Bangladesh SKILLS FOR TOMORROW’S JOBS: PREPARING YOUTH FOR A FAST CHANGING ECONOMY World Bank Office Dhaka Plot- E-32, Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1207 Bangladesh Tel: 880-2-5566-7777 Fax: 880-2-5566-7778 www.worldbank.org/bangladesh © 2018 The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. 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BANGLADESH SKILLS FOR TOMORROW’S JOBS: PREPARING YOUTHS FOR A FAST-CHANGING ECONOMY March 2018 Education Global Practice The World Bank Group OVERVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Skills for Tomorrow’s Jobs in Bangladesh attempts to address key skills challenges and identify opportunities in the backdrop of fast technological and economic changes. It proposes mid to long-term strategic policy options that would contribute to economic growth and job creation in Bangladesh with a focus on post-secondary education and skills development sectors. It aims to inform the Government and the World Bank’s jobs agenda. The study draws upon relevant literatures from international and national sources, the government’s surveys and education statistics, and analytical works undertaken by the World Bank and other agencies. Moreover, the study was extensively informed and guided by knowledge and insights gathered through the experience from the World Bank funded operations and series of consultations on skills for future jobs with relevant stakeholders in Bangladesh. The study was prepared by a team comprising of: Shiro Nakata (Sr. Economist, GED06), Yoko Nagashima (Sr. Education Specialist, GED13), Md. Mokhlesur Rahman (Sr. Operations Officer, GED06), Tashmina Rahman (Research Analyst, GED06), Afra Rahman Chowdhury (Consultant, GED06) and Muhammad Asahabur Rahman (Consultant, GED06). The work was completed under the overall guidance of Qimiao Fan (Country Director, SACBD) and Keiko Miwa (Director, GEDDR). The team particularly thanks Siou Chew Kuek (Senior ICT Policy Specialist, GTD11), Shinsaku Nomura (Senior Economist, GED06) and S. Amer Ahmed (Senior Economist, GSP06) for their insightful review and thoughtful comments as peer reviewers. The study also benefitted from comments and suggestions from Tekabe Ayalew Belay (Program Leader, SACBN), Shwetlena Sabarwal (Sr. Economist, GED06), Saurav Dev Bhatta (Sr. Economist, GED06), Syed Rashed al Zayed (Sr. Economist, GED06) and Yoonyoung Cho (Senior Economist, GSP06). The team also expresses special gratitude to the participants of consultation workshops for sharing their valuable insights. Golam Faruque Khan (Consultant, GED06) has edited and formatted this report. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS a2i Access to Information MOE Ministry of Education ADB Asian Development Bank MOF Ministry of Finance BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics MOI Ministry of Industries BGMEA Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters MOLE Ministry of Labour and Employment Association MOWCA Ministry of Women and Children Affairs BMET Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training NHDF National Human Development Fund BPO Business Process Outsourcing NSDA National Skills Development Authority BTEB Bangladesh Technical Education Board NSDP National Skills Development Policy CAD Computer Assisted Design OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and CNC Computer Numerical Control Development DoL Directorate of Labour PPP Public Private Partnership DSHE Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education PPP Purchasing Power Parity DTE Directorate of Technical Education RMG Ready Made Garment EPZ Export Processing Zone RPL Recognition of Prior Learning EU European Union R&D Research and Development EZ Economic Zone SEIP Skills for Employment Investment Program FD Finance Division SHED Secondary and Higher Education Division FY Fiscal Year SME Small and Medium Size Enterprise FYP Five Year Plan STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathemat- GDP Gross Domestic Product ics HEQEP Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project STEP Skills and Training Enhancement Project ICT Information and Communication Technology STEP Skills Towards Employability and Productivity ILO International Labour Organization TMED Technical and Madrasah Education Division ISC Industry Skills Council TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training IT Information Technology UDC Union Digital Centers LASI Learning Assessment of Secondary Institutions UGC University Grants Commission LMIC Lower-Middle Income Countries US$ United States Dollar LMIS Labour Market Information System TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 BIG TRENDS: GROWTH POTENTIAL, PRODUCTIVITY, AND TECHNOLOGY CHANGES IN BANGLADESH 12 1.1 Background in Bangladesh 12 1.2 Labor productivity and labor force in Bangladesh 14 1.3 Changing technologies and economic environment of Bangladesh 16 2 1.4 What is the Skills Development and Who are the People Needing them? 18 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR CHANGING TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMY: WHAT ARE MISSING? 20 2.1 Demand-side Issues: Changing Demands for Skills and Weak Participation and Trust in Skills Development 20 2.2 Supply-side Issues for Students: Effectiveness of Skills Supply – Poor Employability 22 2.3 Supply-side Issues for Workers: Shortage of Skills Training Opportunities for Workers in Bangladesh 25 2.4 Disconnects in Linking Supply and Demand of Skills 27 3 SKILLS STRATEGIES FOR JOB FOR BANGLADESH: HOW BANGLADESH CAN MEET SKILLS DEMANDS FOR A NEW ERA OF WORK AND TECHNOLOGY 30 3.1 Pillar 1: Improving institutional capacity for better linkage between supply and demand sides of skills towards more adaptive skills development system 30 3.2 Pillar 2: Re-orienting skills supply to prepare youths for unpredictable skills demand and uncertain economic environment 34 3.3 Pillar 3: Greater involvement of the demand-side of skills - private sector participation in skills development 41 REFERENCE 48 ANNEX 54 Annex 1: Key Skills Challenges of On-going World Bank Funded Post-Secondary Education Projects 54 Annex 2: Higher-order thinking skills and soft skills training in post-secondary education 56 Annex 3: ICT, Technology, and Skills 59 Annex 4: Skills Initiatives in the Bank Supported Non-Education Projects in Bangladesh 63 Annex 5: Key Achievements of the Bank supported Skills and Tertiary Education Projects 65 Annex 6: Skills Challenges in Basic Education in Bangladesh 67 ANNEX 7: Summary of Stakeholder Workshop 68 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Bangladesh is at a Today, Bangladesh is increasingly integrated with the dynamism of global economy, crossroads to transform and new technologies are making inroads into the country. Such changes have been impacting, in myriad and profound ways, environment of businesses, scenario of job itself to a high- creation, and skills required for jobs within Bangladesh. Jobs Diagnostic Bangladesh productivity growth 2017 identifies labor market and skills as one of the three policy domains, along with economy, and skills will macro environment & investment climate and regional & sectoral policies, to direct play an essential role in coordinated policy efforts to achieve faster job creation, better quality jobs, and equitable access to jobs. enabling the transition and creating more and Low labor productivity is a longstanding headache for Bangladesh; accelerating investments in human capital and addressing skills challenges will hold a key to better jobs. improve labor productivity and accelerate growth. Low educational attainment, despite the expansion of access to education in recent decades, and skills training are putting significant constraints on productivity of labor force in Bangladesh. Only around 46 percent of the population aged 15 years or above have attained secondary and a fraction (4 percent) have tertiary education qualifications. Participation in skills trainings after formal schooling is negligible. Only 2.1 percent of the population had any vocational training outside of formal schooling system. Bangladesh is undergoing the period of so-called Demographic Dividend, giving extra boost to investment capacity and productivity growth which comes once in a lifetime opportunity for a country. Technological advances New technologies, partly driven by active foreign direct investments, have been and dynamic economic gradually coming into the economic fabric of Bangladesh, creating new skills demand. For instance, garment manufacturing industries traditionally relied on labor intensive environment, enabled by mass-production model; however, with the changing trends in apparel market and skilled workforce, present fashion industry, the industry has begun to place more importance on adoption of valuable opportunities newer technologies to cope with higher quality standards and competitive global for boosting productivity market. Information technologies have been leading the charge in innovation and technology transformation in Bangladesh keeping pace with the global trends. Vision and capitalizing on the 2021 envisions that by 2021 Bangladesh will be a country of educated people with skills demographic transition. in information technology. 6 Skills development Demand-side Issues: Changing Demands for Skills and Weak challenges both on the Participation and Trust in Skills Development demand and supply sides First of all, technologies are increasingly disrupting industries and jobs at a and how the two sides global scale, raising demands for high-level and low-level skills and making skills demands unpredictable. New technologies can be deeply disruptive. Diffusion of interact to meet the needs new technologies may exacerbate inequalities or displace workers from jobs if not of today’s technological accompanied by acquisition of relevant skills. Some, especially those in advanced changes and dynamic economies, are seriously concerned about the possibility that automation and robots economy – presents powered by artificial intelligence will wipe out many occupations from the workplace, including even those considered white collar jobs. Even when technologies do not promising opportunities replace the whole job, it is likely that technologies replace parts of the job and alter for boosting the quality how tasks are undertaken. On a global scale, it is estimated that about half of the and relevance of skills world’s economy would be affected by technologies in near future. Evidences abound development system in that technologies are affecting jobs and skills; however, it is notoriously difficult to predict the course of technological changes and business scenarios. The only thing Bangladesh that is predictable is that technical skills needed for jobs are increasingly becoming unpredictable. This presents a unique and serious challenge for skills development systems which now must find ways to be adaptive and remain up-to-date with the constant changes. Experience and forecasts in neighboring countries suggest that similar changes are imminent in Bangladesh, and automation and technologies will likely impact the jobs and skills demands in Bangladesh significantly. The ASEAN countries are ahead of the game in adopting new technologies in manufacturing and service sectors. Computerized manufacturing machines such as automated cutting machines and sewing robots are increasingly prevalent in ASEAN countries. Extensive studies commissioned by ILO shows that in ASEAN countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam, where textile industries play a large part in economy as in Bangladesh, nearly three in five jobs are at high risk of being fully or partially automated. As technology adoption is making significant strides in Bangladeshi industries, and the global market is closely integrated nowadays, it is highly likely that jobs and skills demands in Bangladesh would also be impacted by automation and other technologies in very similar manner as ASEAN countries. Despite the increasing importance of technical skills, Bangladeshi society as a whole still holds poor perception about skills training and graduates of vocational education. Enterprises are not enthusiastic about providing skills training to its workers in spite of the potential positive returns to such investment in human resources. Supply-side Issues for Students: Effectiveness of Skills Supply – Poor Employability Some crucial skills gaps have been identified that Bangladeshi workers should aim to enhance in order to better cope with and strive in the fast-changing economy. Higher- order Cognitive Skills and Non-cognitive/Soft Skills: Skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, communication, work ethics, and team work, have become essential to cope with fast changing technologies and business requirements, and are sought by employers. However, these are largely missing skills for workers in Bangladesh. Practical Technical Skills and Knowledge for Jobs: For professionals and technical and engineering workers, overemphasis on theoretical knowledge at the expense of practical skills during tertiary education is a cause for serious lapses in their technical competencies. ICT Skills: In many workplaces, workers now must be able to use information technologies to fully exploit the growth potential of new technologies; THE WORLD BANK | 7 and job opportunities in the ICT industry likely keep growing in Bangladesh. Employers are wanting to see technical workers to be better skilled in ICT. Significantly more ICT skills are needed to meet domestic and international business requirements. Poor Foundational Skills: Due to poor quality and relevance of education in primary and secondary education, foundational skills – literacy and numeracy – which are the basis for other high-level cognitive and job-relevant technical skills often remain inadequate, even among those entering post-secondary education. Job Search and Career Development Skills: Both job seekers and education institutions in Bangladesh are weak in job search skills and job placement capacity, and tend to have unrealistic expectations about their job prospects and skills requirements. This creates unnecessarily large frictions and mismatch in the job markets. Supply-side Issues for Workers: Shortage of Skills Training Opportunities for Workers in Bangladesh Unequitable Access for Females and Poor: Overall, there’s a significant shortfall of skills development opportunities especially among females and the poor. Access to skills training opportunities has been increasing but still fall far short of meeting the demand. Skills training are particularly difficult to access for female workers and poorer groups of the labor force. Females have traditionally been underrepresented in skills development. Management Skills, especially at the Mid-Management Level: Good managers are hard to find in Bangladesh across the board. Business owners are often forced to fill manager positions with expats, which has led to significant amounts of hard-earned foreign currency getting siphoned off again to abroad. Low Skilled Migrant Workers: International migration poses unique skills challenges as skills levels of migrant workers have been slow to improve. In terms of skills composition, less skilled workers still constitute the largest share. Around 56 percent of Bangladeshi migrant workers are classified as either unskilled or semi-skilled in 2016. Lack of Skills Training for Informal Workers: Informal sector has been severely underserved in skills development agenda. It has largely escaped the attention of the skills development circle and little training opportunities have been made available to them. Disconnects and Institutional Capacity Constraints in Skills Development Ecosystem Lack of Updated Job Market Information: Labor market information is far from adequate and not well connected with job seekers and educators. Job market information about what jobs and skills/experiences are demanded is largely missing. Information in the labor market information system are limited. Job seekers tend to have limited and biased information. On-line job market platforms are still limited. Weak Industry Collaboration and Participation: Education and training systems in Bangladesh have been slow in developing effective partnerships with industries. Industry is the final consumer of supplied skills and employer of students coming out of education system. Collaboration with industries is essential for skills development system to deliver quality and relevant learning experience to students, especially to keep up with new technologies that are brought into use in industries. Inadequate Capacity for Flexible Curriculum Development and Examination System: Curriculum updating are not adequately adaptive due to the centralized control, overreliance on written examination is a long-standing issue. Inadequate Capacity for Delivering Quality Teaching: Quality teaching and learning becomes challenging with inadequate provision of modern learning facilities and insufficient teacher training opportunities in the education and skills training institutes. Inadequate Implementation Capacity and Resources for Quality Assurance: Quality assurance is still a relatively new concept in education and skills development sectors of Bangladesh, and the implementation of policy framework remain weak. 8 Building on discussion Pillar 1: above, the study Improving institutional capacity for better linkage between supply set forth a range of and demand sides of skills towards more adaptive skills development system possible policy options and priority actions Seamless linkages between the demand and supply sides of skills are essential to ensure the industries get skilled manpower they need to make the most out of the in three interlinked business environment and latest productivity enhancing technologies. Pillars to address the challenges and Labor Market Information and Responsiveness produce adaptive Strengthen Labor Market Information and Graduates Feedback System: Availability of timely labor market information (i.e. employment opportunities, human skilled workforce resource and skills needs of key industries) should be strengthened as a basis for that meet the needs evidence based planning for skills development and to inform training institutions of dynamic economy and trainees about employment prospects in key occupations. and fast-changing Increase Labor Market Responsiveness of Post-secondary Education: The technologies. education and training system should be held accountable for labor market relevance of their service and ultimately for employability of their graduates. Institutional Strengthening for Sector-wide Collaboration and Quality Assurance Strengthen Central Planning and Coordination Facilities for Skills Development: National Skills Development Policy (NSDP) 2011 is ripe to be reviewed and updated to incorporate lessons learned. Coordination and monitoring at the national level for harmonized skills development need to be further improved through National Skills Development Authority and National Human Development Fund initiatives as well as strategic move to establish more sector-wide program approach in skills development sector. Speed up the Implementation of Qualification Framework and Quality Assurance System. Higher education and skills development sectors both have or will soon have laid a good foundation in recent years for qualification framework and quality assurance system as discussed earlier. The implementation of these policy initiatives needs to be expedited and sustained. In skills development, competency standards in the national skills qualification framework need to be fully implemented. Pillar 2: Re-orienting skills supply to prepare youths for unpredictable skills demand and uncertain economic environment Higher-order Thinking Skills and Soft Skills Development in Post-Secondary Education Train Higher-order Cognitive Skills and Soft Skills in Post-Secondary Education: Education/training programs should integrate training components and teaching methods conducive to developing higher-order cognitive skills and soft skills. Assess Students Higher-Order Cognitive and Soft Skills in Post-Secondary Education: Measuring students’ higher-order cognitive and non-cognitive skills as well as technical skills is the first step towards improving teaching and learning and ultimately education outcomes. Ensure Solid Foundational Skills among Post-Secondary Students: Many of post- secondary students would benefit from remedial programs to retrain their literacy and numeracy skills. THE WORLD BANK | 9 Reorienting Technical Skills Development in Post-Secondary Education Expand Training in ICT in Post-Secondary Education: Skills training in ICT should be further accelerated to enhance workplace productivity and for creation of ICT-enabled jobs. Make STEM more Practical and Hands-on in Post-Secondary Education: STEM education and training with focus on practical skills should be strengthened across education cycles particularly at the tertiary education level. Capacity Development of Teachers, Institutions, and Students for Better Employability Train Teaching Skills of Post-Secondary Teachers to Meet New Skills Requirements: All those reforms discussed above require teachers in post-secondary institutions to have a new set of teaching competencies, especially for Active Learning methods which is known to have positive impact on students’ higher-order cognitive skills. Upgrade Teaching and Learning Environment of Post-Secondary Institutions: Capacity of institutions in teaching and learning facilities and equipment needs to be upgraded. Performance-based institutional grant system should be expanded to provide essential facilities needed to implement updated curriculum and new pedagogical methods. Improve Skills for Job Search and Career Development among Post-Secondary Students: Skills matching does not occur automatically. Job search and career development skills would need to be enhanced to reduce frictions in job market. Upskilling for Businesses and Professional Development for Workers Expand Training for Female Workers and Female Business Owners: Female workers deserve more skills development opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurship to be solvent self-employed business owners. Expand Training in Managerial Skills for Mid-Career Professionals: Opportunities for skills development of mid-level managers should be expanded vigorously to alleviate severe human resource bottleneck for managerial positions. Establish Lifelong Learning System for Mid-Career Workers: Skills development must be continual and lifelong in the age of rapid technological changes. Combined role of higher education institutions and TVET institutes will make most effective contribution that meet diverse skills needs for new technologies. Expand and Incentivize Skills Training for the Migrant Workers: Oversees’ workers need to upgrade the skills prior to leaving the country and after coming back to the country. Proper incentive mechanism and skills recognition system should be in place to motivate migrant workers to receive trainings. 