Speakers at a programme on Saturday said there is no alternative to establishing linkage between educational institutions and the private sector to develop skilled human resources in the country in line with global needs.

They also said Bangladesh will be deprived of the benefits of demographic dividend if human resources are not developed according to the needs of the industry. Even it will be difficult to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030 and also the development country’s status by 2041.

They came up with the remarks at the discussion meeting titled “Public-Private Academia Bridging for Skill Development” organised at the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Innovation and Research Center (FIRC) at Hatkhola in the capital.

Highlighting the shortage of skilled manpower in the country, Prime Minister's Principal Coordinator for SDG Affairs Md Akhter Hossain said graduates are getting higher degrees, but they cannot speak English properly.

“Due to lack of knowledge and skills, they can neither establish themselves as entrepreneurs nor get jobs with respectable wages,” he also said.
 Meanwhile, he called for strengthening the joint efforts of the government, private sector and educational institutions to build skilled manpower.

Former FBCCI president Md Jashim Uddin said currently the government has given special emphasis on skill development, but we do not know what kind of skills are required in any sector.

“We have a lot of BBA/MBA graduates but not skilled workers in specialized education. The main reason for this is the lack of linkages between educational institutions and the private sector,” he added.

Jashim also said that we should not only create workers. Graduation of LDCs, achievement of SDGs and building of developed countries by 2041 requires the creation of skilled managers.

“In the future, we need to increase our negotiation skills to maintain business expansion and economic growth,” the business leader also said.

He said that FBCCI Innovation and Research Center will create the field so that students and entrepreneurs get the opportunity to do innovation, development and research work.