By Alvina Zafar
Addressing the unemployment issue continues to be a daunting task for development thinkers and policy makers. The unemployment rate in Bangladesh is 5% and about 40% of the population is underemployed (CIA World FactBook, 2012); many participants in the labor force work only a few hours a week, at low wages wherein Bangladesh, a third of the population is between the ages of 18-35, is a youthful country. To offer the population decent job opportunities, new initiatives need to be taken. Skill development with the help of training can play an effective role in combating unemployment. If unemployed youths are equipped with appropriate skills that meet the needs of potential employers, they can effectively contribute to the economic growth and social development of the nation.
Why the Skills project?
BRAC Microfinance clients and their families are very interested in vocational training for their children, particularly in the areas of computer operating, tailoring (as sewing machine operator for garments and others) , driving and mechanic work. Clients are even willing to partially finance the child’s vocational training and for the children to travel away from home.
Skills project
The ‘Youth Employment through Skills’ (YES) project is an innovative approach developed by BRAC Microfinance to combat youth unemployment and poverty, and to generate oppotunity for the children of BRAC Microfinance clients. The primary objective is to serve the children of BRAC Microfinance’s clients the opportunity to gain work realted skills and training. Achieved through partnerships with different local and international organizations, this project does not only provide skills training, but also helps program graduates find permanent paid positions in their industry, in either the formal or informal sector.
YES has succeeded in creating several vocational training programs, and is pursuing additional partnerships in an effort to expand training opportunities. Currently YES has training programs in two buisness sectors; Bangladesh’s leather industry and informal tailoring institutions.
1. Technical training for leather industries
Bangladesh’s leather industry bears tremendous potential to absorb a large proportion of the country’s poor workforce. This sector has been targeted because of its growing demand for skilled workers, as there are workforce shortages in all divisions of the industry. BRAC Microfinance partnered with the Centre of Excellence for Leather Skills Bangladesh (COEL) in an effort to capitalize on the worker shortage. This project is located in Chittagong, and offers technical training to children of BRAC Microfinance borrowers above the age of 18. Both theoretical and practical training occurs over a 3 month period after which graduates are directly linked to employment opportunities in Chittagong as well as Dhaka and Dhaka’s surrounding area. A monthly stipend of tk. 2000 (USD 26) is given to participants in an effort increase participation in the program and ease participation. Monthly performance assessments take place in the form of exams that measure theoretical understanding and practical ability.
From this training programme, 55 trainees have graduated where 45 of them are working in different leather industries in Chittagong with a minimum salary of 6000 taka (USD 77) per month.
2. Technical training on tailoring
BRAC Microfinance entered into a partnership with Swiss Contact’s Skills for Unemployed and Underemployed Labour (SkillFUL) project. The SkillFUL project aims to contribute to increasing employability and income of the poor working in the informal economic sectors in Bangladesh. One of the major contributions of SkillFUL project is the strengthening of the capabilities of Training Service Providers (TSPs) who are the catalyst and key players in the informal market.
Through the partnership with SkillFul, Bijoy Tailor and Tailoring institute (BTTC) was selected as the training base for the Tailor training program. BTTC is one of the best tailoring training institutions in Kurigram. SkillFUL upgraded BTTC’s institutional capacity to the point where BTTC now has the capacity to train 30 trainees per session. Sessions last 3 hours and occur daily for 3 months. BTTC’s training module which was developed by SkillFUL uses a competency based training approach. Again, both theoretical and practical training is provided to the trainees. Once the training is concluded, there will be 10 days of ‘on-the-job-training’ after which the trainees will be placed with local tailoring shops. BTTC and BRAC Microfinance provide additional support to graduates who want to start businesses of their own.
BRAC Microfinance has introduced a training loan of Tk. 3000 (USD 38) to program participants. It includes Tk. 1000 (USD 13) for course-fee and Tk. 2000 (USD 26) for covering food and transportation expenditures. The first batch’s training started with 30 trainees, of which 23 of them haveutilized this loan.
Alvina Zafar is a Management Professional with BRAC’s Microfinance programme.
