Banglalink has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BRAC University (BRACU) to facilitate students’ skill development. Banglalink Chief Human Resources and Administration Officer Monzula Morshed and BRAC University Registrar Dr David Dowland recently signed the MoU on behalf of the organisations, according to a press release. It will enable the students to learn from the top professionals of Banglalink and get the opportunity to become a part of Banglalink’s valued programs. Read: Banglalink introduces monetisation on Toffee Monzula Morshed said, “We strive to empower talented youths with a view to building them as future leaders of the country. BRAC University graduates have always shown outstanding prospects in different sectors. Banglalink is very pleased to play a facilitating role in helping them advance their skillsets further.” BRACU Registrar David said, “Our students should be given the opportunity to equip themselves with digital skills required to succeed in today’s world. We are confident that they will greatly benefit from Banglalink’s skill development programs. We thank Banglalink for making us a preferential partner for this collaboration.” Under this agreement, BRAC University students will get the scope to join Banglalink's youth empowerment programs such as learn from the leaders, learn from the startups, campus to corporate, career Bootcamp, club collaboration, on spot internship and job assessment, strategic assistant program, advanced internship program, campus ambassador program, womentor program, and ennovators program. They will also study Banglalink's cases as part of their university curriculum. Read Banglalink skill development programme: 'Digirevolution' Season 1 ends Ayesha Saeed, Head of Talent Management, Banglalink, Eshanee Sadhukhan, Talent Management Lead Specialist, Banglalink, and Tahsina Rahman, Joint Director, Campus Life, BRAC University were also present at the signing ceremony.

Telecom operator Banglalink has completed the first season of "Digirevolution," a virtual skill development programme for students, through a closing ceremony. Erik Aas, chief executive officer, and Monzula Morshed, chief human resources and administration officer, of Banglalink, and all the programme participants were present at the event in the capital. Students from more than 35 universities from all over the country were shortlisted for the virtual programme. READ: Breaching copyright law by Banglalink: Hearing on charge framing in 2 cases on May 26 They were upskilled on various contemporary telecom, digital, and business topics in business intelligence and analytics, digital marketing, UI and UX, content marketing, design thinking, and agile project management. Following each session, the participants went through an evaluation process.  Monzula Morshed said: "Digirevolution helped the participants learn professional digital skills much needed in the workplaces of today." Read Development sector: 'Young job-seekers should learn soft, technical skills to thrive' "We believe that empowering local talents with contemporary learning experiences will result in a well-equipped workforce in our telecom and IT industries."

The government has prioritised vocational and digital education at secondary and higher levels in a mid-term plan that seeks to create jobs and skilled manpower, according to an official document. The plan (FY2021-22 to FY2023-24) envisages using science and technology education as a key strategy for development and poverty alleviation. Apart from expanding vocational education the plan seeks to develop necessary infrastructure for digital education. It also underscores the need for increasing the financial opportunities for teachers and encouraging activities related to creative talent exploration. To this end, according to an official document, following the 8th Five Year Plan, SDGs 2030 and Vision 2041, appropriate activities and projects are being taken by ensuring quality higher education in all fields, encouraging students to do research, ensuring information technology based education, expansion of science based education, encouraging women in higher education, reducing the dropout rate, etc. as set under the National Education Policy 2010. The objectives are to improve the overall quality of education, eliminating inequalities in education, improving quality and expanding education. The document said that the government is currently implementing the 'Secondary Education Development Program'. Activities under this include- expansion of infrastructure and setting up of new infrastructure with the help of existing development projects to enhance the capacity of secondary and higher secondary education, setting up of Upazila Training and Resource Centers under integrated education information management program, expansion of MPO schemes in private schools, provision of scholarships for outstanding students, and training of teachers. During the COVID- 19 transition, online classes at secondary and higher secondary levels and teaching on important subjects on television under the title of 'My school in my house' have been introduced. The Technical and Madrasa Education Division has placed emphasis on job-oriented technical and vocational education to facilitate the development of skilled human resources. Some steps have already been taken to expand technical and vocational education, ensure job-focused education, and attract the general public towards technical and vocational education, said the document. For example, projects for making computer/ technical education compulsory, organizing skill competitions, setting up technical schools and colleges in 329 upazilas along with the existing 100 technical schools and colleges, setting up women's polytechnics in 4 divisional cities, and setting up 4 engineering universities in 4 divisions are ongoing. The ministry of primary and mass education has taken multifaceted initiatives to ensure quality and universal primary education, and has adopted and implemented a number of development activities. For example, the ministry has nationalised 26,193 private primary schools. It has started using mobile banking for stipends to about 14 million students across the country by making payment to their mothers on their mobile phones. Further, infrastructure of government primary and modernised primary schools has been developed, free textbooks are distributed, and computers and multimedia are provided in schools. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has started broadcasting "Learn at Home" lessons on television to keep students focused on lessons, and lessons are being broadcast on radio and community radio for students in remote areas. In the medium term, the ministry will provide quality pre-primary and primary education, basic education, ICT, English, sub-cluster training to teachers. One of the main objectives of the ministry of science and technology is to build a science and technology-minded nation. The ministry has undertaken research activities on, and formulated policies and laws related to, science and technology. In the medium term, as per the document, the main development priorities of the ministry will be providing fellowships in MS, PhD and post-doctoral courses at home and abroad for higher education in science, completion of various feasibility studies for construction of nuclear power plants in southern Bangladesh. It also included providing world-class specialised library services for students and researchers, discovering low-cost tide and web power generation methods. The other priorities are developing infrastructure and human resources for marine resource research, improving the quality of industrial products, and ensuring the quality of food and food products.

