Skilled manpower must for development

By emphasising on the need of appropriately skilled and diligent human resource development, schemes should be initiated and implemented urgently

Every country across the world desire and strive for economic growth and development for the betterment of the quality of life of its people. But in the true sense the term socio-economic development of a country is inseparably linked to the skill and diligence of the people in general and in particular the working people of a country. Truly speaking there is no royal or rose petal strewn road for growth and development of an economy. Development needs continuous and relentless hard work, single-minded devotion, proper education and above all, perfect skill and diligence of the concerned parties in an economy. Unfortunately, every sector of the economy of Bangladesh has been facing a shortage of skilled and diligent workers for a long time. There is also scarcity of enthusiastic and corruption free manpower. The economic experts have persistently been emphasising on the need for grooming and employing skilled hand and diligent personnel in every sector of the country’s economy. But it has not yet yielded any worthwhile outcome. Experts predict that the working situation in the country could worsen further in the coming decades if proper steps are not taken in this regard. This would hamper the aspirations of the people for a socio-economic boost.        A new study reveals that in 2025 the labour supply of the country is projected at 82.9 million – a 78 per cent rise in a decade. But on the skill gap the scale of the problem is enormous and set to become even larger in the coming days. Experts maintain the view that the persisting skill gap can considerably obstruct the future growth and development of the country’s economy. Development in Bangladesh by now has reached such a stage that skill development and adequate training of human resources will be indispensable for sustainability.

Negligence and corruption at workplace should be substituted by diligence and honesty, this is imperative for future growth and development. To keep pace with the ongoing changing conditions in the labour market, proper and adequate training of workers and employees is important. It is not only for the export competitiveness but also for meeting domestic needs. Experts accept the fact that the share of illiterate labour force has recently been dwindled considerably. But it still remains for them to be trained and educated properly.

The number of youths with higher secondary education or above and with technical or vocational training has recently gone up remarkably. But that is not enough to ensure and meet the demand for elevated standard of skilled and diligent working hands for an economic uplift. Skilled and highly capable diligent work force is required especially in agro-processing, garment, textile, hospitality and tourism, service, leather, light engineering, ICT, shipbuilding and healthcare sectors. Especially the construction, garment, textile and agro-processing sectors of the economy will definitely need to employ a significant share of efficient hands to handle the modern and highly technical aspects of such industries.

       At present there is a significant skill gap in the country’s agro-food sector followed by garment and textile sectors of the economy. The skill gap in the IT sector too is also substantial as the demand is mainly for skilled worker and employee which the country seriously lacks at present. The share of trained female workers at present is high in the country’s healthcare and IT sectors. Women’s share of employment in the country’s readymade garment sector is also very high. But their number among the trained workers in the sector is much lower than that of their male counterparts. If proper and appropriate training system and facilities is introduced and implemented wholeheartedly, the female workers will experience upward mobility with higher productivity. This would ensure higher wages to the benefit of the industry and their families in particular and the country’s socio-economy at large.

It may be concluded by emphasising on the need that appropriate skilled and diligent human power development schemes has to be initiated and implemented urgently and vigorously. The implementation should match the fast pace of the modern world as well as the country’s growth and development process. A case in point is China. It rapid economic boom is opening up new opportunities which must or may be seized by Bangladesh for its economic progress. There is no scope for Bangladesh to lag behind if it is to survive in the fast growing global scenario.    

The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre

 

Skilled manpower must for development

By emphasising on the need of appropriately skilled and diligent human resource development, schemes should be initiated and implemented urgently

Every country across the world desire and strive for economic growth and development for the betterment of the quality of life of its people. But in the true sense the term socio-economic development of a country is inseparably linked to the skill and diligence of the people in general and in particular the working people of a country. Truly speaking there is no royal or rose petal strewn road for growth and development of an economy. Development needs continuous and relentless hard work, single-minded devotion, proper education and above all, perfect skill and diligence of the concerned parties in an economy. Unfortunately, every sector of the economy of Bangladesh has been facing a shortage of skilled and diligent workers for a long time. There is also scarcity of enthusiastic and corruption free manpower. The economic experts have persistently been emphasising on the need for grooming and employing skilled hand and diligent personnel in every sector of the countrys economy. But it has not yet yielded any worthwhile outcome. Experts predict that the working situation in the country could worsen further in the coming decades if proper steps are not taken in this regard. This would hamper the aspirations of the people for a socio-economic boost. A new study reveals that in 2025 the labour supply of the country is projected at 82.9 million a 78 per cent rise in a decade. But on the skill gap the scale of the problem is enormous and set to become even larger in the coming days. Experts maintain the view that the persisting skill gap can considerably obstruct the future growth and development of the countrys economy. Development in Bangladesh by now has reached such a stage that skill development and adequate training of human resources will be indispensable for sustainability. Negligence and corruption at workplace should be substituted by diligence and honesty, this is imperative for future growth and development. To keep pace with the ongoing changing conditions in the labour market, proper and adequate training of workers and employees is important. It is not only for the export competitiveness but also for meeting domestic needs. Experts accept the fact that the share of illiterate labour force has recently been dwindled considerably. But it still remains for them to be trained and educated properly. The number of youths with higher secondary education or above and with technical or vocational training has recently gone up remarkably. But that is not enough to ensure and meet the demand for elevated standard of skilled and diligent working hands for an economic uplift. Skilled and highly capable diligent work force is required especially in agro-processing, garment, textile, hospitality and tourism, service, leather, light engineering, ICT, shipbuilding and healthcare sectors. Especially the construction, garment, textile and agro-processing sectors of the economy will definitely need to employ a significant share of efficient hands to handle the modern and highly technical aspects of such industries. At present there is a significant skill gap in the countrys agro-food sector followed by garment and textile sectors of the economy. The skill gap in the IT sector too is also substantial as the demand is mainly for skilled worker and employee which the country seriously lacks at present. The share of trained female workers at present is high in the countrys healthcare and IT sectors. Womens share of employment in the countrys readymade garment sector is also very high. But their number among the trained workers in the sector is much lower than that of their male counterparts. If proper and appropriate training system and facilities is introduced and implemented wholeheartedly, the female workers will experience upward mobility with higher productivity. This would ensure higher wages to the benefit of the industry and their families in particular and the countrys socio-economy at large. It may be concluded by emphasising on the need that appropriate skilled and diligent human power development schemes has to be initiated and implemented urgently and vigorously. The implementation should match the fast pace of the modern world as well as the countrys growth and development process. A case in point is China. It rapid economic boom is opening up new opportunities which must or may be seized by Bangladesh for its economic progress. There is no scope for Bangladesh to lag behind if it is to survive in the fast growing global scenario. The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre