72% youth use internet: Study

As many as 72 per cent of the country’s youth use the internet and of them, only 28 per cent browse for content on technical and vocational education and training, finds a survey.

The findings were released through a virtual conference “Changing Perspectives of Youths Regarding Vocational Education in Bangladesh” organised by BRAC on Thursday.

BRAC, the world largest non-governmental organisation, conducted the survey on 1,232 youth aged between 18-35 years and the Danish Embassy in Dhaka funded the study.

Among the youths of Bangladesh, 86 per cent have access to smartphones, overall 72 per cent use the internet, while 28.3 per cent of them per cent have recently searched for materials and training related information on technical and vocational education and training, the study found.

Sixty-five per cent of the respondents identified Facebook as the most effective digital platform for raising public awareness on technical, vocational education.

Tasmiah Tabassum Rahman, current in-charge of BRAC Skills Development Programme, said, “Jobs related to technical and vocational education in Bangladesh are still considered as blue-collar jobs.

“This is why it is essential to create awareness and tell the society about the importance of technical, vocational education and training and their prospects.”

Speakers at the programme pointed out that despite the government had undertaken several measures to popularise technical education, the public perception of it is yet to be changed in Bangladesh. NGOs can play an important role, complementing the government efforts and effectively changing perceptions at the community level, including in the communities living in the hard-to-reach areas, they said.

National Skills Development Authority executive chairman Dulal Krishna Saha said, “We have to maintain the productivity of our labour force to maintain the growth we have achieved in different sectors. Without skills, we won’t be able to sustain ourselves in the fourth industrial revolution. We do, therefore, need an intensive awareness campaign both to attract foreign investment and build a vast pool of skilled workforce.”

BRAC executive director Asif Saleh said, “It’s never enough to erect only the buildings of training centres. We have to focus on the training itself so that by utilising that skills training they can secure jobs for themselves, or become entrepreneurs, or can engage in income-generating activities and improve their living standard eventually.”