10 Pillar 3 Greater involvement of the demand-side of skills - private sector participation in skills development Build Brand of Skills of Bangladesh and Expand Facilities for Private Sector Participation in Skills Development: Private participation and partnership in skills development is a vital element of workforce development. It takes on various forms, and can be facilitated with public support. The government should fully embrace the public private partnership approach and promote it wherever possible in skills agenda. Incentivize Employer-led Skills Training at Workplace through PPP: Private sector-led skills trainings, both pre- and post-employment, have been underutilized in Bangladesh. Public support in the form of financial incentive and partnership with employers’ associations would be essential to alleviate risks. As employer are training providers themselves, potential capacity for training and employment is huge if right incentives are in place. Deepen Partnership with Private Sector for Improving Quality and Relevance of Post-Secondary Education: There are still so much to be done in Bangladesh about joining hands with private sector to improve quality and relevance of skills development. Partnership with industry sector have been gaining traction in TVET and university sectors alike, with the support from the relevant ministries and various projects. Establish In-service Training Programs for Industry Professionals at Post- Secondary Institutions: Partnership for in-service training provision by tertiary institutions for industry professionals have been piloted and shown promising. This type of partnership for in-service training for industry professionals should be explored and expanded further. Establish Specialized Skills and Research Partnership in Industrial Zones/Clusters with Post-Secondary Institutions: Partnership between post-secondary institutions and private sector should be explored to set up special training programs in industrial zones. On the R&D side, universities can act as an innovation facilitator to support local adaptation of imported technologies in the zones. THE WORLD BANK | 11 1 BIG TRENDS: GROWTH POTENTIAL, PRODUCTIVITY, AND TECHNOLOGY CHANGES IN BANGLADESH 1.1 BACKGROUND IN BANGLADESH 1. Bangladesh is now at a crossroads to transform itself to a high-productivity growth economy for more and better job creation. Reaching the lower end of middle- income country status in 2014 – a goal of Vision 2021 – the challenge now is to sustain and accelerate socio-economic growth so it can move up the ladder within a middle-income bracket1. A key to achieving this ambition lies in making a fundamental transformation from low-productivity and low-wage development model to high-productivity and high- wage growth for everyone. To boost the productivity of economy and job creation, in addition to making more investment in physical capital, the country must invest more in human capital accumulation to raise skills of its workforce2. Today, Bangladesh is increasingly integrated with the dynamism of global economy, and new technologies are making inroads into the country. Such changes have been impacting, in myriad and profound ways, environment of businesses, scenario of job creation, and skills required for jobs within Bangladesh. Jobs Diagnostic Bangladesh 2017 identifies labor market and skills as one of the three policy domains, along with macro environment & investment climate and regional & sectoral policies, to direct coordinated policy efforts to achieve faster job creation, better quality jobs, and equitable access to jobs. 2. Bangladesh has made remarkable success in economic growth and poverty reduction, driven by broad-based income growth3. Bangladesh economy has been growing steadily at high rates over the past decade with annual real GDP growth rate 1 The World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework FY16-20 identifies several factors contributed to the resilience of Bangladeshi economy during the time of a volatile global economy, including sound macro-economic fundamentals, strong export and remittances, and insulated financial market. 2 The 7th Five Year Plan calls for significant expansion and reforms of skills development in Bangladesh to transform itself from low-skill low-wage equilibrium to higher-skill higher wage virtuous cycle. 3 The World Bank’s Bangladesh Development Update 2016 estimates the extreme poverty rate of Bangladesh at $1.90 threshold (in 2011 PPP) to be 18.5 percent (around 28 million poor people) in 2010, down from 33.7 percent and 44.2 million poor people in 2000, consistently following the declining trend over the past 25 years. The report also found that per capita expenditure of the poorest 40 percent of the population grew faster than that of the total population during 2005-2010. 12 Employment Share GDP Share 100 100 80 80 60 60 40 40 20 20 0 0 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Agriculture Industry Service Agriculture Industry Service Source: World Development Indicators Figure 1: Share of Economic Sectors in GDP and Employment of around six percent. The growth opportunity will be closing quickly. investment, 30 years will by no means has been underpinned by the large- Dependency ratio in Bangladesh give time to slack. Bangladesh needs scale employment expansion in declined drastically from 91.9 (per to act vigorously now to prepare manufacturing, especially RMG4, and 100 working age population) to 52.5 productive workforce if it is to reap the services sectors. The country appears between 1980-2015. Demographic benefit. poised to continue robust economic dividend would certainly be a boon to growth in the near and medium-term, economic growth in Bangladesh. Other 4. Furthermore, domestic migration thanks to healthy export growth countries in Asia such as South Korea, brought more of the labor force and domestic demand5. Economic Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia, have away from rural areas to cities and structure of the country has been successfully achieved accelerated towns in search for wage jobs and dynamically changing. Ever greater economic growth over the last four higher productivity non-agricultural share of GDP is being generated in decades of the 20th century when they occupations8. Between 2000-2010, industry, especially in manufacturing had their demographic dividend6. The the share of population living in industry, whilst agriculture sector’s window of opportunity for Bangladesh official urban areas increased by 1.69 role in economy, though still employs will not be open forever; rather it will percent annually in Bangladesh, faster a substantial share of labor force, has start closing soon. The demographic urbanization than South Asia as a shrunk over the past decades. Overall dividend for Bangladesh would mature whole9. Of all internal migration, 41% investment (both public and private) by 2030, when the share of working are from rural to urban areas while grew by 8.6% annually between 2003- age population is expected to reach 53% males and around 11% female 2015. its peak, and by 2040, the period of migrants move to cities for jobs. demographic dividend for Bangladesh Rural migrants are mostly absorbed 3. Bangladesh is undergoing the would start to close7. In other words, in manufacturing sector as notably period of so-called Demographic Bangladesh has just less than 30 years 43% rural migrants are in formal Dividend, giving extra boost left to actually cash in on this valuable jobs. Due to increasing demand from to investment capacity and opportunity to increase investment RMG sector, more female workers productivity gains; it should, however, and boost economic growth. Given are moving to cities now. Migration be cautioned that the window of the long-term nature of educational for urban employment can shift 4 RMG sector alone is estimated to employ around 4 million workers in 2015, growing from around 1.8 million workers in 2000 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2017). 6 See, for example, Mason & Kinugasa (2005). They argue that demographic dividends made modest contributions to per capita GDP growth of East Asian countries between 1960 and 2000, for instance, 9.2% of China’s growth and 15.5% of Thailand’s growth. 7 See, for instance, Martin (2012). 8 Since 1990’s, Bangladesh recorded an exceptional productivity gains in agriculture production. This made possible massive outflow of productive age population from farming in rural areas to working in industry and service sectors. 9 According to Ellis & Roberts (2016). THE WORLD BANK | 13 workforce to higher productivity jobs and enhance the standard of living for 1.2 LABOR PRODUCTIVITY AND LABOR FORCE workers. However, these new comers IN BANGLADESH often have minimum level of skills. To ensure orderly urban migration and 6. Low labor productivity is the productivity improvements in stable employment, extensive skills a longstanding headache recent years occurred largely thanks to training programs are needed for these for Bangladesh; accelerating capital deepening and demographic internal migrant workers to prepare investments in technologies and changes, and not so much by means of them for new jobs in cities. addressing skills constraints will technology growth and efficient use of hold a key for Bangladesh to economic resources. To break through 5. Growth in exports, driven by further improve labor productivity, the low productivity growth, the role RMG manufacturing, has been accelerate economic growth, of technology and human capital a major driving force of growth and raise income levels. Although improvement would be of crucial of manufacturing sector, job Bangladesh continues with strong importance12. creation, and poverty reduction economic growth, key challenges in Bangladesh. Export of goods and remain. Overall, average labor 7. Weak human capital - low service was equivalent of around 17 productivity in Bangladesh has educational attainment and skills percent of GDP in 2015, nearly tripled been unsatisfactory compared to training - is putting significant from mere 5.9 percent in 1990. During international standard. Despite high constraints on productivity of labor the same period, RMG export has overall productivity gains, labor force in Bangladesh. Generally, shown a remarkable increase, and has productivity grew only by 3.4% per education attainment of Bangladesh been the single biggest contributor for year between 2010-2015; much slower workforce is still weak, despite the export growth. RMG export accounted compared to other Asian countries. expansion of access to education in for only around 41 percent of the The Bangladesh Jobs Diagnostics recent decades. According to the most total export in 1990, then it quickly shows that the contribution of total recent labour force survey, only a little swelled to make up 82% of exports factor productivity (more efficient less than half (around 46 percent) of by 201510. It also has been the biggest use of all inputs) to the productivity the population aged 15 years or above driver of large scale job creation in gain has been negligible in the past have attained secondary education manufacturing sector during the 2000s. decades in Bangladesh. In other words, or higher levels of education. Only Bangladesh is the fifth largest RMG exporter to EU now. The progress of 45000 RMG sector has contributed to lifting Bangladesh India Nepal 40000 millions of people out of poverty Pakistan South Asia Sri Lanka and especially empowered millions 35000 LMIC of young female worker through 30000 opportunities for income generation 25000 and skills attainment. Moving forward, RMG sector, along with other emerging 20000 industries11, will likely continue to be a 15000 vital industry for economic growth and 10000 job creation in Bangladesh. Adequate 5000 supply of highly skilled manpower to RMG sector is of critical importance. 0 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 Source: ILOSTAT retrieved on Feb 21, 2018 Figure 2: Labor productivity, GDP per person employed, estimates and projections in 2011 US$ in PPP 10 According to BBS statistics, RMG export accounted for around 50 percent of total export in 1990, 75 percent in 2000, and 82 percent in 2015. In 2015, the RMG sector in Bangladesh earned around US$28.1 billion, out of the total export of US$34.3 billion. 11 One estimate shows that in coming several years, seven key sectors including RMG (i.e., ICT, pharmaceutical, agribusiness, ship building, light engineering, labor intensive export industries, and RMG) would be the main engines for job creation in Bangladesh. 12 The importance of human capital in defining total factor productivity has been strongly supported in empirical literature and economic development theories. See for instance Wei & Hao (2011). Technology advances need to be supported by strong skills enhancement. A study in ASEAN countries found that skills shortages as well as affordability of technologies are the biggest obstacles to technology adoption in enterprises (Chang, J. et al., 2016). 14 a fraction (4 percent) have tertiary 17.6 education qualifications. After leaving 15.0 Unemployment Rate (%) formal education system, ideally, 13.4 12.1 workers should take part in various re- 10.7 10.8 skilling training to remain up-to-date 8.7 7.4 6.7 7.8 with new technologies at workplace; 6.4 6.1 5.8 6.0 however, prevalence of participation in skills trainings is still negligible. Only 2.1 percent of the population above 15 1.6 years of age reported having had any None Primary Secondary Higher Tertiary vocational training outside of formal Secondary schooling system. Private companies Male Female Total are often uninterested in providing Source: Labour Force Survey 2015/16 trainings to their employees. Figure 3: Unemployment Rate among Youth (aged 15-29) by Education 8. Even when education and Attainment Level skills training are provided, its quality and relevance to industry from tertiary education, for various education in Bangladesh over the last needs are often cast into serious reasons, find themselves caught up decades has led to the surge in the question. Most recent survey in harsh job market environment and number of graduates of secondary confirms the growing concerns have to risk prolonged joblessness, school wishing to continue to higher and worrying trend. Education while employers continue to lament levels of education. This demographic and skills development sector has difficulties in finding job candidates pressure has pushed up enrollment an important role to play to ensure with right skill sets. and created mushrooming of students and workers of today will universities and colleges especially have right skill sets to reap the benefit 9. The ‘youth bulge’ keeps private institutions, which has been of technological advances and meet putting significant pressure on hampering the quality of higher the skills needs of emerging industries the education and skills training education in the absence of proper in Bangladesh. However, the labor systems. Youthful population is a quality assurance mechanism. force survey 2016/17 revealed the boon to the productivity but also poses unemployment rate among youth a significant challenge. Bangladesh 10. Upskilling of female workers (age group of 15-24 years) to be 10.2 has around 62 million working age is vital to improve productivity as percent, higher than South Asian population in the labor force as of well as gender equity. The share of average of 9.4 percent. The bad news 2015. Every year it is estimated that women in the labor force increased is that youth aged 15-29 years with around 2 million youths are newly from around 24 percent to 35 percent tertiary education qualifications are joining the labor force. This is placing between 2000-201515. International faring worse than less educated peers enormous pressure to the economy comparison shows Bangladesh is with the highest unemployment rate to create adequate number of jobs performing better than most of the of around 12 percent (see figure 3). to employ these new entrants in other South Asian countries but not as They often experience prolonged the labor market. The World Bank’s good as it’s East Asian comparators. joblessness. More than a third (38 recently completed Jobs Diagnostics Female labor force participation is percent) of unemployed youth with Bangladesh 2017 illustrates healthy especially high among those with tertiary education had remained employment growth in the last decade, tertiary education qualification unemployed for more than one but warns about sign of slow-down (around 53 percent in 2015). Though year13. School-to-work transition is in job creation since 2010. Education the majority of female work force rocky for many tertiary graduates14. system is also under significant continue to be employed in agriculture It seems an unfortunate reality of pressure. The significant improvement (63 percent in 2015), around 40 recent years that young graduates in the access to basic and secondary percent of female workers in non- 13 According to the World Bank’s forthcoming tracer study on college graduates in Bangladesh. 14 Recently conducted tracer studies on polytechnic graduates and tertiary college graduates found unemployment rates two years after graduation to be around 40% and 70%, respectively. 15 Recent slowdown in job creation in manufacturing would partially explain reduced labor force participation rate in 2015 (World Bank. (forthcoming). Bangladesh Jobs Diagnostics). THE WORLD BANK | 15 agricultural occupations are absorbed in manufacturing, presumably much to Female Male the credit of RMG sector. Furthermore, 100 86% 87% 87% not only that more females are now 84% 83% 82% working, but also they are bringing in 80 more earnings relative to their male counterpart. Gender wage gaps, after 60 controlled for age, education and 40 36% 36% geography, are found to have declined 29% 24% steadily over time, though gap still 20 14% 16% remain16. Gender gaps still remain in participation as well. Female labor 0 1990 1995 2000 2006 2010 2015 participation rate is still less than half of males for 15-60 years according to Source: Bangladesh Labour Force Survey, various years the latest Labour Force Survey 2016. Figure 4: Labor Force Participation Rates in Bangladesh by Gender (%) Skills training would play an important role to bring these women into the labor market and enhance their productivity. 1.3 CHANGING TECHNOLOGIES AND 11. Informal sector employment, ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT OF BANGLADESH prevalent in Bangladesh labor market, is associated with poor job 12. Technologies and innovation 13. New technologies, partly driven quality, low labor productivity and have profound potentials to offer by active foreign direct investments, limited skills attainment,. Jobs in solutions to many of today’s have been gradually coming into informal sector typically lack basic development challenges and to the economic fabric of Bangladesh, social and legal protections or other spur productivity and long-term creating new skills demand. employment benefits. Overall, 86 economic development. Higher Traditionally garment manufacturing percent of all workers and 95 percent investment in skills development to industries relied on labor intensive of female workers are working in support adoption of new technologies mass-production model and had informal sector jobs in Bangladesh, is placed at the top of national limited focus on technologies. according to the latest Labour Force development agenda in the 7th Five However, with the changing trends in Survey 2016. Even among non- Year Plan (FYP) to improve labor apparel market and fashion industry, agricultural jobs informal employment productivity and boost job creation. the industry has begun to place is the norm, accounting for 90 percent Bangladesh’s huge success in raising more importance on adoption of and 70 percent of jobs in industry agricultural productivity, for instance, newer technologies to cope with fast and service sectors respectively. was largely thanks to development changing demands from customers Incidents of informal employment and diffusion of improved technologies and higher quality standards, and would progressively go down as the such as new crops and harvesting remain competitive in the global worker’s level of education attainment techniques17. The 7th FYP highlights export market. According to a study, increases. For instance, around one that adoption of new technologies at technologies that have recently third of those with higher secondary workplace coupled with appropriate been introduced in RMG industry in education are employed in formal skills enhancement would stimulate emerging economies include: robotics sector jobs. total factor productivity growth in for automated assembly line, high- Bangladesh. Stronger economic speed sewing machines, new pressing growth and job creation in Bangladesh and fusing machines, and computer- in future would hinges upon having aided designing and manufacturing18. more human capital and productivity Though still at a nascent stage, enhancing technologies. new production technologies are 16 According to estimations by Bangladesh Jobs Diagnostics (abid). 17 The government has been actively working to promote agricultural research and development with special attention to rice production. Application of improved technologies, including greater use of ICT-based solutions, continues to be one of the core strategies for agricultural development under the 7th FYP. 18 See, Yunus & Yamagata (2012). 16 expected to play a larger role in the as a country of educated people improve efficiency and transparency garment manufacturing industry with skills in information technology. at the central and local government of Bangladesh as well and seen as Tele-density (the share of individuals institutions, and has been proactive essential for achieving $50 billion with telephone connection) in the in expanding and upgrading ICT export target by 202119. For instance, country increased from less than education and training opportunities. to promote technology dissemination, four percent to 78 percent between For instance, Union Digital Centers GARMENTECH Bangladesh has 2004-2015 (Figure 5). With increased (UDCs) have contributed to improved been the major technology business areas, the ICT sector has governance at local level, and tradeshow which showcases latest been contributing to economic growth the Access to Information (a2i) production technologies for garment of the country and is expected to initiative has enhanced the state of manufacturing for Bangladeshi further expand its export21 under the e-governance at the local government apparel manufacturers. At the same 7th FYP. Capacity development in ICT through implementation of ICT time, to fully utilize technologies to is also seen as an area that merits programs, hardware and software, produce better quality products at priority actions to support further and and technical assistance. As laid out lower costs, the industry needs to broader integration of Bangladesh in the 7th FYP, adoption of improved have a pool of skilled workers who into the global value chain. Under the technologies is holding a key to can support and operate advance banner of Digital Bangladesh22, ICT improving the total factor productivity. technologies. In this respect, the penetration, though with a lower rate With high human capital investment industry association, BGMEA, has than many other countries, has been in skills acquisition along with high taken a lead in establishing specialized growing and creating potentials for investment in technologies and institutions dedicated to garment and significant productivity gains and job supporting infrastructure would bring fashion related technologies. Today, creation. The government is leading up the rate of economic growth of numerous education and training the efforts by actively integrating ICT to Bangladesh in coming years. institutes, including universities, are offering courses and departments specialized in fashion technologies and 116 mil textile engineering, offering Diploma, Bachelor and Masters degrees20. 78% 14. Information technologies have been leading the charge in innovation and technology 36 mil dissemination to help address socio-economic challenges in Bangladesh. Moving forward, the 4% 5 mil 1 mil country is likely to increase the pace of adoption of information 2000 2015 technologies in major economic Tele-density Mobile phone Internet subscriber sectors to remain competitive in the Source: Digital Bangladesh Update global market. Vision 2021 envisions that by 2021 Bangladesh will be known Figure 5: Penetration of ICT in Bangladesh 19 Though a full picture of technology adoption in the textile industry in Bangladesh is yet to be well documented, a number of anecdotal evidences indicate growing presence and importance of technology adoption in the industry. See, for instance, articles like: “Garmentech Bangladesh 2017 enthralls industry with latest technologies”. https://www. apparelresources.com/events-news/garmentech-bangladesh-2017-enthrals-industry-with-latest-technology/; “Bangladesh garment sector needs to invest in technology”. http:// www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/-bangladesh-garment-sector-needs-to-invest-in-technology--191498-newsdetails.htm; and “Production in Bangladesh: Overcoming Operational Challenges”. http://economists-pick-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/Research-Articles/Production-in-Bangladesh-Overcoming-Operational-Challenges/rp/ en/1/1X000000/1X0A8DO9.htm. Just to name a few: Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX); National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bangladesh; BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT); 20 Chittagong BGMEA Institute of Fashion and Technology (CBIFT); Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology; and Textile Engineering Colleges. 21 Export of ICT services nearly doubled between 2010 and 2014 reaching around US$ 450 million. Bangladesh aims to export US$1 billion worth of ICT services by 2018. See an article, “ICT exports much higher than reported”. http://www.thedailystar.net/business/ict-exports-much-higher-reported-minister-1344502. 