first phase of the project, which trained youths in 57 districts and 442 upazilas.
To ensure equal opportunities nationwide, the second phase will cover all 64 districts.
Each year, 250 youths in flat upazilas and 160 in haor, coastal, and hill areas will receive skills training.
Training will be conducted at union- and village-level venues and tailored to local demand.

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