Bangladeshi businesses value teamwork and leadership skills more than analytical thinking and emerging technology expertise when hiring, according to a survey by English news daily The Business Standard.
The survey, featured in the second edition of Economic Intelligence Bangladesh (EIB) on May 9, highlights the soft skills most prized by Dhaka's corporate sector. Communication proficiency, resilience, curiosity, and motivation are also highly sought after to drive growth in Bangladeshi industries, reports TBS.
10 Ways to Boost Team Productivity in Workplace
While acknowledging the importance of advanced technological literacy in general, specific skills like Artificial Intelligence and big data are not currently a top priority for Bangladeshi companies. These industries are putting off emphasis on high-tech skills for future recruitment.
The survey, titled "Skills for the Future in Bangladesh," surveyed 27 leading corporations in Dhaka and Chattogram, representing approximately 390,000 employees across various sectors.
Chain of Command in Workplace and Business: Features, Advantages, Disadvantages
Problem-solving skills lacking, English proficiency readily available
Bangladeshi employers identified a significant gap in problem-solving abilities among recent graduates seeking corporate jobs. Conversely, English language proficiency, although necessary for some roles, is readily available in new recruits and therefore receives less focus during recruitment.
Grooming Tips for Professionals: Show up gracefully at the workplace
While global trends emphasise creative thinking, Bangladesh's corporate environment places greater weight on interpersonal skills and managerial capabilities. This preference is expected to continue over the next two years, according to the survey.
In-house training crucial, foreign workers rarely considered
Only 37 percent of respondents were satisfied with the performance of new hires, highlighting the need for in-house training programs – conducted by 93 percent of surveyed companies – to effectively prepare new recruits for their roles.
The survey also found that 63 percent of companies rarely consider hiring foreign workers even if local candidates fail to meet their requirements. Meanwhile, sectors requiring a large and diverse workforce, such as garments, consumer goods, hospitality, and electronics, are more likely to hire foreign workers (22 percent of companies frequently hire foreign workers in these sectors).
The lack of problem-solving skills among young graduates remains a major concern for Bangladeshi industries.
As Bangladesh's corporate landscape evolves, the focus on teamwork, leadership, and well-rounded skill development underscores the nation's commitment to nurturing a competitive workforce equipped to tackle future challenges.
The rewrite preserves the original article's point of view, underlining Bangladesh's business sector's emphasis on soft skills and its lag in adopting global trends such as high-tech capabilities and innovative thinking.