22 To support Digital Bangladesh initiative, the government has established/enacted a number of policies and regulatory frameworks, including, among others, ICT Policy 2009/2015, ICT Act 2013, Right to Information Act 2009, and Hi-Tech Park Authority Act 2010. THE WORLD BANK | 17 15. Technologies are opening up new opportunities and potential for 1.4 WHAT IS THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND economies to improve productivity WHO ARE THE PEOPLE NEEDING THEM? and create jobs if adequate and right skills are available. As technologies 16. The conceptual framework the-job training as well as professional become more sophisticated by the below presents a simple supply training and adult education. In this day, the trend will likely pick up its and demand model of the skills spectrum, for the purpose of this speed in future. Uncertainty and development ecosystem and how paper, skills for jobs can be defined unpredictability surrounding jobs and they are influenced and interact. On to encompass the following24: (i) skills are palpable across the globe. the demand side, skills demanded are Foundational cognitive skills (such However, it’s also been shown that strongly and continuously influenced as basic literary and numeracy, and even if technologies are introduced, by multiple factors of the economy, basic science knowledge that are many occupations continue to which are becoming more fluid in typically acquired in basic education); require non-routine tasks such as recent decades. On the supply side, the (ii) Higher-order cognitive skills human interactions, flexibility, and main supplier of skills development (such as analytical skill, critical problem solving, which cannot be are education and skills training thinking, problem solving, effective readily replaceable by machines and systems, which are facing a number of communication, leadership skills that technologies23. Computers may replace quality, relevance, and access issues. are typically acquired in secondary and unbundled sets of routine tasks while Labor market links the supply and tertiary education); (iii) Non-cognitive/ that allows workers to focus on more demand side through skills matching Soft skills25 (such as socio-emotional creative tasks and improve quality and and signaling functions. skills, personality traits26, behavior, efficiency of their jobs. Skills of workers discipline, and work ethics, which matter more than ever in such modern 17. Skills are a multi-dimensional are typically acquired at any point workplaces. The question is whether and multi-stage concept, and through schooling, life experiences, education and skills development interdependent. Skills are developed and interacting with others); and systems are capable to equip workers progressively over an individual’s life in finally, (iv) Technical skills (job with skills and knowledge to take stages, each building from the previous relevant professional skills applicable advantage of new technologies in their one, initiating from pre-primary to to specific occupations or sectors; workplaces. primary and secondary education and which are typically acquired through finally to tertiary education and on- Economic Higher Environment Education Technology Skills Labor Skills Basic Changes Demand Market Supply Education Regulatory Systems TVET Skills Matching Signaling Figure 6: Supply and Demand Model of Skills Development System 23 See, for instance, Autor D.H. (2015); 24 The World Bank’s Skills Towards Employability and Productivity (STEP) Skills Measurement Surveys define skills in three broad types: (i) Cognitive skills, defined to include literacy, numeracy, and the ability to solve abstract problems; (ii) Socio-emotional skills (non-cognitive/soft skills), which cover traits in various domains like social, emotional, personality, attitudinal and behavior; and (iii) Job-relevant skills, which are job-related and developed based on cognitive and soft skills. This paper further breaks down Cognitive skills into Foundational and Higher-order cognitive skills to differentiate the level of cognitive complexity and identify education levels through which these skills are typically acquired. 25 Growing body of literature identifies significant economic returns to non-cognitive and soft skills (see, for instance, Deming (2017); 26 Contrary to popular perception, researches show that personality traits are not fixed at an early stage of life. Like cognitive skills, personality skills are malleable at later stages and can evolve through parental investments, educational and life experiences (Borghans et al., 2008). 18 Technical Skills Technology Business Environment Higher-order Cognitive Skills Critical thinking Problem-solving Effective communication Leadership Numeracy Personality Foundational Cognitive Skills and Soft Skills Literacy Socio-emotional skills Science Work ethics, discipline, Basic computer behavioural Source: Adapted from Pierre et al. (2014). STEP Skills Measurement Surveys. Figure 7: Composition of Skills for Jobs apprenticeship, pre-employment 19. Skills development beneficiaries Entry-level workers/new graduate training, and on-the-job training, and are (i) students who are still in job seekers, typically needing also in TVET and higher education education system and (ii) workers higher-order cognitive skills and job in specialized subjects). In terms of who already left education system. relevant skills trainings for finding the scope of analysis, discussion of From skill development system’s employment and facilitating transition this study is mainly fixated on skills perspective, students can be into the world of work; (b) Out-of- development beyond secondary considered as ‘flow’ who will soon school youths and school drop- education cycle (i.e. post-secondary join the labor force hopefully with outs, typically needing to develop education and workforce development) right skill sets, and workers as ‘stock’ foundational cognitive skills and which have more immediate relevance already pooled in the labor force. non-cognitive skills, along with basic to the real economy. To upgrade the skills level of the job relevant skills; (c) Unemployed in country’s manpower, both ‘flow’ and job transition, typically needing to 18. In current economies, technical ‘stock’ need to be addressed side by acquire new job relevant skills for new skills needed for the job are side – fixing education and training jobs; (d) Employed workers, typically increasingly fluid and unpredictable system for students while providing needing to upgrade job relevant due to changing technologies and relevant skills training to workers. In skills and higher-order cognitive skills business environment. Because Bangladesh, around 2 million school- through on-the-job training for new of that, workers’ competencies leavers are newly entering job market technologies and job responsibilities; increasingly depend on ones’ ability annually27, while existing workforce of (e) Female workers, typically needing and mindset to flexibly adapt to around 62 million men and women specific occupational skills; (f) Migrant new technologies and environment needs re-skilling opportunities28. workers, typically needing job through continuous learning and relevant skills demanded in overseas re-learning. Strong foundational skills, 20. Furthermore, workers typically job market; and (g) Informal sector non-cognitive skills, and higher-order consist of several sub-groups, each workers, typically needing various cognitive skills are expected to enable facing unique skills challenges and foundational cognitive skills and job effective and efficient acquisition of skills development needs. Major relevant skills. new technical skills as depicted in the groups of workers and their skills figure below. training needs would include: (a) 27 The Sixth Five Year Plan estimated that around 9.2 million workers would newly enter the job market over the five-year period. 28 The figures are according to the Labour Force Survey 2015/16. It is estimated that approximately 43 million male and 19 million females are in the labor force in Bangladesh. THE WORLD BANK | 19 2 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR CHANGING TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMY: WHAT ARE MISSING? 21. In the context of technological changes and dynamic economy in Bangladesh, a set of skills development challenges on both demand and supply sides need to be tackled. This chapter attempts to summarize those challenges for students and workers, based on experience of on-going projects, analysis on recent data and literature, and consultations with the stakeholders. 2.1 DEMAND-SIDE ISSUES: CHANGING DEMANDS FOR SKILLS AND WEAK PARTICIPATION AND TRUST IN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT 22. First of all, technologies are increasingly disrupting industries and jobs on a global scale, polarizing skills demands at high and low ends, and making skills demands unpredictable. New technologies can be deeply disruptive. Diffusion of new technologies may exacerbate inequalities if it was not accompanied by acquisition of relevant skills among wider population or when many of workers who were displaced by emerging technologies ended up unemployed29. Some, especially those in advanced economies, are seriously concerned about possibility that automation and robots powered by artificial intelligence will wipe out many of occupations from the workplace, including even those considered white collar jobs. For instance, Brynjolfsson & McAfee (2011, 2014) argue that with exponential increase of computing power, computers are encroaching into work domains normally reserved for people; Frey & Osborne (2013) estimates that as much as around 47% of total US employment and 35% of UK’s are at risk of being computerized in 20 years. Even when technologies do not replace the 29 OECD’s recent report (OECD, 2016) discusses in length the potential and risks of technology diffusion, and points to the importance of wide dissemination of skills in ensuring more equitable outcomes of diffusion of new technologies. 20 whole job, it is likely that technologies The ASEAN countries are ahead of the earlier, and the global market is closely replace parts of the job and alter how game in adopting new technologies integrated nowadays, it is highly tasks are undertaken. Researchers in manufacturing and service sectors. likely that jobs and skills demands in and industry experts are generally Computerized manufacturing Bangladesh would also be impacted by in agreement that technologies are machines such as automated cutting automation and other technologies in impacting jobs and skills in significant machines and sewing robots are very similar manner as ASEAN countries. ways. Most of the jobs that exist today increasingly prevalent in ASEAN will likely be affected by technology countries. Extensive studies (Chang, 24. Skills provision by private adoptions. For instance, an analysis on J. et al., 2016) commissioned by ILO industries – skills demander 2,000 occupations by McKinsey found shows that in ASEAN countries such as themselves – are still largely that based on currently available Cambodia and Vietnam, where textile confined to large firms, but has technologies, around 60 percent of industries play a large part in economy a huge potential of improving all jobs today have at least 30 percent as in Bangladesh, nearly three in five relevance of skills development for of tasks that can be automated. On a jobs are at high risk of being fully or workers in Bangladesh. Employers, global scale, it is estimated that about partially automated. Introducing as users of trained work force, would half of the world’s economy would cutting machines help factories cut have a reasonable economic incentive be affected by technologies in near costs and improve efficiency, but to train their current and future future. Furthermore, technologies would replace many manual cutters. employees at workplace for skills that are impacting skills requirement at Technologies are likely to continue to are directly relevant to their business workplace. An estimation based on shape the future of industry and service requirements. For current employees, the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) sectors in those countries. The study employee trainings, often integrated by OECD shows that digitization is indicates that across ASEAN a wide in the performance management increasing demand for high-skilled array of industries including hotels system, are common practice in many tasks which require problem-solving and restaurants, wholesale and retails, countries, and known to yield high and team works while reducing the construction, and manufacturing have economic returns over a short- to need for routine and manual tasks. high capacity for automation, and more long-term in various forms such as The study also shows that across than half of workers in such industries higher worker productivity and better countries, 9 percent of jobs in OECD will likely be exposed to automation retention of loyal workers. For future countries are at risk of being replaced in future. Impacts on workers are not employees, apprenticeship is one by automation, and 25 percent of jobs homogeneous. Overall, it is expected type of workplace-based training will be changed drastically because of that female workers and less educated where trainees / potential future automation. Evidences abound that workers will be more severely affected employees gain job-relevant practical technologies are affecting jobs and by automation. As technology skills through workplace experience. skills; however, it is notoriously difficult adoption is making significant strides On-boarding training is also another to predict the course of technological in Bangladeshi industries, as discussed common type of workplace training by changes and business scenarios. The only thing that is predictable is that technical skills needed for jobs are 63 59 increasingly becoming unpredictable. 49 This presents a unique and serious 43 challenge for skills development 35 systems which now have to find ways 27 to be adaptive and remain up-to-date 19 15 with the constant changes. 9 23. Experience and forecasts in neighboring countries suggest that Bangladesh South Asia All countries similar changes are imminent in Bangladesh, and automation and Small (5-19) Medium (20-99) Large (100+) technologies will likely impact Source: World Bank Enterprise Survey Bangladesh, 2013 the jobs and skills demands in Figure 8: Share of Firms Offering Formal Training Program for its Full-time Bangladesh in significant ways. Employees by Firm Size THE WORLD BANK | 21 employers. However, in Bangladeshi context employers are often unable 2.2 SUPPLY-SIDE ISSUES FOR STUDENTS: to provide these workplace trainings EFFECTIVENESS OF SKILLS SUPPLY – POOR for a variety of reasons such as lack of capacity and risk of turn-overs of EMPLOYABILITY trained staff30 (Figure 8). 26. Employers are not satisfied with skills, problem solving, communication, 25. Society in Bangladesh as a whole skills attributes of Bangladeshi creativity, and taking responsibility as still undervalues skills training. The youths to meet the needs of areas where employers see most skills society has largely failed to signal the current dynamic business gap in terms of meeting their current the demand for technical education environment, and graduates are business requirements32. Figure 9 and training to students and parents not fully equipped to cope with below shows that the large majority of who often undervalue technical skills fast-changing world of work. Major employers of polytechnic graduates against general academic skills31. areas of skills gap and weaknesses and tertiary college graduates view their Employability of technical degrees of Bangladeshi youths as identified employees’ problem-solving skills as has been overlooked. Though uptake by industry leaders and are crucial to inadequate. Communication skills for of skills training has increased in survive in fast-changing environment workplace, another important skill area recent years, the society continues include, but not limited to, the of higher-order cognitive skills, are also to attach lower values to technical following: (a) Higher-order cognitive seen as weakness of both polytechnic and vocational streams of education skills and soft skills; (b) Practical and college graduates by the majority in Bangladesh. Among employers, technical skills and knowledge for job; of employers. Numeracy skills, one of awareness about impact and return (c) Information technology skills; and the foundational skills, appear to be of skills training on labor productivity in some cases, (d) Foundational skills. satisfactory to many employers. As remain inadequate, which is partly Filling these skills gaps would improve discussed earlier, importance of higher- to blame for the low prevalence of employability of graduates and better order cognitive skills and soft skills are workplace skills training. Poor social prepare graduates for today’s dynamic to grow once their businesses start image and low awareness of skills economy. In addition, students’ skills moving away from static environment training is a serious concern. Social to navigate job market would also with routine processes into more value system would not be changed play an important role to enhance dynamic and technology intensive overnight; however, with strong employability. business environment. Ability to think positive message from the highest critically and be adaptable holds a office of the government and a host of 27. Inadequate Higher-order key in adapting to new environment. social interventions by the ministries, Cognitive Skills and Soft Skills: Workers are increasingly required to the image of skills training is gradually Skills such as critical thinking skills, analyze issues, identify problems, and changing and has begun to attract problem solving skills, leadership skills, use his or her expertise flexibly to solve more competent students into TVET. communication skills, work ethics, and problems. Workers with higher-order team work skills, are becoming essential cognitive skills and soft skills would be and highly demanded by employers able to demonstrate high performance in the current dynamic economy, but and would claim higher wages. In largely missing skills among youths in consultation with industry stakeholders, Bangladesh. Consultations on skills for however, they unanimously agree that future jobs with industry stakeholders many of Bangladeshi youths including as well as the World Bank’s skills survey university graduates are not adequately report have consistently found higher- trained and skilled in these areas. order skills such as critical thinking 30 For instance, a tracer study on polytechnic graduates by the World Bank (forthcoming) found that only 14% of wage employed graduates have received on-the-job training after joining the firm. SEIP & BIDS (2017) notes that on-the-job training is a common practice in the RMG sector to provide workers with specific skills needed to complete their work. The RMG sector may have a greater incentive to provide workplace-based training due to greater exposure to the global competition. 31 This poor perception about TVET is slowly changing, owing to aggressive public campaigns. The tracking survey on polytechnic graduates found that around 70% of polytechnic students received high marks (either A+ or A) in their secondary school completion examination. 32 See World Bank. (2013). Responsibility, communication, and problem solving are on the top of the list of skills gaps identified by business owners. Other higher-order skills such as customer care, motivation, and creativity are also ranked high in the list. 22 83% 72% 71% 67% 71% 67% 61% 63% 59% 58% 51% 48% 39% 35% 33% 28% 28% 20% Problem solving skills Use of ICT Practical technical skills Communication skills Theoretical knowledge of technology English skills Numeracy skills Use of ICT Communication skills English skills Problem solving skills Team working skills Technical skills need for work Management skills Theoretical knowledge relevant to the work Reading and writing in Bangla Numeracy skills Applied skills Source: World Bank. Tracking Survey on Polytechnic Graduates in Bangladesh; Tracer Study of Tertiary Colle graduates in Bangladesh. Figure 9: Employers’ view on skills areas that graduates should strengthen more 28. Inadequate Practical Technical also facing the similar challenges Many employers indicate that they Skills and Knowledge: For in imparting practical skills. Many often experience lack of skilled technical and engineering oriented of diploma awarding institutions applicants in those critical high-level occupations, overemphasis on are operating with age-old facilities positions (see Figure 10 below). theoretical knowledge at the expense and equipment. Opportunities of practical skills is seen as a cause for practical skills training are in 29. Inadequate ICT Skills for serious lapses in technical place within the curricula through Development: Graduates must be competencies which hinders effective a well-intended system of industry more conversant in information application of new and existing attachment; however, they are often technologies to fully exploit the growth technologies. This is especially the poorly structured/implemented and potential of new technologies, and case for tertiary-level education not monitored for quality of training34. to explore job opportunities in the and training in science, technology All these challenges are shown up in booming ICT industry in Bangladesh. and engineering fields. University reported cases of difficulties of finding Many of productivity-enhancing education, especially in science, skilled professionals and technicians. technologies in manufacturing and technology and engineering subjects, are suffering from quality crisis, 69% 62% 61% often due to outdated curriculum, lack of or poor facilities/equipment 37% 35% for science labs and engineering 31% 27% 27% workshops, weak pedagogical skills 18% and motivation of faculty members, 1% lack of industry linkages33, and lack of quality assurance mechanism. Professionals Technician and Associate Professionals Managers Service Workers Clerical Support Workers Elementary Occupations Plan and Machine Operators Construction Workers Sales Workers Skilled Agricultural Workers As a result, many of technical and engineering graduates from universities in Bangladesh are deprived of opportunities to develop well-balanced theoretical knowledge and practical skills which employers are seeking in their job candidates. Source: World Bank (2016). Skills for Decent Employment Diploma-level TVET institutions are Figure 10: Reported lack of skilled applicants across occupations by employers (%) 33 Quality and relevance challenges in universities are documented in the World Bank’s Skills for Growth report. The World Bank has been supporting the university sector to improve teaching and learning through Academic Innovation Fund initiative under the Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP) (see Annex X). The World Bank-funded Skills and Training Enhancement Project (STEP) has been supporting polytechnic institutions through various institutional improvement activities for teaching 34 and learning as well as industry partnership, and through innovative approaches to enhanced industry attachment program. THE WORLD BANK | 23 NEPAL INDIA SRI LANKA BANGLADESH 118 Networked Readiness Index 89 Networked Readiness Index 65 Networked Readiness Index 109 Networked Readiness Index 117 102 30 Skills Index (ICT use capacity) Skills Index (ICT use capacity) Skills Index (ICT use capacity) 125 Skills Index (ICT use capacity) Source: World Economic Forum (2015). Table 1: Bangladesh lags other South Asia countries at leveraging ICT service sectors come with advanced from its cheap costs. A large scope 30. Poor Foundations for Skills information technologies such as remains to move up the BPO ranking Development: Poor foundational Computer Assisted Design (CAD) system through greater availability of skills and skills development in basic education or Computer Numerical Control (CNC) improved business environment. On the poses considerable challenges for machines in the case of manufacturing. other hand, relative to other countries, effective skills acquisition in higher Information technologies are becoming Bangladesh still has a long way to go cognitive and technical skills. Due ubiquitous presence at today’s to enhance ICT capacity among youths to poor quality and relevance of workplace in Bangladesh. It is evident and workers. Bangladesh ranked 125 education in primary and secondary that significantly more ICT skills are out of 143 economies in terms of the education, foundational skills – literacy needed to meet domestic business skills and capacity of the population and numeracy – which are the basis needs. Employers are, however, not to make effective use of ICTs (see Table for other high-level cognitive and satisfied with their employees’ ICT 1). Moreover, only 40% of managers, job-relevant technical skills often skill and wanting to see technical professionals, and clerical workers are remain inadequate even among those workers to be better skilled in ICT reported to use computers regularly at entering post-secondary education37. (Figure 9). Furthermore, the ICT industry workplace36. Employers are found to be often itself appear to grow as a source of employment and self-employment at Decile an accelerated pace in Bangladesh. 