"GP Explorers" Batch 2 recently graduated from Grameenphone's in-house skill academy at a virtual graduation event. With more than 40 per cent females with a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) background in the cohort, the pool was upskilled to become future-ready professionals. Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar graced the event as the chief guest. Subrata Roy Maitra, the vice-chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Yasir Azman, CEO of Grameenphone, and Hossain Sadat, acting chief corporate affairs officer, were present as special guests.  Also read: GP Accelerator Program 3.0: Paving the Way for Successful Startups GP Explorers is an industry-led digital skills academy to digitally upskill and empower university students with soft and digital skills to bridge the gap between their future careers and required competencies. The platform consists of a 20 week-long upskilling programme focusing on communication proficiency, entrepreneurship mindset and digital skills that complement the knowledge students receive from academia. It is a crowdsourced learning model with custom content, assignments and expert sessions from industry professionals.  Mustafa Jabbar said: "The goal of any business entity is to do business or to make a profit. Apart from this, they have some responsibility towards society, the state, and the people. Grameenphone is fulfilling this promise through GP Explorers by upskilling the youth through future-fit skills." Also read: US-Bangla, GP sign agreement "I think the knowledge gained from GP Explorers will serve as a great foundation for their lives. These valuable lessons must be made available for all, especially for the marginalised community to benefit from digitisation." Subrata Roy said: "There is a difference between education and training. You can do well academically, but you need to develop yourself and acquire skills simultaneously to be future-ready." "Grameenphone, with its GP Explorers 2.0, has been able to develop the participants in the right way, and the programme has been able to keep pace with the international arena." Yasir Azman said: "We are glad to complete the latest GP Explorers programme despite the Covid-19 barrier." "This was possible mainly because of the resilience and indomitable spirit that our participants have shown since day one. I am sure that they will stand out as professionals in the industry very soon, bringing excellence to their organisations as well as their portfolio." 

Executive Chairman of National Skills Development Authority (NSDA) Dulal Krishna Saha, and Director General, Non-Governmental Organization Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) K.M.Tariqul Islam, recently visited Uttoron project in Sylhet and Habiganj. The project is funded by Chevron and implemented by Swisscontact Bangladesh.Uttoron Skills for better life is a three-year project providing vocational training to 2000 youth in Dhaka and Sylhet division, said a press release. Also read: Bangladesh hunts talents for WorldSkills Shanghai 2022During the visit, the officials met the trainers and the trainees. Trainees shared their experiences and their aspiration with the officials.The NSDA Executive Chairman and the NGOAB DG appreciated the quality of training and the innovative ideas Uttoron is implementing to build a better workforce for Bangladesh. Also read: BYLC to instill leadership skills in 3,000 youthsThe project has introduced a new trade Packaging and Finishing Operation to meet the demand of the packaging industry first time in Bangladesh. The Prime Minister’s office has already approved the trade.

