The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the World Bank-funded 'ASSET' project jointly organized a review workshop on Enterprise Based Training (EBT) progress and a certificate distribution ceremony on Saturday at the BGMEA Complex in Uttara.
Under the initiative, certificates were awarded to 2,328 trainees across 97 batches from the second and third cycles of the training program. To date, the BGMEA-EBT program has enrolled 4,632 trainees across 193 batches in three completed cycles, while a fourth cycle comprising 96 batches is currently ongoing.
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Attending the event as the chief guest, Technical and Madrasah Education Division (TMED) Secretary Md. Dawood Miah emphasized that building a skilled workforce is indispensable for achieving national economic targets.
He noted that as the nation's largest employment-generating sector, upgrading RMG workers' skill levels to Level 3 and Level 4 is essential to remain competitive in global markets.
He added that although the current project period ends in December 2026, government skill development initiatives will continue. He requested BGMEA to provide strategic inputs to help strengthen industry-academia linkages and align training programs with market demands.
Presiding over the ceremony, BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan stated that the apparel sector must continually enhance efficiency and adopt modern practices to adapt to global market competition and technological evolution.
Dawood Miah highlighted that BGMEA's current leadership prioritizes product value addition through human capital development rather than simply raising export volumes, noting that suitable policy support would further boost job creation.
The 'Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation' (ASSET) project is being implemented by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) under the Ministry of Education to promote industry-led, demand-based training and enhance manufacturing productivity.
Director General of DTE Abul Khair Md. Akkas Ali, Additional Secretary of TMED Samsur Rahman Khan, ASSET Project Director Mir Zahid Hasan, and Pro-Vice Chancellor of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) Prof. Dr. Engr. Ayub Nabi Khan attended the event as special guests, alongside BGMEA Director Nafis-Ud-Doula and Skill Development Standing Committee Chairman Jabed Hossain Bhuiyan.