66.7% For instance, Bangladesh is now believed to host more than 500,000 Competent (%) 45.3% 48.1% on-line freelancers who collectively 33.9% earned US$20 million in 2013 mostly 41.6% from works originated from abroad35. 30.6% Bangladesh has also been attracting the world’s attention as a fast-growing destination of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). For the first time, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 it was ranked at the 22nd in the A.T. Bangla English Math Kearney’s Global Service Location Index in 2016, in which India occupies Source: LASI 2013, as quoted in Program Appraisal Document for Transforming Secondary Education for Results the 1st place. Much of Bangladesh’s Figure 11: Share of Grade 8 students meeting grade-level competency standards, attractiveness is currently coming by wealth groups 2013 35 It was reported that more than 650,000 Bangladeshis were registered on the Upwork website for freelancers, according to an article, “IT Freelancing Grows in Bangladesh”. https://www. voanews.com/a/it-freelancing-grows-in-bangladesh/3264214.html. 36 According to World Bank (2013), use of computers may be low in Bangladesh. Having skills may not be equivalent to applying skills to productive use. In line with this argument, a recent OECD report on adult skills survey, Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, argues that use of skills in the labor force should be measured separately from acquisition of the skills so as to capture the impact of skills on growth. Some economies are found to have a high level of problem solving skills among workforce but just a mediocre level of frequency of actually using such skills at work. World Development Report 2018 highlights that the 21st century skills work best in conjunction with solid foundational skills, and higher-order cognitive skills and technical skills can 37 only be built on a strong foundation. 24 unsatisfied with literacy and numeracy graduates and teachers are often found in general. Exacerbated by the lack of skills of their workers38. According to have unrealistic expectations about access to job market information, this to the national student learning the current industries and business would make educational choices and assessment at secondary education environment, and have limited navigating the complex job markets level (Learning Assessment of understanding about qualifications even more challenging, and create Secondary Institutions: LASI 2013), only and required skills in the job market. unnecessarily large frictions in the job around 51 percent of Grade 8 students This is a good indication that students markets which would lead to young meet the grade equivalent competency and parents39 have never been trained job seekers wasting extended period of standard in Bangla subject, and they and are lacking in important job search time in re-building skills or searching are faring even worse in English and skills and career development skills for jobs40. Math subjects. Even among richer students, less than half are adequately competent in English and Math (Figure 11). In many cases, secondary 2.3 SUPPLY-SIDE ISSUES FOR WORKERS: school teachers in turn lament about SHORTAGE OF SKILLS TRAINING low academic competencies and readiness of new entrants in Grade OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORKERS IN 6. Weak foundational cognitive skills due to deteriorating education BANGLADESH quality at primary and secondary 32. Coping with fast-changing business 201541. However, the share of tertiary education are seriously undermining and technologies means that workers degree holders is still not adequate the effectiveness of skills development should be able to access continuous (only 4.2 percent of working-age at later stages of education and learning and re-learning opportunities population). Access to skills training training. Annex 6 summarizes skills whenever new skills requirement opportunities has been increasing development challenges in basic presents itself. The current landscape but still fall far short of meeting education. Opportunities for remedial of skills supply in Bangladesh may the demand. Skills training are education and second chance not be conducive to meeting such particularly difficult to access for education to retrain foundational sustained constant skills upgrading female workers and poorer groups skills are scarce for students who left needs. This section touches upon of the labor force. Females have formal schooling system. Few post- some of the supply issues surrounding traditionally been underrepresented secondary institutions offer remedial workers in the labor force in in skills development especially at courses for students to strengthen their Bangladesh. higher levels of education and after foundational cognitive skills. joining the workforce. For instance, 33. Unequitable Access for Females 31. Poor Job Market Skills: Both job the share of female students in tertiary and Poor: Overall, there’s a significant seekers and education institutions in education is only 38 percent, and shortfall of skills development Bangladesh are weak in job search that in universities stands at just 33 opportunities especially among skills and job placement capacity, and percent as of 201642. In the workforce, females and the poor. In Bangladesh, tend to have unrealistic expectations the ratio for female of having received primary education is now almost about their job prospects and skills skills training is only about half of universal, secondary education has requirements. It has been reported that for male43. Much fewer numbers been expanding rapidly, and tertiary by job market operators during the of females are enrolled in vocational enrollment has gone up from 2.6 consultation session for this study that and technical education, though the million to 4.4 million students by 38 According to World Bank. (2013). Overall, employers identified literacy and numeracy as areas of large skills gap among their employees. 39 Many of parents of TVET and tertiary education graduates do not possess the same sort of experience in searching for formal/wage jobs. Nearly half of the fathers of polytechnic students, for instance, work in agriculture and have primary education qualification or less, as found in World Bank’s tracking survey on polytechnic graduates. 40 This type of unemployment can be categorized as transitional unemployment or frictional unemployment. Unemployment inevitably occur when people move from school to work, one work to another, or work to school. A certain level of transitional unemployment is normal and healthy. Efficient friction-less job markets can minimize the extent of transitional unemployment. However, when economies are under major transitions, job market frictions tend to grow as outdated job market mechanics are re-shaped and people’s behavior are adjusted. Some researchers point out the importance of establishing well-functioning job market for unlocking the full potential in emerging economies. See, for instance, Jain & Sarda (2014). 41 Including enrollment in universities, tertiary-level colleges and post-secondary TVET institutions. 42 More detailed analysis will be provided in the forthcoming study, Skills for Growth in Bangladesh. There is a gender parity in secondary education in Bangladesh; however, the gender gap in enrollment starts to appear at the level of higher secondary school and grows wider in tertiary education. 43 According to the Bangladesh Labour Force Survye 2015/16. THE WORLD BANK | 25 9.9 skills challenges as skills levels of migrant workers have been slow to improve. International migration has been one of the major sources of employment and income for many 4.5 Bangladeshi workers. In 2016 alone, 2.7 Bangladeshi migrant workers remitted 1.9 1.3 a total of around US$15 billion back to the country46. Overseas employment among Bangladeshis has increased Poorest 2nd 3rd 4th Richest drastically. Data shows that more than Income quintile 750,000 Bangladeshi workers (among Source: Bangladesh Jobs Diagnostics, 2017 whom 16 percent were female) left Note: Income quintile is based on the proxy means test score the country as migrant workers in Figure 12: Share of Workers Having Skills Training in the Past 12 Months, by 2016, a considerable increase from income quintile around 380,000 workers 10 years earlier. However, in terms of skills composition, less skilled workers still share has been gradually on the rise. etc. (see Figure 10 above). It is much constitute the largest share. Around Only 27 percent and 14 percent of harder than finding production-line 56 percent of Bangladeshi migrant vocational stream secondary students workers. Therefore, business owners workers are classified as either and polytechnic students, respectively, are often forced to fill manager unskilled or semi-skilled in 2016. are female in 2016 according to the positions with foreign professionals The share of ‘skilled’ workers among government statistics. More skills from South Asian/East Asian countries. expatriates has been hovering in the development opportunities catered This quick-fix, however, has led to range of 30-40 percent over the past and tailored to female workers’ significant amounts of hard-earned decade, despite the various efforts to demands are needed. Poorer segments foreign currency getting siphoned raise skills attainment of Bangladeshi of the labor force have much lower off again to abroad every year45. This migrant workers. Upskilling of migrant exposure to skills training (Figure 12). in one way appears to be a teething workers would contribute to improving Tertiary education enrollment is also pain for Bangladesh. Managers with job qualities. Recognizing and highly skewed towards richer groups, management expertise and experience certifying their hard-earned job skills especially in the richest income do not grow out of training mills. They would also be important. quintile44. Equitable access to skills have to be properly trained by experts development opportunities need to be and groomed in-situ for years. As 36. Lack of Skills Training for further enhanced. Bangladesh’s manufacturing sector Informal Workers: Informal sector is still relatively young, time will help has been severely underserved in skills 34. Shortage of Management Skills: to some extent to produce more development agenda. Despite the fact Good mid-level managers who can managers down the line. Nonetheless, that informal sector yet accounts for steer operations in changing business it is evident that Bangladesh have to around 86 percent of employment in environment are hard to find among do much more to train and groom Bangladesh47 and contributes around Bangladeshi workers across the a large pool of mid-level managers 40 percent of the total value added of board. Business owners often run who are capable of handling modern the economy, it has largely escaped into a significant difficulty in finding industrial management methodologies the attention of the skills development good managers in Bangladesh, such and tools. circle and little training opportunities as supervisors with sound skills in have been made available to them. production process management, 35. Low Skilled Migrant Workers: Unsurprisingly, less educated the quality control, project management, International migration poses unique 44 According to the World Bank (forthcoming): Skills for Growth in Bangladesh. 45 In 2014, according to Bangladesh Bank, around US$4 billion a year was repatriated by foreign professionals, mostly working in RMG industry, as salaries, allowances, and various fees. 46 According to data from Bangladesh Bank. According to the 2015 Labour Force Survey, the breakdown of informal employment across economic sectors in Bangladesh is Agriculture (49%); Industry (21%); and Service (30%). 47 Within sectors, 98%, 90%, and 71% of employment in Agriculture, Industry, and Service sectors, respectively, are in the informal sector. 26 workers are, more likely they are to be employed in the informal sector Small 2.4 DISCONNECTS AND INSTITUTIONAL and Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs). CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS IN SKILLS More than 90 percent of workers with primary education or less are informal ECOSYSTEM sector employees, while one third of higher secondary graduates and 37. Linkages with industries, to have limited and biased information nearly half of tertiary graduates are employers, and job market are the about what jobs are available and formally employed. Partly because of single most important element what skills are needed for them. these gaps, low labor productivity has in creating a functional skills On-line job market platforms appear been a hallmark of the informal sector. development ecosystem. Education promising but are still limited in terms Labor productivity in the formal sector and training institutions should also of coverage and job search support is estimated to be six-time larger than be able to reflect information from service available. that of the informal sector48. Skills the industries and job market in their training in the informal sector has education and training contents and 39. Weak Industry Collaboration several important challenges. There’s practices. and Participation: Education and a dearth of evidence about this sector, training systems in Bangladesh have including skills training needs. Many of 38. Lack of Updated Labor Market been slow in developing effective informal sector employees are poorly Information: Job market information partnerships with industries. Industry educated thus have weak foundational is far from adequate and not well is the final consumer of supplied skills cognitive skills. Formal training connected with job seekers and skills and employer of students coming out institutions are not well positioned providers. Job market information of education system. Collaboration to respond to the needs of informal about what jobs and skills/experiences with industries is essential for skills economy49. Informal sector workers are demanded is largely missing in development system to deliver quality learn most of skills through informal Bangladesh. Bangladesh Bureau of and relevant learning experience to workplace apprenticeships where Statistics maintains Labour Market students, especially to keep up with they acquire skills from other low- or Information System (LMIS) based on new technologies that are brought into semi-skilled craftsmen, and never periodic nation-wide labor market use in industries. Until recently, only a receive any formal certification for their surveys. Detailed and regular analysis select few institutions of universities hard-earned skills50. Upskilling of the of such cross-sectoral data from a and polytechnics in Bangladesh informally employed workers would nationally representative sample had formal industry partnerships or be an essential strategy to translate offer comprehensive snapshots of collaboration. Activities which support skills development into more inclusive employment and unemployment and delivery of more structured and economic growth and mass-based indicate key labor market trends in relevant training such as curriculum poverty reduction. Bangladesh. However, information and training and teacher training implication about skills needs and job occurred only on a limited scale. market situation are not available in School-level industry collaboration the LMIS. Such job market and skills mechanisms are largely absent except demand data in different industries if in some universities and polytechnic provided regularly would immensely institutions. Colleges have little, if help policy makers, education/ any, interaction with industries. The training authorities, schools and government’s support for incentivizing institutions, and job seekers to make industries to engage in skills training right decisions about skills training and have been ad-hoc and yet to be acquisition51. Young job seekers tend institutionalized in permanent forms 48 According to ADB & BBS (2010). 49 World Bank (2007) argues that re-orienting formal training system to meet skills training needs of informal sector would be unrealistic and not reasonable solution, and argues for greater partnership with non-governmental actors to expand training services for workers in the informal sector. 50 ILO (2009) has conducted a thorough review of formal and informal apprenticeship programs in Bangladesh. It argues that apprenticeship is a main method of imparting skills in informal settings; however, informal apprenticeship is based on employment needs of businesses and personal relationships, and tend to offer lower quality training without certification and have poorer working conditions. 51 Sporadic cases of individual projects having conducted skills surveys in Bangladesh would offer good insights: For instance, Islamic Development Bank conducted a technical skill needs survey in ICT industry (http://www.idb-bisew.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=243&Itemid=134). Other cross-sectoral skills surveys have been undertaken by the World Bank (2013) and ILO (2012). THE WORLD BANK | 27 such as tax exemption. The central 40. Inadequate Capacity for Flexible is considered to hinder technical agencies of higher education are yet Curriculum Revision and Student graduates’ competency and familiarity to establish bodies for promoting Assessment: Curriculum updating with modern machineries and tools industry collaborations. In skills are not adequately adaptive due to needed for today’s industry jobs. development sector, National Skills the centralized control, overreliance Teachers, including at universities, are Development Council (NSDC) has on written examination is a long- often deprived of appropriate training been formed as an apex body of standing issue. Universities enjoy a full to enhance their modern pedagogical coordination of all the skills training autonomy over its education contents. skills due to the lack of professional initiatives and stakeholders including Curriculum for tertiary colleges and development opportunities and clear both public and private entities. To vocational training institutions, on the understanding about teachers’ desired mobilize industry participation, the other hand, are centrally controlled competencies. Industry Skills Councils (ISCs) have by the respective central agencies. been established with ambitious goals Capacity of the central agencies to 42. Over the past years, education as an industry-driven platform for flexibly update and ensure quality and technical institutes, including skills development. By 2017, a total and relevant curriculum need to be universities and polytechnics, have of 12 ISCs have been established by further strengthened. There is a strong been able to acquire some modern relevant industry representatives with culture of written examinations, which equipment and offer some teacher the help of various skills development relies excessively on the memorization trainings to support practical projects. Each ISC is a coalition of of knowledge. The issue is of a learning under different government relevant industry associations and particularly serious concern in tertiary development projects, such as Skills key enterprises of the industry. colleges52. and Training Enhancement Project The objectives of ISCs include, but (STEP) and Higher Education Quality not limited to, facilitating industry- 41. Inadequate Capacity for Enhancement Project (HEQEP). institution collaboration in enhancing Delivering Quality Teaching: Quality However, there still is a long way quality and access of skills training, teaching and learning becomes to go to ensure the availability of providing skills training to unemployed challenging with inadequate modern facilities and teaching skills at workers, developing industry provision of modern learning facilities institutions to provide relevant learning competency standards, and producing and insufficient teacher training for new and current technologies. knowledge about skills demands in opportunities in the education and skills training institutes. Most 43. Inadequate Implementation the industry. These facilitator functions Capacity and Resources for Quality that ISCs are expected to play would education and training institutes in Bangladesh have limited Assurance: Quality assurance is still be critically important for ensuring a relatively new concept in education responsiveness of skills development development funds to improve teaching learning facilities and provide and skills development sectors of system to adapt to fast-changing Bangladesh, and the implementation skills demands of industries. However, necessary professional development opportunities for teachers. This leads of policy framework remain weak. the overall efficacy of NSDC system Each subsector has its own quality is yet to be fully materialized to the them to operate without adequate teaching aids, modern labs, equipment assurance mechanism. The higher level that was envisioned due to education sector has recently enacted shortage of resources and capacity and ICT facilities needed for conducive teaching learning environment53. Accreditation Council, Bangladesh constraints, while the ISC system is (ACB) Act in 2017 which lays the still rather weak in their institutional Especially in the provision of science, technology and engineering subjects, foundation for ensuring quality capacity and lacks the coherent education delivery in the higher mechanism for sustainability. practical learning is hampered when students have little or no access to education institutions, including Maintaining commitment and public and private universities and securing contributions from industry raw materials and lab facilities. At technical institutes, the lack of modern tertiary colleges. Under the ACB Act, stakeholders have also been a major an Accreditation Council is in the challenge for the ISCs. facilities and equipment for training process of establishment. The ACB 52 More in-depth analysis about institutional capacity for improving quality and relevance of education in tertiary education institutions will be available in the upcoming study, Skills for Growth in Bangladesh. 53 See the World Bank’s education sector review, Bangladesh Education Sector Review: Seeding Fertile Ground: Education That Works for Bangladesh, for detailed description of challenging teaching and learning environment at education and training institutions. 28 will be an independent autonomous System (NSQAS) was established under and (e) validation of assessment tools body responsible for overseeing the the National Skills Development Policy against units of competency. However, quality of higher education delivered 2011 as a regulatory framework for the implementation of these policy at the institutions and assess it against quality assurance across the subsector. frameworks has been a challenge. The the benchmark given in the National The NSQAS is a comprehensive ACB is still premature to make much of Qualifications Framework. It would system covering all entities engaged a dent in the system, although some receive applications for accreditation in the acquisition of skills, including IQACs show encouraging results from of programs at the initial stage and graduates, teachers, training courses, their institutional-level activities. The later, institutions, and conduct workplaces, training organizations competency standards under the external assessments of the quality and industry. The NSQAS includes: (a) National Technical and Vocational of teaching and learning in the higher accreditation of nationally recognized Qualification Framework (NTVQF) are education institutions. The ACB is also units of competency, qualifications yet to be officially implemented in assigned to support the Institutional and course specifications; (b) most of public and private training Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) at all registration of public and private institutions due to technical and universities through the development training providers; (c) accreditation of financial resource constraints. These of standards, guidelines and code of learning and assessment programs quality assurance mechanisms good practices and assist to develop leading to nationally recognized units need to be further strengthened and their own procedures, techniques and of competency and qualifications; continually updated to remain relevant modalities for self-assessment. In TVET, (d) auditing of training providers for with the fast-changing skills demands. a National Skills Quality Assurance compliance against quality standards; THE WORLD BANK | 29 3 SKILLS STRATEGIES FOR JOB FOR BANGLADESH: HOW BANGLADESH CAN MEET SKILLS DEMANDS FOR A NEW ERA OF WORK AND TECHNOLOGY 44. Building on discussion in the preceding chapters, this chapter discusses and recommends a range of policy options both from the demand and supply sides of skills for enhancing skills development system in Bangladesh in the age of dynamic economy. Pillar 1 discusses possible measures to strengthen linkages between demand and supply of skills, whereas Pillar 2 comprises of approaches to enhancing and reorienting skills supply to overcome skills challenges in light of changing and unpredictable skills demand. Finally, Pillar 3 discusses policy measures to foster greater participation of demand-side – private industries – in skills development. Each recommendation is complemented with tentative short-term and mid- to long-term priority policy actions and results. 