Career Guidance Training for TVET Officials

Skills 21 and ITCILO organised an 8-day long-tailored training from 28 July and ends on 05 August 2019 in Dhaka Technical Teachers Training College for staff operating the career guidance and job placement cells on global good practice in job placement services through public-private partnerships.

Trainer conducting the session
Many young people, particularly those from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, struggle to find stable employment because they have lack guidance and information on the demand of the labour market. They include those who are attempting to move from farm to off-farm employment to earn more and diversify of sources of income. One way to improve labour market information for young people is to provide them with career guidance and employment services.

ILO’s European Union-funded Skills 21 project is working to transform governments’ seven TVET institutes into the Model TVET Institutions (MTI). To become a Model TVET Institution (MTI) among other criterion, one is to establish career guidance and job placement cell. The selected institutions are in process to establish the career guidance and job placement cells, which will start functioning in a few months.

Skills 21 project with the technical support from the International Training Centre of ILO (ITCILO) had reviewed the operations of the existing career guidance and job placement cells put in place earlier with ILO technical and financial support from the B-SEP project and ongoing activities of Skills-21 supported institutions. Based on the recommendations a learning opportunity for the staff operating these cells has been designed.

Recently Skills 21 and ITCILO organised an 8-day long-tailored training from 28 July and ends on 05 August 2019 in Dhaka Technical Teachers Training College for staff operating the career guidance and job placement cells on global good practice in job placement services through public-private partnerships.

Mr. Rownak Mahmud, Director General of Directorate of Technical Education inaugurated the training programme. The DG informed that the government has the priority for the employment of the TVET graduates and also mentioned the job description of TVET teachers, trainers have been re-designed. Only teaching and training for the students is not enough, job placement should be the highest priority. A total of 14 trainers and career guidance officer from seven institutes participated in the training who will act as career guidance officer at the respective institution.
Skills 21 project Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) Snehal V Soneji said, “The career guidance and job placement officers should let us know if the training is relevant with the skills set needs by the job market.”

The training was designed to equip the officials of the MTI’s with skills and tools to help students, youth and their families for effective career decisions. After the training, the participants will be able to prepare a kit for career guidance, conduct workshops with students, parents, organize workshop job fair and communicate properly with the employers.

At the last day of training, Mr. Gideon Arulmani, an International Trainer from ITCILO said, “As most of the participants are either instructor or trainer of their respective institutes, at first they have to understand the importance of career guidance and job placement activities and the way to do it. However, most of the participants are quick learner and tried to grab the concept at their level best. The most important thing they need is to have a better understanding of skills anticipation and skills matching as well as the industry linkage.”

Biswajit Mondol, Instructor, Khulna Mohila Polytechnic said, “I have learned how I can guide a student to discover his/her career path from this training. I will help them to find out the career interest and potential along with the career information to prepare themselves during their training time.”

Mr. Morad Hossain, from Gaibandha Technical Training Center said, “In Bangladesh, we always choose our career path according to our parent's wishes. From this training, I have learned to choose the career path what a student should know, such as career name, definition, tasks, potential, and skillsets, etc.”

Skills 21 project is a joint initiative of the Government of Bangladesh and the International Labour Organization (ILO), funded by the European Union. The project seeks to increase productivity and employment opportunities through an environmentally conscious, inclusive, demand-driven, and interlinked skills development system responding to the needs of the labour market.