Unemployment of the educated

Bangladesh has recently been witnessing a surge of graduates with no jobs. The issue is not restricted to a lack of jobs; rather, it is accentuated by employers offering a low salary compared to the skills and qualifications of an individual. According to The Global Economy, Bangladesh's youth (15-24) unemployment rate rose from 10.9 per cent in 2023 to 11.46 per cent in 2024, which is not only alarming but detrimental to the economy.
The education system of the country is a massive contributing factor behind this negative development. Most university curricula mainly follow a theory-based outline which is outdated and lacks a practical approach. This hinders their learning of practical, analytical and soft skills such as digital literacy or having critical problem solving skills. In turn, it results in a job-skill mismatch leading to a wide pool of candidates with a lack of required skillset.
However, the economy faces a paradox due to domestic companies hiring a significant fraction of foreign employees while the local graduates stay jobless due to the insufficiency of talent and specialised skills in required sectors. Besides, the path for them to pave their way in business also comes with substantial barriers. The high cost of doing business and access to loans and investment constrain the private sector growth that could potentially reduce the gap between job seekers and recruiting firms and factories.
A combination of reforms has to be tried and applied to gradually bring a change in the situation. A structural policy change needs to be brought in place for a systematic plummet of the educated unemployed population such as a compulsory partnership between academia and industries. This opens the door to opportunities of practical learning preparing them for the job sector. Furthermore, policy reforms should be made for an increased flow of domestic and foreign investment into high value, job creating industries. Mentorship for entrepreneurship along with easy access to funds for small businesses (SMEs) is one of a few of the potent solutions that can be implemented to positively affect Bangladesh's youth unemployment rate.

Nushaira Amin Ipshita
achelor of Business Administration
North South University
nushaira.ipshita.241@northsouth.edu