3.1 PILLAR 1: IMPROVING INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR BETTER LINKAGE BETWEEN SUPPLY AND DEMAND SIDES OF SKILLS TOWARDS MORE ADAPTIVE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM 45. When the economy evolves fast, it is crucial for skills development system to have as seamless linkages as possible between the demand and supply sides of skills to ensure the industries get skilled manpower they need to make the most out of the business environment and latest productivity enhancing technologies. 30 Labor Market Information and Responsiveness 46. Strengthen labor market information and graduates feedback system to enable evidence-based planning and to inform institutions and individuals: Availability of timely labor market (NSDC), can play a leading role in skills information system and timely information (i.e. employment undertaking skills surveys, such as dissemination. Job market can be opportunities, human resource and national or industry-wide employer made more efficient with digital tools. skills needs of key industries) should skills survey, and formulating action Online job portals should be enhanced be strengthened as a basis for evidence plans to fill skills gap in respective through public and private platforms based planning for skills development industries. It is crucial that each to enrich job market information to and to inform training institutions and industry maps out their current and reduce matching problems and job trainees about employment prospects anticipated skills demand and gap if search frictions. Some of the priority in key occupations54. ISCs and industry any to mitigate skills bottlenecks in the policy actions and results in short-term associations under the guidance of industry. ICT can play a major role in and mid-term include the following. National Skills Development Council establishing efficient labor market and Short-term actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Conduct job market analysis for skills demand • LMIS regularly updated with expanded MoEWOE, MoLE, MoE, in selected industries coverage and information NSDC • Strengthen labor market information system • Labor market surveys regularly conducted (LMIS) in different productive sectors • Support on-line job portal platforms to improve • New course opening and curriculum coverage and usability design for education and training • Disseminate job market information to post- institutions are informed regularly by job secondary stakeholders market surveys and LMIS 47. Increase labor market responsiveness of post-secondary education: The education and training system mounting in Bangladesh55. Tertiary such as graduates tracking and should be held accountable for education and skills development regular consultation with employers labor market relevance of their sectors should institutionalize a and alumni, are indispensable for service and employability of their mechanism to monitor the labor adjusting education and training graduates; System for regular market outcomes of their recent contents to the changing skills needs tracking of graduates is needed graduates and receive feedbacks of industries57 Traditionally, however, both at central and institutional from employers about skills gap of Bangladesh education system levels. Concerns over employability graduates56. Establishing effective has not had a culture of tracking of tertiary education graduates are labor market feedback systems, students beyond their graduation58. 54 Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh 2017-2030 urges MOE/UGC to carry out labor market studies to identify human resource needs and review university curricula on a regular basis (MOE, 2017). National Skills Development Policy (NSDP) 2011 also places a strong emphasis on the needs of developing a robust skills database system for planning and monitoring (MOE, 2011). 55 Graduate unemployment has been a major concern among higher education stakeholders. See, for instance, an article “Tackling Graduate Unemployment”. http://www.thedailystar. net/tackling-graduate-unemployment-the-need-for-university-industry-cooperation-3097. This issue came to the society’s attention especially strongly when the statistics came out to show high unemployment rates among tertiary education graduates. See, for instance, an article, “Job Opportunity: Higher degree, lesser scope”. http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/ job-opportunity-higher-degree-lesser-scope-1412233. 56 For instance, Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh, recognizing long-standing frustration of employers about poor relevance of university education, strongly urges universities to establish (a) a proactive and well defined system of linkage with employers and industry stakeholders, and (b) regular contact with employers to reflect changing standards in curricula, so that university education in Bangladesh will be nationally and globally competitive. 57 World Bank (2002) argues that new roles of universities in the knowledge society shift from an emphasis on teaching to a focus on students learning and career choices, for which effective beneficiary assessment and labor market feedbacks are important instruments. 58 For instance, most recently completed tracer study in TVET is 10 years old, done by World Bank (2007) until the World Bank conducted a tracer study on short-course graduates in 2014 (Nomura et al., 2014). Tracer studies are currently underway that track graduates from polytechnics, universities, and colleges by the World Bank. Collectively these studies will give a holistic picture of employment outcomes of post-secondary graduates. THE WORLD BANK | 31 Paucity of follow-up information for dissemination about graduates’ youth, digital communication will on graduates makes it difficult for employment or further education help substantially reduce the cost policy makers and institutions to outcomes. Undertaking graduate of establishing communication with systematically assess how closely tracking will also help individual graduates. Right incentive mechanism their curriculum are aligned with institutions to adjust their teaching should be put in place for public employers’ human resource needs. and career support strategies. Until institutions to be rewarded for setting Central agencies of TVET and higher today, except for some universities up tracking system and achieving education, such as UGC, DSHE, DTE, recently piloting to track students, higher employment rate of graduates. and National University, should have most of institutions are yet to Some of the priority policy actions and a policy framework and operational establish graduate tracking systems. results in short-term and mid-term capacity to conduct regular graduates With near universal mobile phone include the following. tracking and establish databases and email use among Bangladeshi Short-term actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Conduct nation-wide tracer studies on • Periodic nation-wide tracking surveys UGC, DSHE, DTE, NU, graduates institutionalized universities, colleges • Develop institutions’ capacity to conduct • Post-secondary institutions regularly tracer study and employer surveys updated about graduates situation and local labor market needs Institutional Strengthening for Sector-wide Collaboration and Quality Assurance 48. Strengthen central planning and collaboration facilities for skills development. Strategic planning for skills for harmonized skills development Human Development Fund (NHDF) development should be strengthened. need to be further improved, involving and strengthening NSDC should National Skills Development Policy all concerned ministries, private be pursued with a renewed vigor. (NSDP) 2011 has been a guiding sector, and development partners. Based on these facilities and wider policy for TVET sector, and the time Industry Skills Councils (ISCs) should stakeholder consultation, planning and appears ripe for it to be reviewed and be further strengthened and engaged. coordination for skills development updated/upgraded to incorporate The government’s on-going initiative should adopt more sector-wide lessons learned and new requirements of establishing and operationalizing program approach. in skills development. Collaboration the National Skills Development and monitoring at the national level Authority (NSDA) and National Short-term actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Establish a national statutory body for • NSDA, NSDC, NHDF are operationalized MoE, MoLE, NSDA, planning and collaboration, including private • Sector-wide planning system functional NSDC, ISCs, relevant line sector under the national coordination body ministries • Enhance ISCs activities and sustainability for • ISCs are regularized with stable revenue greater private sector participation • Implementation progress regularly • Initiate sector-wide annual and five-year monitored results-based planning system for skills and higher education sectors • Strengthen monitoring capability for skills development 32 49. Speed up the implementation of qualification framework and quality assurance system. Higher education and skills framework have been expanded; Bangladesh Accreditation Council development sectors both have or however, only a handful of training (BAC) for higher education is still at a will soon have laid a good foundation institutions have so far been able to nascent stage and will have to initiate in recent years for qualification offer programs that adhere to those the accreditation process. The quality framework and quality assurance competency standards and are eligible assurance activities in universities system as discussed earlier. The for assessment and certification. The need to be fully institutionalized and implementation of these policy central skills agency for accreditation more deeply integrated within the initiatives needs to be expedited and and skills certification is in urgent need mandate of the institutions. sustained. Competency standards of substantial capacity improvement in the national skills qualification and international recognition. The Short-term actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Expand the implementation of skills • The skills qualification framework is fully MoE, UGC, DSHE, BAC, qualification framework as a mandatory implemented and regularly updated BTEB, universities, requirement for all skills training institutes • The accreditation of higher education is colleges, TVET institutes • Upgrade technical education board as skills regularized and enforced rigorously accreditation and certification agency • Quality assurance activities are • Prepare and update all competency institutionalized standards in collaboration with industries Qualification frameworks, accreditation • Implement accreditation of higher education system, and quality assurance system are institutions internationally recognized • Expand quality assurance activities at national and institution levels THE WORLD BANK | 33 3.2 PILLAR 2: RE-ORIENTING SKILLS SUPPLY TO PREPARE YOUTHS FOR UNPREDICTABLE SKILLS DEMAND AND UNCERTAIN ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 50. How to provide relevant skills environment, technical skills needed policy options to enable the country development has always been a for jobs are increasingly becoming to cope with these new challenges to challenge for Bangladesh. Now with elusive and unpredictable. This sub- make the best out of the opportunities changing technologies and business chapter discusses some of promising presented by technological advances. 3.2.1 SKILLING UP STUDENTS Enhancing Higher-order Thinking Skills and Soft Skills Development in Post-Secondary Education 51. Train Higher-order Cognitive Skills and Soft Skills in Post-Secondary Education: Education/training programs should those skills can be designed and and soft skills even at post-secondary integrate training components and implemented in post-secondary institutions. Collaborative and pedagogical approach for developing institutions as additional training project-based learning would immerse higher-order cognitive skills and soft programs for students. These skills students in active group works where skills. Higher-order cognitive skills can and should also be nurtured in they experience dynamic analytical and soft skills are highly demanded daily classroom education. These skills and problem solving activities. in modern workplaces. Graduates should be incorporated in curriculum Teachers should be trained on such who demonstrate sound higher-order and qualification framework as pedagogy/andragogy skills. For more cognitive skills and soft skills at job expected learning outcomes and details on good practices of skills interviews and workplace are expected competencies. Moreover, it is known development initiatives for higher- to earn higher wages. Special training that introducing Active Learning cognitive skills and soft skills, refer to courses, usually highly immersive and methods would be highly conducive Annex 1. interactive, dedicated to fostering to nurturing higher-cognitive skills Short-term actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Design methods for training higher-order • Pedagogical methods and teaching UGC, DSHE, DTE, BTEB, cognitive and soft skills contents to nurture higher-order cognitive universities, TVET • Pilot new courses at selected institutions skills adopted in curriculum institutes 52. Assess Students Higher-Order Cognitive and Soft Skills in Post-Secondary Education: Measuring students’ higher-order skills of students. It is impractical technical skills, higher-order cognitive cognitive and non-cognitive skills to aim to improve anything without skills, and non-cognitive skills so as to as well as technical skills is the first measuring its outputs and outcomes. benchmark their education outcomes step towards improving teaching and Institutions’ own semester-wise and measure improvement overtime. learning and ultimately education examinations do little good in Students will be given feedbacks outcomes. Embarking on quality terms of measuring higher-order on how well they performed, and enhancement of teaching and learning cognitive skills and non-cognitive teachers will be given opportunities for to accelerate students’ higher-order skills of students. Institutions and review and advices on their teaching cognitive and non-cognitive skills central authority should test out and strategies. development, one major hurdle is the institutionalize student assessment lack of reliable assessment on those in post-secondary education on 34 Short-term actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Pilot student assessment on higher-order • Periodic student assessment conducted UGC, DSHE, cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills and • Results utilized to improve teaching and learning DTE, BTEB, technical skills in engineering courses universities, TVET institutes 53. Ensure Solid Foundational Skills among Post-Secondary Students: Many of post-secondary students would skills. Higher-order cognitive skills and post-secondary institutions and faculty benefit from remedial programs to technical skills can only be nurtured should establish a mechanism to offer retrain their literacy and numeracy skills. building on a solid foundation. To additional remedial classes to first-year As discussed in the previous chapter, ensure all students have adequate students during the first semester if they some students are completing basic literacy and numeracy skills for post- are found to have inadequate basic education with shaky foundational secondary education and training, academic skills. Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Assess foundational skills of students • Remedial courses institutionalized as per UGC, DSHE, DTE, • Pilot remedial courses in selected institutions the needs of students universities, polytechnics Re-prioritizing Technical Skills Development in Post-Secondary Education 54.Expand Training in ICT in Post-Secondary Education: Skills training in ICT should be further should be adequately conversant training processes so graduates would accelerated to enhance workplace with use of ICTs. Investment in ICT enter labor market with adequate productivity and for creation of should be further accelerated in skills foundational ICT skills. For more ICT-enabled jobs. ICT have a new institutions and universities/colleges details on good practices in ICT skills reality in every workplace. Students to make ICT integral part of education/ development, refer to Annex 2. Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Expand ICT facilities at post-secondary • ICT-enhanced learning institutionalized UGC, DSHE, DTE, institutions universities, colleges, • Train teachers in using ICT in pedagogy polytechnics THE WORLD BANK | 35 55. Make STEM More Practical and Hands-on in Post-Secondary Education: STEM education and training with to improve practical skills acquisition. industry partners and future employers. focus on practical skills should be Curriculum need to be constantly Opportunities of apprenticeship strengthened across education cycles upgraded to remain relevant to latest should also be fully explored at higher particularly at the tertiary education technologies in the industries. For education institutions, especially in level. Overemphasis on theoretical students in TVET and STEM, workplace STEM subjects. University students knowledge has been taking a toll on exposure through apprenticeship in across the world are conducting development of desirable technical relevant industries would be especially internship. Students in Bangladesh skills in Bangladesh. Greater emphasis beneficial for development of practical are also taking up this trend. Through on fostering practical and hands- skills. Currently vocational stream of the government incentives to on skills should be built into STEM secondary education and polytechnics employers particularly in industries education and training. TVET and have industry attachment programs and occupations with skills shortage, higher education institutions must in their standard curriculum. However, internships for higher education be better equipped at workshops quality of industry attachment is students in STEM should be further and science laboratories and train often questionable, and needs to be cultivated. teachers in pedagogy/andragogy skills enhanced through better incentive for Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Redesign curriculum of STEM to be more • Practical STEM classes integrated in all UGC, DSHE, BTEB, practical and hands-on STEM courses universities, • Train teachers in practical STEM pedagogy polytechnics Capacity Development of Teachers, Institutions, and Students for Better Employability 56. Train Pedagogical Skills of Post-Secondary Teachers to Meet New Skills Requirements: All those reforms discussed above and consensus among university University affiliated colleges have require teachers in post-secondary stakeholders and TVET stakeholders been benefiting from teacher training institutions to have a new set of in Bangladesh about importance of programs in the on-going projects. teaching competencies. Competencies pedagogical trainings for university Teacher training opportunities need in pedagogical skills are essential, faculty and skills trainers. The Higher to be expanded and enhanced in particularly in skills to deliver Active Education Strategic Plan makes future to enable teachers to redesign Learning methods which is known a specific case and argument for their teaching around the objective of to have positive impact on students’ establishing a teacher training system training higher-order cognitive skills, higher-order cognitive skills. There for university faculty members. Teachers soft skills, practical technical skills, and has been a growing recognition in TVET institutions and National ICT skills. Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Conduct situation analysis • Teachers in post-secondary institutions UGC, DSHE, BTEB, • Establish teacher training centers and exposed to teacher training on enhanced universities, programs for post-secondary teachers pedagogical skills polytechnics • Design teacher training curriculum to support active learning and practical pedagogy • Train teachers for enhanced pedagogical skills 36 57. Upgrade Teaching and Learning Environment of Post-Secondary Institutions: Capacity of institutions to support to identify institutions where return on sector, the quality assurance system effective and flexible learning practices investment would be high. Innovative mandates universities to conduct needs to be upgraded in particular performance-based institutional grant extensive self-assessment and prepare through revamping their often system has been tested in university, institutional plans for improvement. dilapidated facilities and outdated college, and polytechnic sectors by the These facilities would offer a promising equipment at universities, colleges, respective development projects. Under platform for extending smart and and polytechnics. Demand for facility the scheme, institutions are required efficient investment for teaching and renovation is huge and equipment in to formulate institutional development learning environment in a transparent post-secondary education are often plans for the mid-term span, taking and accountable manner, and should costly. Under the tight fiscal space of accounts of all the priority needs of the be expanded to channel more funding the public sector, institutions must be institution. The plans will then be vetted to providing essential teaching and able to make smart investment in their by the central agency and approved for learning facilities and tools needed for teaching and learning environment, and grant awards, which would be followed implementing updated curriculum and the central agencies need to be able by rigorous monitoring. In the university new pedagogical methods. Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Provide institutional grants through • Performance-based institutional UGC, NU, DSHE, DTE, performance based allocation system development funding scheme is fully MoE, universities, • Conduct a thorough stocktaking of the institutionalized colleges, polytechnics teaching and learning facilities and • Facilities and equipment are maintained equipment for gap identification sustainably • Facility guidelines are formulated 58. Improve Skills for Job Search and Career Development among Post-Secondary Students: Job search and career development opportunities and skills/qualification policy framework for public institutions skills would need to be enhanced to requirements. However, career support to establish career services and provide reduce frictions in job market. Skills and career education are in many cases them with training. Private institutions matching does not occur automatically. unavailable at education institutions typically have stronger incentives to High quality career guidance provided in Bangladesh. Career support unit can support students in job search. They by education and training institutions be established at tertiary education would also benefit if the government would greatly help graduates and institutions to provide career guidance can provide technical and financial parents to make informed career or and available employment information assistances. further education choices that are in at locality, and to maintain alumni line with present and foreseen job network. The government can establish Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Conduct situation analysis • Career development training UGC, DSHE, DTE, • Design and pilot new extracurricular training institutionalized at post-secondary universities, for job search and career development institutions polytechnics THE WORLD BANK | 37 3.2.2 SKILLING UP WORKERS AND PROFESSIONALS Upskilling for Businesses and Professional Development for Workers 59. Expand Training for Female Workers and Female Business Owners: Female workers deserve more skills education and skills training have unemployment60, and are often with development opportunities for yet to be equal across gender59. Skills limited mobility that prevent them jobs and entrepreneurship skills to programs targeting females should from finding jobs away from home. To be solvent self-employed business be vigorously expanded, and female enhance women’s employment and owners. Female enrollment has participation in training courses in earnings, female entrepreneurship increased over the past several years subjects that are not traditionally training coupled with awareness and thanks to targeted support such as ‘female oriented’ should be pursued behavioral change trainings would female stipend program and skills more actively. Scarcity of employment help female workers to be empowered training in garment manufacturing. opportunities for female workers is and establish self-employment However, access to skills development another challenge. Female workers businesses in their locality. opportunities through both tertiary are disproportionately affected by Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Expand skills training in female oriented • Female entrepreneurship training MoE, MoEWOE, MoLE, trades regularly conducted for female SME MoI, MoWCA, DoL, TVET • Expand skills training for females in owners institutes traditionally non-female oriented trades • Safeguard female participation in every training programs • Design business skills training for women in partnership with female associations 60. Expand Training in Managerial Skills for Mid-Career Professionals: Opportunities for skills development and ICT are employing a large cohort be warranted through cost/risk sharing of mid-level managers should be of mid-level managers and future schemes. Public and private universities expanded vigorously to alleviate managers, and have a strong demand and management training institutes severe human resource bottleneck for managerial skills. Training of such would be brought in to design and for managerial positions. Having high-level managerial skills requires provide specialized training programs good managers in place who can both extensive exposure to professional dedicated to management related oversee complex business operations expertise and practical experience. subjects for tertiary-level students and communicate effectively with Despite its usefulness, management and mid-level managers (i.e. executive business partners around the globe skills trainings are by nature high- training). Close partnership with is of considerable value to all types cost and vulnerable to turn-overs of experienced professionals from relevant of businesses enterprises in today’s trained staff. To overcome the risk of industries would be essential. business environment. In particular, sub-optimal provision of this type of established industries such as RMG training, public support would likely to 59 According to BANBEIS 2015 data, Gender Parity Indexes were around 0.43 for university, 0.82 for tertiary-level colleges, and 0.28 for TVET. Female share in TVET has increased drastically over the past decade; however, it still remains significantly lower. 60 As of 2015, unemployment rate for female is 6.8% while that for male is 3.0%; female unemployment rates are particularly high at younger cohorts (10% for 25-29 years and 12% for 18- 24 years); furthermore, the majority of female workers (63%) work in agriculture, compared to only a third of male workers; only around 28% of employed female workers are working as ‘employees’ of employers, as opposed to 44% of male workers doing so; according to the Labour Force Survey 2015/16. 38 Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Design mid-level manager training in selected • Mid-level manager training regularized at MoE, MoEWOE, MoLE, industries in partnership with industry post-secondary institutions and industry MoI, universities, TVET associations associations institutes • Pilot mid-level manager training in association with post-secondary institutions and industry experts 61. Establish Lifelong Learning System for Mid-Career Workers: Skills development must be continual for Bangladeshi workers should be and ensure smooth introduction and lifelong in the age of rapid expanded. Establishing a functioning of improved production processes technological changes. Opportunities lifelong retraining system involves that will contribute to productivity62. for learning and training are important effective cooperation and interaction Cooperation and close interaction for all people at different stages of between employer organizations and between employers and institution life. In the age of rapid technological education/training agencies. Combined through development of training change, measures that support role of higher education institutions contents and delivery of training are lifelong learning and upskilling will and TVET institutes will make most crucial63. Specialized training programs, be essential to help increase job effective contribution that meet diverse organized by skills training and higher mobility of workers and adaptability skills needs for new technologies. education institutions in partnership of their skill sets61. Bangladeshi Opportunity for training on new with industries, could offer short- to workers have limited opportunity for technologies would help businesses mid-term skills training that are readily skills training after leaving education and employers to make timely accessible for workers from companies system. Lifelong learning opportunities investment and recruitment decisions operating in that specialty. Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Conduct market analysis on life-long learning • Life-long learning program on offer for MoE, UGC, DTE, DSHE, training public at some institutions universities, TVET • Design and pilot fee-based life-long learning institutes courses at selected institutions OCED (2004) argues that while social protection programs to protect workers unable to keep up with technology diffusion are integral part of policy to help maintain social cohesion, 61 measures to incentivize for work, upskilling, and restructuring are equally important to preserve a trustful social fabric. 62 In recognition of importance of lifelong learning for productivity, SABER Workforce Development (WfD) system oversight dimension involves a policy action of facilitating life-long learning with a policy goal of diversifying pathways to skills acquisition. 63 TVET Reform Project also recommends expansion of lifelong learning programs in Bangladesh and call for close partnership between employers’ organizations and training institutions (TVET Reform Project, 2012). World Development Report 2012 also points to the importance of lifelong learning in job creation and highlight Singapore’s successful lifelong learning strategy in 80’s and 90’s to upgrade lifelong learning for its labor force especially for those less well-educated. THE WORLD BANK | 39 62. Expand and Incentivize Skills Training for the Migrant Workers: Bangladesh’s migrant workers need training including safe migration skills. Recognition of Prior Learning plays an to be more skilled in order to upgrade Proper incentive mechanism and skills important role in skills recognition for value added of their work and increase recognition system have to be in place returnees. Strategies and measures remittances to the country. Oversees’ to motivate migrant workers to receive need to be in place to enhance the workers need to upgrade the skills prior trainings. Manpower exporting agencies branding of Bangladeshi workers and to leaving the country and after coming need to be made aware of skills skills qualifications of the country. back to the country. Female migrant recognition system to use it in their workers particularly deserve skills worker screening and sorting processes. Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Provide RPL to returnees • Skilled migrant workers receive skills MoE, MoEWOE, BTEB, • Integrate skills recognition in database and recognition BMET, DoL, TVET screening process • Migrant workers receive skills training institutes • Expand skills training to future migrant prior to departure and post repatriation workers and returnees, especially female • Bangladesh skills certification recognized migrant workers in a few countries and by most of agencies • Develop dialogue with foreign countries for mutual skills recognition 40 3.3 PILLAR 3: GREATER INVOLVEMENT OF THE DEMAND-SIDE OF SKILLS - PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT 63. Finally, in Pillar 3, a special ultimate beneficiary and guardian of sub-chapter discusses issues related to emphasis is given to the role of the upskilled workforce. Policy measures private sector’s engagements in skills demand-side of skills, especially in Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 would be development and possible strategies private industry sector. Private sector empowered greatly if private sector to bridge gaps to facilitate them. has a special role to play as an stakeholders are also on board. This 64. Build Brand of Skills of Bangladesh and Expand Facilities for Private Sector Participation in Skills Development: First and foremost, much work still using both new and traditional media future demands for skills It takes on need to be done to stir the awareness are needed to propel employers’ and various forms, and can be leveraged of employers about the value of society’s awareness about the value of and facilitated with public support64. technical skills for their businesses technical skills and nurture a greater There have been many successful to foster the interest in investing in trust in the quality of skills development cases in Bangladesh65 and around the skills building at workplace and in the system. Private industry participation world. The government of Bangladesh industry. Furthermore, for many years, and partnership in skills training should fully embrace the public private employers have had a limited trust provision and quality enhancement is partnership approach and promote in the quality of skills of graduates of utmost importance for improving it wherever possible in its skills and relevance of education of the and expanding skills development development agenda. education and skills training providers for Bangladeshi youth and workers. in Bangladesh. Sustained interventions In the face of enormous current and Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Conduct awareness workshops to industry • Private sector participation in skills NSDA, NSDC, MoE, partners at national and local levels highlighted in national agenda MoEWOE, MoI, UGC, • Conduct a study on regulatory systems to • Regulatory system to incentivize private DSHE incentivize private sector participation in participation in skills training established skills development 64 Several key initiatives have been taken in Bangladesh to promote private sector participation in skills development. At the sector level, Industry Skills Councils (ISCs) and industry associations are an excellent platform for industries to collectively provide technical support to improve quality and relevance of skills training. ISCs are also tasked to analyze industry- specific skills gap and prepare industry-based action plans. Public support to ISCs are to be expanded and sustained. At the institution-level, institutional management cell (IMC) at short- course providers and polytechnics have been instrumental in facilitating active participation of local industry stakeholders in management of institutions. In Bangladesh, formal and informal apprenticeship has been a common way for private sector to fill skills gap and impart practical skills in Bangladesh, in particular among small and 65 medium size enterprises. THE WORLD BANK | 41 65. Incentivize Employer-led Skills Training at Workplace through PPP: Private sector-led skills trainings, far short of adequate supply because collaboration towards improving both pre- and post-employment, of (a) anticipated high turnover of quality and relevance of TVET have been an underutilized form of trained staff (leading to lower private and tertiary education. Industry skills training in Bangladesh66, despite return) and (b) high upfront cost for Skills Councils have been formed promising potential benefits to both establishing such training systems in 12 industries subsectors for the workers and employers67. In the era (leading to liquidity constraints and purpose of promoting public private of constant technological changes, free rider problem). High turnover partnership for skills development and finding people with right skill sets is is especially true when intended those are still remained at nascent a constant struggle for employers. skills are of more generic nature. stage. As employer are training Workplace-based skills training helps Employers would try to recover providers themselves, potential for employers address skills constraints in costs by lowering staff pay or avoid providing most relevant training their businesses and workers to update providing it altogether if risks are is huge. There are a number of their skills at workplace while earning high. Public support in the form of formidable barriers, such as weak incomes. Provision of public support financial incentive and partnership institutional capacity and lack of to industry-led formal trainings would with employers’ associations would trustful relations that have hampered be justifiable in Bangladesh on the be essential to alleviate such market this potentially transformative basis of market failures. Enterprises failures. Employer-led training would partnership for skills. The government would have intrinsic incentive to play an important role to fill serious needs to further build up a partnership provide skills training to their own skills shortfalls and inadequate with key industry associations and workers to overcome their skills capacity of formal training institutions. establish an incentive system for constraints and improve productivity; Some industry associations have private sector to fill skills gap. however, if left to their own devices, extensive training facilities. There private skills provision will likely fall are potentials of education-industry Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Expand existing training program with industry • Training programs with NSDA, NSDC, MoE, associations industry associations regularly MoEWOE, MoI, MoLE, • Initiate new training programs and modalities in conducted with increased UGC, DSHE, DoL partnership with industry associations for pre- share of private contribution employment and in-service training • Incentive program for in- • Conduct surveys on in-service skills training for workers service training program expanded • Pilot incentive program for in-service training for workers • Official apprenticeship • Expand / initiate official apprenticeship programs in program expanded and skills selected trades with skills certification process certificates provided 66 For instance, data from the tracer study on polytechnic graduates show that only around eight percent of polytechnic graduates have experienced workplace-based training after joining the firm. 67 A thorough literature review on returns to on the job trainings (OJTs) by Almaida & Cho (2012) indicates that the empirical evidences from both developed and developing countries consistently show positive correlation between OJT experience and higher earnings by employees, though estimated size of return vary. A strong linkage has also been identified between OJT and productivity of firms. 42 66. Deepen Partnership with Private Sector for Improving Quality and Relevance of Post-Secondary Education: TVET and tertiary education system by private entities, as envisioned been established as a main vehicle should involve private sector in every in the national education policies, to coordinate improvement activities stage of design and implementation of include the following (see Table 2). between TVET and key industrial education and training. So much has In practice, though still at a nascent sectors of the country. Despite the been said but still so much to be done stage, partnership with industry sector initial teething problems and varied in Bangladesh about joining hands have been gaining traction in TVET level of success, some ISCs have with private sector to improve quality and university sectors alike, with the been successful and actively involved and relevance of education and skills support from the Ministry and various in training provision, curriculum development services. Priority areas projects. In TVET sector, for instance, revision, and standard/qualification of partnership with and contribution 12 Industry Skills Councils (ISCs) have development. Table 2: Key Areas of Industry Partnership for Skills in Post-Secondary Education in Bangladesh Category Areas/activities of partnership and collaboration Private provision a. Establishment of TVET and higher education institutes to meet expert manpower needs of the industry sector; b. Delivery of workplace-based skills training programs for their employees; c. Advocacy for workforce development; Information & planning a. Identification and forecast of skills demands of the industry sector; b. Situation assessment on skills development practices in the industry sector; c. Development of industry specific skills development plan; Quality and relevance of a. Development of skills standard and qualification, and new curriculum; education and training b. Support to schools, colleges, and training institutes for quality improvement of skills programs through curricula revision, material development, teacher training, guest lecturer, study tour, etc.; c. Apprenticeship programs, student training and exchange programs; d. Sabbaticals and placement of teachers in relevant industry sectors; e. Research and development collaboration especially in STEM fields. Others a. Sponsorship for education scholarships, and research fellowship for postgraduates; b. Placement of graduates; Source: Derived from National Education Policy 2010; National Skills Development Policy 2011; Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh 2017-2030. Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Strengthen Industry Skills Councils (ISCs) • ISCs fully engaged in curriculum and contents NSDC, ISCs, MoE, • Strengthen curriculum development review and development MoEWOE, UGC, DSHE, capacity of post-secondary education • Capacity for curriculum development with TVET institutes, industry feedbacks among university faculty, universities, colleges • Initiate national and local industry partners for curriculum improvement National University, and BTEB improved and practiced regularly THE WORLD BANK | 43 67. Establish In-service Training Programs for Industry Professionals at Post-Secondary Institutions: Avenue for in-service professional networking with other professionals course for industry professionals. training (e.g., management skills in the industry. At the same time, According to the principal and some training or up-skilling training on new engaging industry professionals participants, this training program technologies) provided by tertiary in training would provide tertiary has proven highly popular among education/training institutions education institutions with excellent industrialists, and enabled the targeting industry professionals opportunities to cultivate network of institution to expand the network through partnership arrangement industry partners for job placement with industries and establish solid should be intensively explored as arrangement and exchange programs reputation in their locality as a reliable they would have tremendous positive and to be responsive to the changing source of skilled technicians. This type benefits for both parties. Public skills needs of industries through of partnership for in-service training support can offer some incentives to adjusting their education and training for industry professionals should be facilitate the partnership. Industry contents. A case in point is one explored and expanded further. professionals would benefit from Technical Training Center in Chittagong having in-service training exposure and initiated a mid-management training Short-term priority actions Mid- to Long-term results Agencies Responsible • Design and pilot fee-based in-service • In-service training for industries offered MoE, MoI, UGC, DSHE, DTE training programs for industries at in some post-secondary institutions in TVET institutes, universities selected post-secondary institutions partnership with local industries 68. Establish Specialized Skills and Research Partnership in Industrial Zones/Clusters with Post-Secondary Institutions: Partnership between post-secondary bottom, while those that recognize the zone. Training needs would range institutions and private sector the value of skilled workers will likely widely from master’s degree for high- should be explored to set up special be in a position to enjoy upgrading69. skilled professionals, special courses training programs in industrial When industries are concentrated on supervision and management skills, zones. Bangladesh has set up Export geographically in industrial zones and short-courses for low-skilled floor Processing Zones (EPZs) and Economic such as EPZs/EZs or IT Parks, higher workers71. Furthermore, on the R&D Zones (EZs) which now employ a large education institutions and TVET side, universities can also act as an number of workers and contribute a institutions in their vicinity can play a innovation facilitator to support local substantial share of export. Business unique role as skills provision partner adaptation of imported technologies areas of EPZs/EZs, however, have been to help fill anticipated skills gap in the and compensate the zone’s shortfalls mostly confined to labor-intensive low zone70. Partnerships can be established in technology. Surveys on firms in skilled manufacturing. Diversification between an agency of the zone and the zone would reveal business, beyond garment products and university/TVET institution to set up a technology and skills needs and how improving competitiveness are dedicated common facility within the partners from universities and TVET the major challenges for the zone zone which have training functions can be integrated. Across the world, authority68. International evidences with trainers from the institution, or there have been several good practices show that zone programs that a dedicated special course can be of skills development in special shrives only on exploiting low-wage initiated within the institution with economic zones. workers are likely to be in a race to the material and financial support from 68 Skakir & Farole (2011) gives a thorough review of EPZ development in Bangladesh. Farole & Akinci (2011) argues that in order to derive long-term economic benefits from EPZs, implementation of a broad range of polices is required, including promotion of skills 69 development. 70 Establishment of special economic zones such as free trade zones is often associated with substantial increase in skills gap which urges governments to promote TVET policies See, for instance, ABD (2017) for a case in Sri Lanka, World Bank (2008) for a case in Vietnam where industrial parks and export zones around Ho Chi Minh City were expected to need 500,000 skilled workers and faced skills bottleneck. Bangladeshi researcher also identifies a lack of skilled workers at various levels and low labor productivity as major obstacles to foreign direct investment in Bangladesh. See Rayhan (2009). 71 Firm owners in economic zones may have limited understanding and awareness about positive impacts of staff training on firms’ productivity. Awareness raising will be one important area of intervention for skills development in economic zones. (Elci, 2010). Skills training in the zones is also found to have positive long-lasting impacts on the host economy though catalytic and demonstration effects (Madani, 1999). 