With an aim to create economic opportunities for all by 2041, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and Grameenphone jointly launched Graduate Employment Programme under an alliance called "FutureNation" on Sunday at a hotel in Dhaka.
Future Nation, an alliance of the private, public and development sectors, is created to accelerate the nation's future economic growth by enhancing the skills and potential of youth.
Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the honourable prime minister, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, Sirazul Islam, executive chairman, BIDA, Radwan Mujib Siddiq, strategic advisor, UNDP, Mohsina Yasmin, executive member, International Investment Promotion, BIDA, Sudipto Mukerjee, resident representative, UNDP, and Yasir Azman, CEO, Grameenphone, Bangladesh graced Program launching ceremony.
UNDP Resident Representative of Bangladesh Sudipto Mukerjee in his opening remarks said, “Global job market is consistently evolving. We must ensure our youth is prepared for the new reality presented by the fast-paced economic and technological evolutions. The blessings of a demographic dividend do not last forever. The private, public and development sectors have to work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”
The Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Honorable prime minister Salman F Rahman while addressing the event as the chief guest said, “After realizing a ‘Digital Bangladesh’, the government is now working to establish a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ to be successfully involved in the 4IR. I wholeheartedly applaud this initiative, ‘FutureNation by Grameenphone, UNDP and BIDA.”
Meanwhile, the State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak in his speech said, “Bangladesh is uniquely positioned to potentially benefit from a demographic dividend. But to reap the benefits of a demographic dividend stable employment opportunities and equipping the youth with digital competencies is pivotal. We must collaborate to reduce the disparity between the urban and rural areas by transforming the country into a digitally connected society. FutureNation is one of this co-creation.”
UNDP Strategic Advisor Radwan Mujib Siddiq, in a video message, shared his vision about FutureNation. He said, “FutureNation, with its advanced grooming method and more realistic assessment procedure, will help endow the youth with employable skills. I am delighted to see this coalition support the very critical area of building skills through their technology and innovation. Such an initiative will be impactful to the youth."
Telenor Asia Head, Jørgen C. Arentz Rostrup, in his video message said, “Creating opportunities for youth is fundamental for any nation and so it is crucial for Bangladesh. Grameenphone has been creating employment opportunities for the last 25 years. Time is now to create new opportunities for the youth of Bangladesh.”
Grameenphone Bangladesh CEO Yasir Azman said, “At Grameenphone, we always take a youth-first approach through our tech, innovation and social impact projects. Today I am delighted to be a part of this collective effort- a step towards realigning the existing talent with emerging technologies, making them more cyber smart, and ultimately enabling better job opportunities."
The primary objective of FutureNation is to create sustainable economic opportunities for young graduates through decent employment and facilitate a skilled workforce that can cope with the transforming industry trends. It also aims at reducing the unemployment ratio of graduate youth groups through basic training in digital and financial literacy, communication, business appreciation, and much more.
FutureNation has developed a home-grown aptitude assessment tool, which can assist the corporates and the private sector in finding the appropriate human resources with the necessary skills needed for their organization.
