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Dissemination Workshop on the Research Findings of the Labor Market Studies for SEIP

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) organized an event titled “Dissemination Workshop on the Research Findings of the Labor Market Studies for SEIP” on 28 August, 2022, at the Lakeshore Hotel, Gulshan, Dhaka. On this event Senior Research Fellow of BIDS, Dr. Kazi Iqbal presented the labor market studies on skills demand, supply and mismatch of 10 manufacturing sectors of Bangladesh. The event was held in Hybrid mode. 

According to the study, the average skills gap in 10 industrial sectors is approximately 30 per cent, and the gap widens as the technological competence of the sectors rises. The sectors included Agro-food Processing, Construction, Electronics, Hospitality and Tourism, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Leather and Footwear, Light Engineering, Nursing, Readymade Garment (RMG), and Ship Building. The report highlighted that there was a greater skill gap for higher-paying positions like managers and professionals. As the skill gap is higher for professionals and technical people, training programs are required to gradually shift towards technologically advanced businesses, suggests the study report. The skill gap in the agro-food processing and RMG sectors is rather moderate. Based on the study, which used the ready-made garment industry as an example, women were more skilled than males in areas where women dominated, and the skills gap was also shown to be higher for senior-level technical roles. The study observed that the disparity is greater in the ICT, shipbuilding, and large-scale electronics industries. According to the survey, there is a shortage of trained workers for the industrial sector, making it harder to find workers for white-collar jobs like managers and professionals. 

The Honorable Planning Minister of Bangladesh Mr. M. A. Mannan, MP attended this event as the Chief Guest. Dr. Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, Member (Secretary) Energy and Industry Division, Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, and Nasreen Afroz, Executive Chairman (Secretary), National Skills Development Authority (NSDA) attended the Seminar as Special Guests. The distinguished panelists of this workshop included Md. Ekhlasur Rahman, Additional Secretary, Executive Project Director, SEIP Project, Finance Division, Ministry of Finance; Mr. Anir Chowdhury, Policy Adviser, UNDP Bangladesh; Ms. Uzma Chowdhury, Director (Corporate Finance), PRAN-RFL Group; Dr. Sayema Haque Bidisha, Professor of Economics, University of Dhaka; and Mr. Tapash Kumer Mojumder, Chief Research and Innovation Officer, Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd. Dr. Binayak Sen, the Director General of BIDS chaired this workshop. This event was attended by BIDS researchers, development practitioners, policy makers, academicians, civil society, and journalists.

Meeting recording link here

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