44 Box 1: Skills training at Industrial Zones – Cases of Asian countries Category Areas/activities of partnership and collaboration China (Shenzen) Three months of on-the-job training for operators (one month for class and two months for production practice); more than 80 adult education institutes (1990) but weak links between needs of enterprises in the EPZ and skills provided. Korea (Masan) Three months of on-the-job training for operators; overseas training for skilled workers (mainly in Japan). Malaysia Three months of on-the-job training for operators; Quality Control Cycles with monetary and other incentives (gifts, medals and commendation letters, etc.) for identifying problems and suggesting ways of solving them); little training for computer programming, technical engineering, and design work. Philippines One day to a few weeks of on-the-job training for operators; some firms (Japanese) rotate operators to make them familiar with between 10 and 18 interrelated tasks (three-month rotation). Sri Lanka One to three months of on-the-job training for operators. Taiwan, China Three months of on-the-job training for operators; cooperative training programs between (Kaohsiung) school/college and the firm in the EPZ. School/college provides the general education and the firms provide special technology training; some overseas training. Thailand (Lat Three months of on-the-job training for operators; off-the-job training; study and Krabang) experiment in the classroom and laboratory for some workers; overseas training (at parent company) for core employees in management and technology. Turkey (OSTIM) Vocational training for low-skilled workers; partnership with regional universities under which management trainings are provided to companies in cluster; research collaboration with regional university. Source: Expanded based on White (2011); Elci (2010); THE WORLD BANK | 45 Case Study: Role of Cankaya University in OSTIM industrial zone in Turkey The regional universities in Ankara have been the driving force in the development of OSTIM. Particularly, the role of Cankaya University is noteworthy. Partnership started in 2007 with a focus on the construction and engineering machines sector. Cankaya University, together with OSTIM, implements two projects with the funding from the European Union. Under the projects, they organized two sets of trainings for SMEs in the cluster in 2009/100 on various topics including strategic management, R&D management and human resources management. Cankaya University is planning to increase and diversify training courses to develop skills and capabilities in cluster member companies. The university also initiated a number of programs for its faculties to create linkages with the cluster companies. The students and their academic advisors of the university are encouraged to collaborate with SMEs in conducting their graduation projects by carrying out research at member firms. By end-2010, some 70 projects were completed by students. Source: Elci (2010). 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THE WORLD BANK | 53 ANNEX ANNEX 1: KEY SKILLS CHALLENGES OF ON-GOING WORLD BANK FUNDED POST- SECONDARY EDUCATION PROJECTS On-going World Bank funded development projects in TVET and tertiary education in Bangladesh have identified and addressed a range of major bottlenecks in the sector. Bangladesh’s TVET and tertiary education sectors have been grappling with major institutional and sector-level challenges (see Below Box 2). The government has been undertaking a series of ambitious reform actions to tackle them, producing noteworthy results and lessons. These are all systemic long-term issues that will continue to be addressed by relevant authorities. 54 Box 2: Key challenges addressed in TVET and higher education projects in Bangladesh TVET Low quality of attained skills Dilapidated infrastructure, unequipped labs and classrooms Weak enforcement of competency standards and quality assurance Quality of education from private sector remains contentious issue Low relevance of training Weak linkages with labor market demand and industries Lack of qualified teachers Inadequate access & equity Significant gender disparity (female in skills training: 24 percent) Low proportion of students/trainees in skills training Weak sector management Weak coordination in the skills development sector Weak social perception for TVET Higher education Inadequate access & equity Low enrollment: Gross enrollment, at 13%, lags behind India/Sri Lanka and averages for upper middle-income countries (44%) and lower middle-income countries (23%) Inequitable access: Hugely biased towards urban centers, males and the economically well-off Low participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields Only 32% of university students are in STEM disciplines, especially low among females at 25% Low quality & relevance of education Underdeveloped quality assurance mechanism Weak linkages with labor market demand and industries Quality of education from private sector remains contentious issue Weak research outputs Underdeveloped research capacity and financing, poor intellectual property management, and weak research collaboration with industries Sector-level Low tertiary education public expenditure as a share of GDP issues Inadequate policy framework, resources, and implementation capacity for quality assurance and industry linkage Weak capacity for sector-wide coordination Weak governance and lack of institutional autonomy High politicization Source: By Authors based on policy briefs and sector analysis, and Project Appraisal Documents. THE WORLD BANK | 55 ANNEX 2: HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS AND SOFT SKILLS TRAINING IN POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION Higher-order cognitive skills: Are abilities of individuals involving complex thinking and judgement process applicable to a wide range of tasks and problems; for instance, analytical skill, critical thinking, problem solving, effective communication, and leadership skills. Soft skills: Are characteristics of individuals across multiple domains of social, emotional, personality, behavioral, and attitude; for instance, responsibility, effort, discipline, grit, and determination, self- confidence, sociability, and emotional stability. WHY DO WE NEED returns of higher-order cognitive skills professional employers respectively to individual and national incomes reported that employees are HIGHER-ORDER are found to be higher compared to sufficiently responsible (ibid, 2013). COGNITIVE SKILLS AND those in developed countries, placing SOFT SKILLS? urgency for governments to invest in HOW DO WE GO work-related high-level cognitive skills 1. Employers across the globe are (Valerio et al., 2016). ABOUT DEVELOPING increasingly seeking workers with HIGHER-ORDER 2. The trend is the same in higher-order cognitive skills and soft skills, and there’s a growing Bangladesh; However, employers COGNITIVE SKILLS IN are not finding enough workers body of evidence that associate with good higher-order cognitive BANGLADESH? such skills to better job outcomes skills and soft skills. Basic literacy 3. Post-secondary education and higher wages72. Today’s work and numeracy skills needed to institutions can and should play a environment is complex and fluid. support complex problem solving and critical role to develop these skills In contemporary global economy, decision-making remain low among among individuals. Good practices business processes and technologies formal sector workers (World Bank to support higher order cognitive and are constantly changing and creating 2013)73. A low availability of workers soft skills development at education unique skills requirements for workers. with sufficient cognitive and soft skills institutions can be learned from other Higher-order cognitive skills, such results in these skills to be in high countries. Strategies that have been as complex problem-solving skills, demand and compensated by higher practiced and known to work include strong communication skills and pay among employers in Bangladesh the following: collaborative team work skills, and (Nomura et. al, 2017; World Bank, sophisticated ICT skills, are therefore 2013). An enterprise-based skills Active Learning: There is a good in high demand. By 2020, it is expected survey shows that employers also body of literature that shows active that on average, more the one-third of rank soft skills over cognitive skills for learning methods in teaching tend to the core work-related skills considered effectiveness in jobs in Bangladesh improve higher order thinking skills critical for jobs by employers will (World Bank, 2013). However, both and soft skills among students in post- comprise mostly of higher order professional and non-professional secondary education74. Inadequate cognitive and soft skills (WEF, 2016). employers struggle to find employees availability of modern teaching Higher cognitive skills and soft skills with sufficient soft skills. Despite equipment and teachers’ training can have also been associated with wage ‘responsibility’ being rated as the be a hindrance to use of this method premiums among workers in low and most sought after characteristic by in the classroom, and need to be middle-income countries (Nomura employers, only around 42 percent and carefully addressed (Chowdhury, 2016; and Adhikari, 2017; Valerio et al., 2016). 17 percent of professional and non- Mazumder, 2014). In developing countries, expected A number of studies have examined the links between cognitive and soft skills development with individual wage premiums and economic growth: Kautz et al. (2015); Nomura and 72 Adhikari (2017); Valerio et. al (2016); World Bank (2010). World Bank (2013) reports that the average literacy and numeracy score (out of total score 8) increases from 0.5 among non-educated to 2.1 among primary education completers, 3.5 73 among junior school completers, and 5.5 among secondary school completers. 74 Some literature on the benefits of active learning include: Freeman et. al (2014).; Hopson, MH., Simms, RL., and Knezek, GA. (2014); Fisher, K. (2010); Sivan, A., et. al (2010). 56 Specialized Program: Universities and included higher order cognitive and understand factors and strategies in colleges are also introducing special soft skills as part of its National Safe the country’s education system to training programs with higher-order Schools Framework and adopted these improve the development of these cognitive skills and soft skills learning skills as part of national curriculum75. essential skills. components to support professional The Illinois State Education Board development and better employment. in the United States also developed 4. Bangladesh has several nascent Cognitive Skills Program at PennState standards for social or emotional but promising good practices University, for instance, provide skills development among K-Grade 12 especially among private entities. comprehensive skills development students and regularly monitors the Several private universities and non- and learning program through achievements of these skills among governmental entities in Bangladesh workshops, interactive learning learners. have developed learning modules sessions, and resources to support or established training centers individual thinking skills and graduate Assessment and Tracking: Assessing within the institutions focused on employment. Stanford University’s and tracking the levels of higher- enhancing cognitive and soft skills Stanford MSx program provides order cognitive skills and soft skills among students (Table 1). These business students with customized gains among students is also a good efforts are aimed to support graduate leadership practice opportunities means to inform policy and improve employability, which remains critical along with the core technical learning outcomes. Rigorous analytical to attract student enrollment in the modules during a year-long program. assessments have been conducted private universities. A good number in countries like the USA, India and of private initiatives have developed Integration with Framework and China to assess, analyze, and compare courses to provide non-technical skills Curriculum: Another good strategy students’ higher-order cognitive training to students and job seekers. is to include higher-order cognitive skills as well as technical skills at Nonetheless, the provision of these skills and soft skills development in the university level (Loyalka, 2017). training is mostly concentrated in the education and skills qualification This would allow policymakers and the metropolitan cities and remain framework as well as in curriculum practitioners to benchmark graduates’ inadequate in comparison to the (OECD, 2015). Australia, for instance, skills relative to other countries and needs of employers. Table 1: Good Practices of Higher-order Cognitive Skills and Soft Skills Training in Bangladesh Programs & Institution Description Residential Semester Program Residential Semester aims to develop a range of soft skills and personality qualities among undergraduate students. The residential semester focuses on four areas Professional Skills Development of development: (i) improving communication skills; (ii) creating strong sense Program of responsibility; (iii) developing firm principles to guide students in decision making and action; and (iv) providing holistic education through academic and BRAC University extracurricular activities. Professional Skills Development Program (PSDP) which is a 13-week modular course designed to improve BRAC University student’s employability, in response to employers’ increasingly diverse and sophisticated needs. It focuses on enhancing the all-round development of students, by building a variety of skills sets that increase their appeal to employers and improve their ‘on the job’ performance. Center for Cognitive Skills Center for Cognitive Skills Enhancement aims to build higher-order cognitive Enhancement skills through engaging undergraduate students in logic, rationalization, problem solving and decision making experiences using digital tools like games, apps as Independent University Bangladesh well as active learning experience such as research activities. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority identified seven general capabilities to be addressed in the Australian curriculum. The general capabilities are literacy, 75 numeracy, information and communication (ICT) competence, critical and creative thinking, ethical behavior, personal and social competence, and intercultural understanding. THE WORLD BANK | 57 Programs & Institution Description Leadership Program Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center’s training programs provide face-to-face and online training courses focusing on development of higher-order cognitive skills, Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center including leadership, problem solving and critical thinking, communications skills and pre-employment/professional development training for undergraduates, graduates and professionals. Bdjobs.com The online job search platform provides a range of training workshops and certificate programs to support technical and soft skills development of job seekers and professionals. 5. Several universities in Bangladesh (HEQEP) supported universities to university students are participating are piloting active learning approach implement more than 100 projects more in classroom learning involving to nurture higher order cognitive focusing on upgradation of teaching technological media, work-based and soft skills. Several universities learning facilities, curriculum seminars and workshops, and are in Bangladesh are gradually moving improvement, and pedagogical more satisfied with the teaching- toward student-centered teaching and capacity development including learning environment. learning practices. Higher Education student centered approaches. Student Quality Enhancement Project satisfaction surveys showed that 58 ANNEX 3: ICT, TECHNOLOGY, AND SKILLS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES with new types of jobs that did not Bangladesh is growing consistently at exist a decade ago. For instance, in an estimated rate of 20 to 30 percent AND NEW JOBS 2014 alone, Upwork, the largest online per year (GED, 2012). Computer outsourcing service, posted 2.8 million programmer, mobile app designer, 1. Digital technology is creating digital jobs worldwide (WDR, 2016). graphic designer, ICT specialist are new occupations and opportunities Currently, IT and business process the emerging new types of jobs that for digital jobs. Information, outsourcing (BPO) services are one of dominate digital industry. A wide communication technology (ICT) the fastest growing sectors globally in range of new jobs are expected to be and IT-enabled services (ITES) the world. The ICT and ITES sector in created in fields such as data analysis, opportunities have grown substantially computer science and engineering. Research on returns to ICT skills on labor market shows one-standard- deviation increase in ICT skills raise 25% earnings by about 25 percent (Falck, Heimisch, & Wiederhold, 2016). ICT is 22.5% making jobs more efficient, productive, innovative, and flexible. 2. Digital technology has 20% transformed the nature of work, and online job opportunities are 17.5% available for workers with varied skill intensity. Micro work, and online contracting are the new types of work 15% for which any person from anywhere in the world with access to internet and the right sets of skills can compete and 12.5% participate. Micro work means a larger task is disaggregated into smaller tasks 10% that are commissioned out to many workers. Currently, globally more than 10 million people are working online, 7.5% many of whom are from developing countries (Raja & Ampah, 2016). An online worker in Bangladesh can work 5% as a virtual assistant for an employer based in any country in the world, 2.5% and potentially can earn much higher wage than any local employee. As of July 2017, Bangladesh was the 2nd 0 largest supplier of online labor only India Bangladesh United States Pakistan Philippines United Kingdom Ukraine Canada Romania Egypt Germany Russia Kenya Nigeria Italy Spain Sri Lanka Serbia Ireland Macedonia after India, according to the Online Labour Index (see Figure 1). Online job opportunities are available for a wide range of tasks. These tasks range from carpentry to graphic design to Software development and technology Creative and multimedia software programming and in both Sales and marketing support Writing and translation formal and informal sector. Digital Clerical and data entry Professional services designing, accounting or auditing, Source: Online Labour Index, July 2017 web development and search engine Figure 1: Top 20 Online Labour Home Countries optimization are examples of services THE WORLD BANK | 59 requiring high to medium level of skills. learning platforms (e.g. Coursera, edX, SOME OF GOOD Opportunities are also available for Udacity, Samaschool, Udemy Online services requiring semi or low level Course, School of Skills,) and massive PRACTICES AND ON- skills such as data entry, digitizing open online courses (MOOCs) are GOING EFFORTS IN ICT receipts, gathering information and available to develop both technical AND SKILLS AROUND images, classifying products or tagging and practical soft skills that can images, etc. With some basic training equip one with basic skills needed to THE WORLD workers can easily start a digital career. participate in global marketplace as 5. Coding Bootcamps – Emerging For instance, computer-illiterate well as for local IT-enabled jobs. To technical skills training programs: Somali refugees in Kenya started to achieve long-term benefits, lifelong Technology-led transformation of work and earn money as micro workers learning to keep pace with rapid jobs which call for new type of skills after receiving basic training provided change in IT is a must. has given rise to newly emerging by an online work platform named 4. Complex problem-solving, critical tech-skills training programs in the SamaSource. thinking, and cognitive abilities are private sector known as ‘Coding crucial skills for ICT-enabled jobs. Bootcamps’. These are short-term, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES Based on a survey on future jobs, World intensive, typically three to six months Economic Forum identified the major long, rapid training programs that AND IMPLICATIONS FOR drivers of change for future jobs. The top are closely linked to vocational SKILLS trends impacting ICT business models training but adapted for specific and are - mobile internet, cloud technology demanded digital skills. Typically, the 3. This new form of IT-enabled (69%), processing power, big data programs have competitive selection jobs requires certain skills to (44%), changing nature of work, flexible process, and follow a project-based, compete globally and perform job work (36%), internet of things (33%), experimental learning approach. function locally. As English is the consumer ethics, privacy issues (31%), Bootcamps originated in advanced lingua franca of the global business new energy supplies and technologies economies, but now present in world, knowing the language, (17%), longevity, ageing societies many emerging countries such as being able to understand, and (14%), sharing economy, and finally, Columbia, India, Kenya, Lebanon, effectively communicate in English crowdsourcing (11%). Based on World Peru etc. Governments can tap into is a prerequisite to participate in the Economic Forum Report 2016 on future these training resources for upskilling globalized marketplace. Globally of jobs, computer and mathematical, its workforce following the footsteps relevant technical skills, including sales and related, and architecture and of the Municipality of Medellin in computer and communication engineering are the main job families Columbia and other countries. skills are valuable to find tasks that under ICT that are expected to grow in one would be able to perform. the period 2015-2020. Below is the list of Soft skills are needed to navigate key skills in demand for 2020 for some communication and universal cultural of ICT enabled jobs. norms of global marketplace. Online Table 1: Key Skills Demanded in ICT-enabled Job Family for 2020 Programs & Institution Key Skills for Job Skills bundle Software Developers Complex problem Solving Complex Problem Solving Information Security Analysts Critical Thinking Process Skills Data Analysts Cognitive Flexibility Cognitive Abilities Mathematical Reasoning Cognitive Abilities Active Learning Content Skills Source: The Future of Jobs Survey, World Economic Forum, 2016. 