Employment exchange will be introduced at the district level to directly connect jobseekers with employers, with priority given to marginalised and disadvantaged communities, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Spokesperson Mahdi Amin said on Wednesday.
“We are going to launch employment exchange. Several dialogues and consultations have already been held among different government agencies on the initiative,” he said.
Mahdi Amin, also Prime Minister’s adviser, was speaking at the second session of a national conference titled “Implementing a Five-Year Strategic Framework for Achieving the SDGs: Policies, Partnerships and Priorities” at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital.
“We will reach the district level and bring local employers and jobseekers together. Both offline and online platforms will be used to create new employment opportunities,” he said.
The initiative will also focus on technical skills development, capacity building and an effective referral system, with the private sector directly involved in improving institutional skills and qualifications, the PMO spokesperson said.
He said the government’s top priority is ensuring that no citizen is left behind in the country’s economic growth and development. “Fully integrating disadvantaged people into the mainstream economy and social protection system is one of the government’s key objectives,” he said.
The adviser said the government is committed to ensuring inclusive development and solving citizens’ problems through sustainable measures.
Highlighting what he described as positive aspects of the government’s first budget, he said taxes and VAT on more than seven essential commodities, including rice, pulses, edible oil, sugar and flour, had been slashed to strengthen the economic empowerment of grassroots people.
Mahdi Amin also said the government has kept fuel prices stable despite rising prices in the international market.
Regarding the recent gas supply disruption following a technical failure at a Floating Storage Regasification Unit, he said measures are being taken to resolve the problem.
The PMP spokesperson acknowledged that long-standing challenges in the energy sector could not be resolved completely within five or six months but said efforts are underway to attract foreign investment and increase domestic resource extraction.
He said the government plans to create 100,000 new jobs in the health sector soon, with women to receive priority for 80,000 of the positions.
Mahdi Amin said the government’s commitment to development is not limited to elections but is rooted in the political philosophy of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
He said the government is working to rebuild and reform state institutions affected by what he described as 16 years of authoritarian rule.
The adviser said the government is committed to ensuring equal rights, freedom and participation in development for all citizens.
Among others, Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Minister Prof Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, Centre of Policy Dialogue Distinguished Fellow Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya and BNP Standing Committee member Selima Rahman, attended the event.