SEIP has been currently supporting 10 priority sectors. Few more sectors will come up when the implementation of the Tranche 3 starts. Under these priority sectors SEIP is partnering with 13 industry associations and also with the public training institutes alongside some semi-government and autonomous bodies like PKSF, BB-SME etc.

The economy of Bangladesh is growing steadily benefiting from reforms and increasing openness. Annual GDP growth has accelerated from 4.1% in the period FY1973-1978 to 6.2% in FY2008-2013. Excitingly, since FY 2015-16 Bangladesh has been experiencing more than 7.0% GDP growth which crossed 8.0% in 2018-19 that gives the country an aspiration to claim up to double digits. Literacy rate has increased over past decades, so has school enrollment, and particularly girls and women’s participation in education. Population and labor force is predominantly young with more than a third in the 15-34 age group in 2010. Bangladesh is well-placed to benefit from the demographic dividend up to 2050 and perhaps beyond due to decline in fertility rates which, combined with effective policies and markets, triggers faster rates of economic growth and human development.

This may be reinforced by the growth of labor productivity through skills development and technological progress especially Information and Communication Technology (ICT) driven move towards a knowledge economy. However, skill is recognized after infrastructure and energy as the prime factor to industrial growth, productivity, export diversification and producing high value products. It needs to be mentioned here that the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Bangladesh Country Partnership Strategy (for 2012–2016) identifies the low competitiveness of firms as a key constraint to growth particularly the low skills and low productivity of the workforce.

Foreign remittances play a very vital role in Bangladesh economy. Bangladeshi expatriates are the main source of this remittance. But most of the Bangladeshis working abroad are unskilled or semiskilled are sending very low remittance when compared to South East Asian Countries. For steady and higher remittance inflows, enhancement of skills of the aspirant migrant workers has no alternative.

To coordinate the existing skills development and training programs sporadically being implemented by about 23 ministries and divisions, the Government has formulated National Skills Development Policy, 2011. To run the skills development programs in a holistic, coordinated and standardized way the Government has recently established National Skills Development Authority (NSDA) which will bring all skills development activities under one umbrella to ensure uniform quality and standard across the country. Side by side with the government’s fiscal support to the skills development programs additional source of funding will be ensured through National Human Resource Development Fund (NHRDF) which has already been established. Deserving public and private training institutes will benefit from this fund to carry on their training activities.

Skills for Employment Investment Program (SEIP)

Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a Multi-tranche Financing Facility (MFF) Agreement with Bangladesh Government in 2014 in order to support long-term and comprehensive skills development efforts in Bangladesh assessing its potential contribution to higher GDP growth by skilling and up-skilling a large number of working age people in priority sectors. Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is also co-financing the program in the 1st

Caption: The Best looking man in Bangladesh / Most Handsome Man in Bangladesh

Skills for Employment Investment Program (SEIP)

1. Readymade Garment and Textile
2. Construction
3. Information Technology
4. Light Engineering
5. Leather and Footwear
6. Ship Building
7. Tourism and Hospitality Management
8. Agro Processing
9. Transport (Motor Driving)
10. Nursing & Care-giving

how mach youth is trained by SEIP?

Finance Division is the executing agency of the SEIP project while three Ministries (Ministry of Expatriate Welfare, Education and Industries), Bangladesh Bank, PKSF and 13 Industry Associations are partnering with this Division. Apart from this, BRTC under the Ministry of Ministry Road Transport & Highways is working with this project to develop 1,00,000 trained and licensed drivers to drastically reduce road accidents. Support to Skills Development Coordination and Monitoring Unit (SDCMU) is working as the implementing agency.

Source: Skills For Employment Investment Program