60 Case: developed since the society’s inception and currently ongoing. direct investments, the agency upholds a strong focus on mobilizing a future Coding Bootcamps in Medellin, generation equipped with relevant Columbia - Private-Public Partnership in ICT Skills Case: skills to thrive in a digital economy and Chetana: The innovative program improve their employability globally. Development. To promote innovation “Chetana” targets girls with top To ensure that the demands of current and equip its citizens with the new performance in Secondary School and future industry-relevant talents ‘future-safe’ skills, the Municipality of Examination from government are met, the government has launched Medellin in Columbia supported the schools across the state to educate, talent initiatives and programs tailored expansion of Coding Bootcamps in empower, mentor, and support for different groups: the city. A public joint venture, Ruta N, between the Municipality and the them. Selected girls are first invited Undergraduates: Specific programs Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM) to a 5-day residential camp. Various have been created that will assist in has been developed in partnership activities during camp include increasing the uptake of computer with the World Bank to lead and training session to use laptop that science and technological courses at introduce Bootcamps in the city. One they receive as a gift on their arrival, tertiary level. particular goal of the program is to exposure to state-of-the-art facility, upskill marginalized youth by targeting group building exercises, sports Fresh graduates and working and including young people with events, Design thinking workshops, professionals: To expand IT-savvy limited skills and from low income interaction session with leaders etc. workforce, sustainable industry-led background. To evaluate the gaps These Chetana will be hand-held for talent development models has been in the market and skills needs Ruta two years post-the camp. Specific adopted. N assessed the market potential for residential programs have been designed to impart “One Skill in each Digital makers: To cultivate interest junior and senior developers in the interaction” for consecutive two and skills in digital innovation and city. The first Bootcamp in the city years. The government partnered with creativity amongst school students was subsidized by Ruta N to test its private sector and tertiary educational and youths to increase the interest feasibility and reaction and reception organizations for best results. In 2016, and uptake in Science stream in upper by local industry. The program was the first year of its inception, 356 girls secondary and STEM undergraduate expanded after receiving positive with top performance participated courses, to strengthen talent response. To incentivize participation in the residential camp conducted at readiness for connected economy job of disadvantaged youth the program Infosys campus in Mysore. Samsung opportunities. provides subsidies to participants based on their income level. conducted the hands-on session to ERezeki: With the aim to develop a use the laptops that they provided. As crowdsourcing ecosystem in Malaysia, 6. Karnataka ICT Skills Development part of the program the scholars were eRezeki allows individuals to register Society (ICTSDS): Karnataka divided into groups and sent to five top as digital workers and perform simple government formed ICTSDS in 2014. institutions for 10-days of orientation. digital-based tasks to generate Collaborating with private sector and The program aims to nurture and income. To develop digital workers, international organizations, ICTSD mentor local female talent to empower eRezeki profiles, trains, assesses, and has developed and offers ICT skills them with high-end technology and qualifies individuals for digital jobs. development projects to support skills to provide wings to their dreams. Once qualified, the program matches various target groups. Electronics 7. Malaysia Digital Economy suitable tasks to registered individuals. System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM), New Age Incubation Network Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (MDEC): EUsahawan: The program connects (NAIN), Karnataka’s Initiative on Malaysia, with its plan to transform to Malaysian youth and micro- Technology-based Solutions for Elderly digital economy, launched a holistic entrepreneurs to public Technical and (KITE), Technology Business Incubators government-owned agency “Malaysia Vocational Education and Training (TBIs), and Chetana Empowering Girls Digital Economy Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (TVET) institutions to develop their with Technology Department of IT, BT (MDEC)” in 1996. Along with nurturing digital entrepreneurship know-how and S&T, Government of Karnataka the growth of local tech companies and enable their transition from job - are the projects that have been whilst attracting both foreign and local seekers to job creators. THE WORLD BANK | 61 ON-GOING EFFORTS Top-up training for IT and Science 9. University Incubation Center for graduates, and (ii) ITES Foundation ICT enabled Works: With an aim to IN ICT AND SKILLS IN Skills Training for HSC graduates bridge the gap between ICT industries BANGLADESH and equivalent. GoB has appointed and academia for fostering meaningful international certification agencies research, innovation, entrepreneurship, 8. Bangladesh ICT/ITES Skills to ensure quality global standard job creation, and human resource Initiative: With an objective to training. By 2018, the program aims to development, GoB has established catalyze the growth of IT and ITES train 30,000 IT professionals – 10,000 the first university-based incubator at industry for employment creation and receiving Top-up IT training and the the campus of Chittagong University export diversification, “Leveraging ICT rest 20,000 receiving ITES Foundation of Engineering and Technology (LICT) for growth, employment and Skills training. The program will (CUET). Learning and Earning, Training governance” project was launched by provide jobs to 6,000 Top-up IT for Mobile Apps, Employment and the government in 2015 with support training receivers upon completion Governance Project are examples of from the World Bank. To develop of the training. In addition to skills other GoB initiated ICT-related skills skilled workforce for IT and ITES sector, training, the project links certified IT/ training projects. Special emphasis has the project offers two fully-funded ITES graduates to potential employers been put forward to ICT education up comprehensive targeted training through an online platform (www. to high school. programs to selected graduates: (i) bdskills.com). 10. Access to Information project (a2i): In recent years, with increased digitization in the country, the public service delivery system of Bangladesh has undergone substantial digitization under “Access to Information, a2i” project of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), showcasing the need of digital skills upgrading even Traget group of LICT in the public sector. One of the key challenges identified by the a2i is HSC graduates (20,000) Science/IT graduates (10,000) the capacity gap of public officials in conceiving the usage of ICTs for improving public service delivery Training by certification agencies (Chowdhury & Zaman, 2014). ITES Foundation Skill Training Top-Up training IT professionals ready to be employed (30,000 with 6,000 guaranteed employment) by 2018 62 ANNEX 4: SKILLS INITIATIVES IN THE BANK SUPPORTED NON- EDUCATION PROJECTS IN BANGLADESH 1. The World Bank is currently Development Support Project, Health a combination of technical learning supporting several projects with Sector Development Program). Skills and life skills training for extreme poor a skills training or employment development components under women, while the Income Support component in Bangladesh these multifaceted projects entail for the Poorest Project focuses early across five Global Practices76. varied forms of training and service childhood development through Through the different World Bank delivery and target a diverse range providing cash transfers to poor supported projects, the government of beneficiaries. The projects such as pregnant mother to avail health care is tapping into new areas of skills Private Sector Development Support services. These are all specialized development, including early Project, Leveraging ICT for Growth, short-course training programs and childhood development (Income Employment and Governance and the delivered through partner training Support for the Poorest Project), Health Sector Development Program providers from government agencies, pre-employment training (Northern include technical training components NGOs, training institutions, and private Areas Reduction-of-Poverty Initiative for increasing skills in the relevant enterprises. Project) and post-employment training sectors. The Northern Areas Reduction- for professionals (Private Sector of-Poverty Initiative Project involves Table 1: Key Skills Demanded in ICT-enabled Job Family for 2020 Projects Period Amount Contributions to Skills Development and Results till Date (USD Labor Market million) Private Sector 2011 - 2021 172 The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to Created 12,310 new jobs, Development Support facilitate investment in growth centers in the of which 27 percent are Project (P120843) emerging manufacturing and services sectors for women, against a of the economy with the aim of generating target of 4,500 jobs by Trade & Competitiveness employment. In one of the components, it June 2017 (30 percent for Global Practice supports training institutions to develop a women). curriculum based on market demand and to collaborate with firms. (source: PAD) Export Competitiveness 2017-2023 100 The PDO is to contribute to export The project is expected for Jobs diversification and more and better jobs in to impact the targeted targeted sectors. (source: PAD) sectors through (i) Trade & Competitiveness Increase in number of Global Practice firms directly exporting; (ii) Create opportunity for new and better jobs and (iii) Increase in average wage growth for beneficiary firms. Leveraging ICT for 2012-2019 63.5 The PDO are to: (i) Catalyze the growth of Generating 30,000 direct Growth, Employment and Bangladesh's IT/ITES industry for employment IT/ITES jobs; created Governance creation and export diversification; and (ii) 12,000 jobs to date. Establish basic e-Government foundations to Transport & ICT Global support public sector modernization. (Source: Practice PAD) 76 The GPs include: Agriculture; Social, Urban, Rural & Resilience; Social Protection & Labor; Trade & Competitiveness; and Transport & ICT. THE WORLD BANK | 63 Projects Period Amount Contributions to Skills Development and Results till Date (USD Labor Market million) Income Support for the 2014-2020 303 The PDO is to provide income support to the Approximately 4,000 Poorest Program poorest mothers in selected Upazilas, while (i) beneficiaries have been increasing the mothers’ use of child nutrition enrolled across select Social Protection & Labor and cognitive development services, and (ii) locations. Beneficiary Global Practice enhancing local level government capacity to services and cash deliver safety nets. transfers are expected to commence from October 2017 Northern Areas Reduction 2011-2018 29.3 The PDO of the project is to facilitate access 1,563 girls graduated of Poverty Initiatives to employment opportunities in the garment by Aug 2017 and more sector for poor and vulnerable women from training is underway. Social, Urban, Rural & lagging areas of Bangladesh by providing There are currently Resilience Global Practice information, technical and life skills training, approximately 8,000 jobs transitional housing, and other support lined up and more will to adjust to urban life and formal sector be created. employment. 64 ANNEX 5: KEY ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE BANK SUPPORTED SKILLS AND TERTIARY EDUCATION PROJECTS 1. Overview: The Ministry of Education Enhancement Project (HEQEP) improve access and equity in TVET and World Bank have been working is the first major donor supported for socio-economic disadvantaged together in post-secondary education intervention implemented by University households through stipends, enhance and training sector to support the Grants Commission, working toward teaching learning environments in development of skilled workforce and ensuring quality and demand-driven polytechnics through institutional reduce skills gaps and mismatches. university education to produce highly- grants and improve market relevance These development efforts in skills and skilled manpower and inculcating of TVET curricula through partnerships tertiary education are the followings. culture of research and innovation in with industry and global TVET leaders. Skills and Training Enhancement the universities. Another intervention in STEP also promotes sustainable Project (STEP), a flagship skills project higher education, College Education implementation capacities and of Ministry of Education, has initiated Development Project (CEDP), focuses good governance at all levels of skills system-level reforms in TVET and on capacity building of the tertiary- development system through capacity institutional capacity strengthening level colleges system, institutions, development programs. Through mass activities to improve the quality and teachers to improve quality and communication and mobilization, and relevance of TVET and enhance relevance of college education. the project is facilitating changes in equitable access to skills training mindset and social perception among for women and the poor. In higher 2. Key Achievements of STEP: STEP the society about TVET. (see Table 1 for education, Higher Education Quality was incepted in 2010 with the aim to more details) Table 1: Key Achievements in TVET supported by STEP Access & Equity 193,976 poor diploma students from 162 polytechnics supported through stipends. Female beneficiary share increased from 10% to 21%. Short course training provided to more than 100,000 individuals (31% females) Teaching and Learning 33 polytechnics upgraded classrooms and labs with modern equipment and teaching facilities 400+ teachers and managers completed specialized training from Singapore while around 4,500 participated in local training Filled up 95% of vacant teaching posts in government polytechnics Linkages with Industry Supported market relevant curriculum through establishment of Institutional Management Committees in 33 polytechnics Established 500+ industry partnerships Introduction of Operationalized Recognition of Prior Learning which assessed over 17,000 informal workers. Innovative Practices Introduced SSC (Voc) apprenticeships linking the curricula with industry 3. Key Achievements of HEQEP: learning and research facilities at and institutional levels. Since inception HEQEP focuses on improving the universities through availability in 2009, the Project is credited to the quality and relevance of the of competitive innovation funds, many achievements in research and teaching and research environment the establishment of high speed innovation the university sector in in the universities. The project connectivity and introduction of Bangladesh. (see Table 2 for details) supports improvements in teaching quality assurance activities at national THE WORLD BANK | 65 Table 2: Key Achievements in University Sector supported by HEQEP Teaching Learning Supported upgradation of classrooms and labs in 36 universities Research and Innovation More than 400 academic innovation grants implemented; 10 university-industry collaboration projects, three Technology Transfer Offices and 8 FabLab projects to spur innovation . Six innovations submitted for patenting while another five in the pipeline. Connectivity Bangladesh Education and Research Network (BdREN) connected in 36 universities Digital Library providing over 34 thousand e-resources to 80+ members, including public and private universities and research institutions. More than 50% of students and faculty with access to internet International Partnerships forged with universities from the USA and UK Partnerships Quality Assurance QA introduced in higher education with 800+ self-assessments conducted at the universities The Accreditation Council law enacted for establishing the Council 4. Key Achievements of CEDP: and goals for the college education comprising of national training- Incepted in 2016, the CEDP focuses subsector and a consensus-based plan offering agencies and the University to build the National University of action. Through the availability of of Nottingham as an international college system’s capacity to plan, competitive grants, CEDP promotes partner to ensure global best practices manage, implement, and monitor institution-led activities that focus in teacher training. Additionally, the their institutional programs and on creating quality teaching learning project supports teacher deployment strengthen the foundation for the next environment in government and in government colleges and reform phase of development activities. The non-government colleges. CEDP for recruitment process of teachers for project supports the development encourages professional development non-government colleges. (see Table 3 of a Strategic Plan for the College of teachers through training offered by for details) Subsector, to provide directions an international training consortium, Table 3: Key Achievements in the College Sector supported by CEDP Teaching and Learning More than 100 competitive institutional development grants to be awarded to government and non- government colleges for improving teaching learning environment. Around 2,500 lecturer posts filled in for improving teaching strength in the government colleges Strengthening Sector The National Strategic Planning Committee and expert groups for development of the Strategic Plan Management and formed Planning International Partnership forged with the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus for professional development Partnerships of 8000 college teachers and managers; already 99 Master Trainers initiated their program of study leading to the Masters of Arts in Education upon successful completion. 66 ANNEX 6: SKILLS CHALLENGES IN BASIC EDUCATION IN BANGLADESH 1. Basic education generally covering students’ foundational skills. One year of competency-based skills pre-primary, primary and secondary pre-primary schooling was introduced development at primary and levels of education, are the stages to head start children in gaining secondary education levels. The when critical foundational skills, better foundation skills. In secondary third phase of the Primary Education such as literacy and numeracy, education, the ministry introduced the Development Program (PEDP) ran develop in an individual. Primary Developing Reading Habit activity to the transition to competency-based education in Bangladesh spans grades cultivate basic reading skills. learning with the aim to develop 1–5 while secondary education in better problem solving and critical Bangladesh spans grades 6–10. Pre- 3. A supply of teachers with good thinking skills among primary school primary schooling comprises of one teaching skills is one of the most goers in 2011. National student year of education prior to initiation of critical school level challenge assessments were also introduced at primary education. This stage also lays in ensuring quality learning in Grade 3 and 5 in primary and Grade the foundation for development of non- Bangladesh. Teachers mainly follow 8 and 10 in secondary, with three cognitive and soft skills. the conventional teaching approach, rounds completed, providing valuable reading textbooks and lecturing, while measures on competencies gained in 2. Low levels of learning during assessments are conducted in manner important subjects such as Bangla and primary and secondary education that rewards rote learning. Lack of Mathematics. At the secondary level, create weak foundational skills effective pedagogical training affects national examination reforms and in literacy and numeracy. Among the quality of teaching and learning, classroom based assessments have Grade 3 students, 59% did not achieve and hampers cognitive and soft skills also been initiated. the grade-relevant competencies in development such as critical thinking, Mathematics while the corresponding problem solving, communications 5. Moreover, several systemic figures for Grade 5 were 90%. This crisis skills. Teachers’ professional challenges impede effective in learning continues onto secondary development have been at the core of learning and skills development in schooling. Only 43 percent of Grade 8 improving basic education. In primary basic education. First, the extensive students had acquired the competency education, the PEDP 3 introduced a examination system largely limits required of the grade in Mathematics diploma in education program for incentives for innovative and high- in 2015. Children from the poorest teachers and expanded it nationwide. quality teaching and learning. Second, income quintiles are performing In secondary level, provision of training robust performance standards for worse than those from the wealthiest for teachers were conducted under schools and teachers are missing quintiles. These students are most at the Secondary Education Access and while articulation of competencies for risk of dropping out, and likely to join Quality Enhancement Project (SEQAEP) students remains underdeveloped. the informal labor market. Some of and Teaching Quality Improvement in These standards are important to the underlying factors: low student Secondary Education (TQI), focusing guide sector activities and measure readiness at primary school entry due to on improving teaching facilities as well performance. Third, there is large scope inadequate early childhood education, as pre-service and in-service teacher to improve coordination between weak reading and numeracy skills, training. different education subsectors in inferior quality of teaching and use of delivering coherent skills development student assessment system. Significant 4. Development efforts have from basic to secondary and to higher efforts have been made to improve been taken to transition toward education. THE WORLD BANK | 67 ANNEX 7: SUMMARY OF STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP The World Bank education team Jobless growth is a growing concern: University quality assurance of organized two consultations on Over 3 million jobs were created in its programs is delivered through ‘Bangladesh Skills for Tomorrow’s Bangladesh during 2010-2013. However, introducing some reforms in education Jobs’ to support the ASA on Skills only 1.4 million jobs were created management, e.g., established Strategy: Skills for Better Jobs (P164139) during the duration in 2013-2016. institution review board, standard on July 12th and 13th, 2017 in Dhaka. There is a concern that Bangladesh operation procedure, soft skills training, The consultations were held at the may be going through a jobless growth innovative teaching methods etc. World Bank office involving academics, which has already negatively impacted representatives from industry skills gains from the first 10 years of the Weak institution-industry linkages: councils, NGOs, and other stakeholders demographic dividend. University-industry linkages are absent on July 12, 2017. in Bangladesh and this is one of the Non-cognitive skills are essential main reasons why employers don’t get The main objective of the consultation for graduates in today’s job market: the graduates with right skills they need. was to gain insight on the opportunities Recent graduates in Bangladesh lack and obstacles in quality workforce some critical soft skills as expressed by Attitudinal gaps among prospective development through higher education employers: (i) lack of critical thinking employer and jobseekers: Often and skills training in Bangladesh and and problem solving abilities; (ii) gap in the attitudinal gaps among both jobs. The World Bank education team leadership and communication skills job-seekers’ and employers’ lead to shared the attached presentation (both written and verbal in English unfilled jobs. Job search platforms find at each consultation to facilitate the and Bangla); and (iii) gap in values that jobseekers often have unrealistic discussion. (value of time and ethics at work). This expectations in terms of the pay and concern was echoed by university working conditions. Employers have The key findings from the two representatives. It was suggested that unrealistic expectations in terms of the consultations are summarized below: the training of graduates in soft skills skills they look for in their employee, should be part of the higher education compared to their payment structure. Inadequate information on the skills demand in Bangladesh: There is a programs. BRACU has introduced Improving quality of higher need to understand the current and professional development courses to education is essential: There are five future demand for different skills across impart soft skills to graduates. New critical elements that are required major industries through surveys and sets of technical skills are emerging for creating a good higher education analytical work. Limited information and universities should be preparing system and university, e.g. (i) brilliant exists within the sector (i.e. RMG, graduates with these skills. teachers, (ii) talented students, (iii) good ICT, etc.) thorough their respective Standardized training and quality education administrator, (iv) innovative industrial council; however, a macro assurance of education/skills are and relevant study programs, and (v) perspective is needed to inform the critical: The various skills training sufficient resources. These five critical economic sector as a whole and the programs require standardization inputs would be essential for a skills skills development sector regarding and accreditation to ensure quality strategy to revamp tertiary education in the growth of the specific sectors and of graduates. For example, at BRAC Bangladesh. respective skills demand. 68 For further queries, please contact: World Bank Office Dhaka Plot- E-32, Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1207 Bangladesh Tel: 880-2-5566-7777 Fax: 880-2-5566-7778 Email: bangladeshinfo@worldbank.org www.worldbank.org/bangladesh