“Transforming the skills system and thus creating more employment opportunities is a key policy of our government," she said.
The Education Minister mentioned that they plan to integrate some of the job focused skills-delivery practices which were successfully established by the B-SEP project.
"These include public-private partnership, disability inclusion and employment support services for job seekers,” she said.
Dipu Moni was addressing at the closing ceremony of Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) project jointly organized by ILO Dhaka and the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) in the city.
This "landmark project" was launched in 2014 with an aim to strengthen the skills system in Bangladesh and thereby increase employment, productivity and economic growth.
Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit Préfontaine said they are extremely pleased with the achievements and outcome of the ILO’s B-SEP project.
"I would particularly mention here the project’s initiatives to improve access of women to non-traditional jobs and the support provided to develop green entrepreneurs. The Canadian government is interested to continue its partnership with the government of Bangladesh and the ILO in these two areas," said the High Commissioner.
The Country Director of ILO Bangladesh, Tuomo Poutiainen said, “The ultimate goal of any project is to leave a legacy and a sustainable model in place. We believe that B-SEP - thanks to the endless support from the government and industry partners – has done just that.”
By promoting market-driven capacity building, the B-SEP project provided better employment opportunities for young men and women, especially marginalized women in remote areas, while meeting the changing needs of the industry.
This, in turn, has contributed to the country’s decent work and sustainable economic development goals and had a positive effect on poverty reduction, said a media release issued by Canadian High Commission in Dhaka.
The project was implemented by the government of Bangladesh with the support of the ILO and funding from Canadian government.
By providing training and job placement opportunities for disadvantaged groups such as women, indigenous people and persons with disabilities, the project also succeeded in promoting social inclusion.
These achievements were presented at the closing ceremony of the project where government, industry and TVET institute representatives discussed how the successful practices can be replicated in future to further reinforce the national skills development system in Bangladesh.