Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) works on integration of market driven skills systems

B-SEP Project which is funded by Canada Government and implemented by ILO in collaboration of Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) works on integration of market driven skills systems.

News | 29 September 2018
DHAKA (ILO News)- ILO’s Canada funded Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) Project in collaboration of Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) organized a residential workshop on “Planning Sustainability of Skills Development Initiative” on 28-29 September 2018 at BRAC CDM Savar. Some 28 Principals and Chief Instructors from 28 Government run Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institutes participated in the workshop.

Participants in the group work to find out the steps of sustainability
The workshop was organized with a purpose to find ways to (a) integrate some of the market driven skills delivery systems successfully demonstrated by B-SEP project, such as Public-Private partnership (PPP), Employment Support Services (ESS), including career guidance, disability inclusion into TVET system; (b) strengthen and promote NTVQF courses and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) through the revenue budget of the government.

Participants from 28 TVET institutes of Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) and Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) discussed the benefits of these skills delivery practices and recommended ways to sustain them beyond the project.
The high officials from TMED, DTE, BTEB and BMET acknowledged B-SEP’s immense contribution to strengthen the skills systems and appreciated recommended measures to sustain the systems initiated and strengthened by the project.

Mr. Ashoke Kumar Biswas, the Additional Secretary (Technical), TMED and the Director General (DG) of DTE, endorsed the initiatives and recommended their continuity with further innovation and newer forms. He suggested consideration for creation of a separate code in the DTE budget with the title ‘Skills Development’. This would constitute a good step forwards towards ensuring sustainability.

Mr. Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director of ILO highlighted the projects impact on capacity building of the TVET sector, the expansion of NTVQF system and increased private sector engagement in skills delivery and employment generation. He said, “To build equal Bangladesh, participation of both men and women TVET training is needed. ILO will be responsive to the government’s further needs in making the country’s skills system more gender friendly and relevant for the future demands of the labour market.”

The B-SEP project is going to end this year. It is important to share project’s good practices in TVET sector and continue to help TVET/ skills system to achieve the country’s ambition to become middle income country by 2021.

Mr. Md. Alamgir, the Secretary of Technical and Madrasah Education Division (TMED) emphasized to use the government budget to integrate the skills systems promoted and strengthened by B-SEP. This can happen through better Institute-Industry linkage, employment support services, RPL system, apprenticeships, and inclusion of women, vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities. Md. Alamgir said, ”The government will take all the initiatives to sustain these good practices in the skill system, however, from the workshop it came out that the government will need further technical support from the ILO and the donors in terms of resource management, skills funding and financing mechanism in skills sector.”

Among the distinguished guest, Mr. Mustafizur Rahman, Chairman of Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), Mr. Selim Reza, Director General of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) and Mr. Khorshed Alam, CEO of the National Skills Development Council (NSDC) Secretariat were present at the workshop. Altogether 60 participants from TMED, DTE, BTEB, different TVET institutes, and ILO graced the occasion.

The Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) Project is an ILO project funded by the Government of Canada and implemented in close collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh. All the initiatives of B-SEP aims to make skills system in Bangladesh nationally recognized, accessible to all, higher quality and directly linked to jobs.