There is a saying that “Jack of all trades, master of none”. While most people are doing well in their professional career, how many of them are truly an expert in their field? A study finds that one of the leading causes of high job turnover is due to lack of experience and expertise in the relevant sector. So, what will make a person love what s/he is doing? How can a person become a role model to others? And, finally, how can a person become a genuine expert in his/her chosen field? Let’s find out.  What makes an expert?  An expert is someone who holds considerable knowledge in a specific branch of knowledge. someone who is an authoritative figure in his/her relevant field, is also called an expert. The extent of knowledge and the means of their application determines the credibility of an expert.  Naturally, this is not something that happens overnight. Rather an expert only becomes an expert after going through a long and arduous process of proving competence and demonstrating exceptional skills.  Read Finding Success in a New Job: 9 Key Ways How to Become an Expert in a Specific Field? Below are some of the means to become an expert. However, none of these are shortcuts, and all of them require long-term commitment and dedication to see results. Practice Practice and More Practice  Malcolm Gladwell, the celebrated author of various non-fiction and self-development books opines that it takes 10,000 hours of continuous practice to become an expert in anything. This might seem like a pretty definitive way to expertise. However, a 40-hour workweek will still take 5 years to hit the 10,000-hour mark.  It is not easy to stay put in one goal. Most people will lose enthusiasm or get discouraged by failure. However, the key to becoming an expert is to bounce back from this and repeat until perfection. It is not just about practice, it is embracing a mindset to become the best. What follows in this process is perseverance, dedication, and a sense of discipline. These are the ultimate driving factors to standing out from the rest.  Read Remote Working: Pros and Cons Professional Networking with the Field Leaders  There are already established industry leaders regardless of the sector. These are the people who have shaped themselves and emerged as an authority in their relevant field. Networking with them will provide an insight into their mindset.  To become the best, it is important to stay surrounded by successful people. Every industry leader has an approach and growth pattern which makes them what they are. Engaging in conversation, asking the question, seeking guidance will help one to imitate one’s industry leaders’ thought process. Because adopting the best practice can develop a person as one of the most competent experts in his/her field. For more on professional networking, you can read our comprehensive guide here. Read Leader Vs Boss: Know the Differences Mentor a Mentee  There is no point in learning if it does not have a practical application. The process of mastering something is not limited to just learning. Rather, it is about perfecting the execution of the learning as well. One of the most effective ways to do that is to train a subordinate or someone looking for a mentor. The sharing of knowledge not only sets up a mentee for success in the field but also helps the mentor to engrave the earned knowledge and see its practical application. It is a win-win scenario in every way.  Read How to find your passion for a more fulfilling career? Practice Thought Leadership  How often is the status quo questioned? In most cases, the organizational culture becomes so ingrained that there is no question of overhauling it. There is no effort to change a thing or think of processes that might elevate the current standings. As a result, there arises a rut that ultimately prevents excelling opportunities.  A change can be initiated through leadership qualities, especially thought leadership. Thinking and initiating changes to the existing processes, rejecting the traditional norm, and introducing a shift from the standard practices eventually makes way for success. Because no great thing was achieved without taking a risk or doing what others generally won’t.  Read Best Ways to Lead Effective Team Meetings Get the Basics Right  While running to change the existing process to stand out from the rest, people often forget that some stuff is better left the way it is. The change proposition not only looks silly, but it also shows a lack of depth of knowledge. And this is precisely what should be avoided.  Becoming an expert starts from the basics. As a result, it's important to hone the basics to develop perfect decision-making capabilities. Strengthening the basic knowledge will eventually make way for better opportunities.  Draw Attention  This point can be interpreted in several ways. The process of learning and being an expert sees ultimate fruition when the knowledge is decimated for the benefit of the greater mass. An expert in a relevant field should demonstrate their expertise for the benefit of their professional community. Read Pandemic, Remote Working & Procrastination: How to avoid procrastination when working from home? They can be the torchbearer of change and influence others to take up the changing mentality. Start a discussion, raise voice and encourage deep-diving into a specific subject matter. The more there is a demonstration of expertise, the more recognition comes for the position as well as the relevant field.  Understand the Trends  Every sector regardless of the industry is dynamic. There is a constant change in day-to-day procedures and operations. It is an established notion that an expert is an unsaid leader in their sector. So, is it feasible for a leader to fall behind on the trend? Or adopt something that is already outdated? Of course not.  Read What makes a Great Manager: Know the Qualities and Skills A leader has to stay up to date with the changing dynamics and trends of the sector. This can be done through networking, reading, and analyzing the sectoral overviews. This is also where practice and learning come into play. To become an expert, practice the process of seamless blend with a changing environment. Because an expert is only deemed as an authority when they demonstrate successful transitional capability. Final Thoughts  The process of becoming an expert is not a tough thing, rather a time-consuming one. It requires utmost sincerity and dedication to learn and apply the learning. The trial-and-error nature of the process means it will take time to reach the desired level. However, the effort and sacrifices are well worth it considering the benefits of becoming an authoritative figure in a relevant field.  Read How to improve your productivity and efficiency at Work?

Chevron Bangladesh has partnered with Swisscontact and Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) in establishing a skill training institute in Sylhet. Chevron Bangladesh, the US operator of three gas fields—Bibiyana, Moulvibazar and Jalalabad in Sylhet—will set up the training institute, aiming to create a skilled workforce and provide easy access to vocational training for youths of SCC, said a press release. Also read: Chevron continues scholarship support for local students The scheme will be implemented under the Swisscontact Bangladesh’s Uttoron project, funded by Chevron’s Bangladesh Partnership Initiative for which an agreement has been signed among the parties.