Over 200 youths participated in the fair with special guests from key government agencies such as Chamber of Commerce, Department of Public Health and Engineering, Department of Social Welfare, Department of Women Affairs, and Department of Youth Development.

CARE Bangladesh organised the fair as part of implementing USAID’s Strengthening Household Ability to Respond to Development Opportunities (SHOUHARDO) III project in collaboration with BDjobs and Sylhet Technical Training Center (TTC) at Amanullah Convention Center, said a press release.

Sylhet Divisional Commissioner Md Moshiur Rahman was present as the chief guest on the closing day (March 9). Representatives from at least 40 private companies including PRAN RFL, Walton, major hotels in Sylhet and IT-related companies as well as representatives of different NGOs were present at the fair as potential employers.

“There is a need not only for higher education, rather one should get vocational education and develop other relevant skills to land a job and income generating activities,” said Moshiur Rahman.

As the number of jobs is limited against the number of job seekers, he added that the youth can also be proactive in exploring entrepreneurship in different fields.

SHOUHARDO III Acting Chief of Party Ishrat Shabnam said, “Job markets are evolving so fast that many career paths will be redundant before those pursuing them achieve the relevant skills.  It is time to focus on transferable skills that don’t tie youth to one career path but allow them the dynamism that matches the fast evolving work place.”

Under SHOUHARDO III, 6,243 youths (3,006 males and 3,237 females) received training in the last financial year while over 2,700 youths among them are now engaged in self or wage employment.

In the current year, some 1,100 youth participants joined employment fairs under the project and at least 20 percent of them already reported being employed in driving, electrical wiring, and welding fields, said Care Bangladesh sources.