Bangladesh skills development policy 2010-2015

Skills development depends on many different actors, including the private sector, non-for-profit actors, NGOs and civil society; as well as the large number of government ministries delivering skills based education and training. Consequently, the National Skills Development policy for Bangladesh represents a groundbreaking attempt to improve coordination and delivery of skills in Bangladesh for the betterment of the nation as a whole. This policy also extends and builds on other major government policies such as the Education Policy of 2009, the Non-Formal Education Policy of 2006 and the Youth Policy of 2003.

Type: Report

Date issued: 17 September 2009

Authors: TVET Reform Project, Bangladesh

Ministry of Education

Government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Ministry of Education

Government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh

Dhaka, Bangladesh

The National Skills Development Policy

The development of a national policy for TVET and skills development is a major outcome of the TVET Reform Project which is a US$20M project over 5 years funded by the Government of Bangladesh (GOB), the European Commission (EC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Ministry of Education (MoE) is the line ministry responsible for the project.

Key activities within the project include development of a national policy, a reform proposal for relevant laws and regulations and a proposal for improvements in tasks and mechanisms of coordination between TVET agencies. These three issues are addressed to varying degrees in the draft National Skills Development Policy included in this document.

The draft policy was finalised after considerable consultation with local stakeholders, both in Dhaka city and each of the country’s Divisions.

In June 2009, a National Skills Policy Consultative Committee (NPC) was established to oversee development of the draft policy. It included representatives from a wide range of government agencies involved in TVET and skills training, employer and worker organisations and private training providers and NGOs. The NPC met five times over a six month period to review and comment on various drafts of the policy.

In late September 2009, a first draft of the policy was finalised for regional consultations and approved by the NPC for distribution. During the months of October and November, consultative workshops were held in each of the divisional cities of Bangladesh, including Dhaka.

Over 200 participants from a wide range of stakeholders provided feedback which was incorporated in the final draft.

A final meeting of the NPC in November 2009 endorsed the final draft which was submitted to the Ministry of Education in December.

The Bangladesh Technical Education Board reviewed the draft skills development policy in two separate workshops involving all the key stake holders. At the same time the draft policy was put in the website of the Ministry of Education and notification in the daily newspaper seeking public comments.

The Ministry of Education invited written comments on the draft policy document from the concerned ministries and departments followed by three different inter-Ministerial consultations. The last inter-ministerial meeting was chaired by the honourable Education Minister.

In late 2010 the ECNSDC, in its 6^th meeting, reviewed the policy document and in April, 2011 approved the reviewed draft and recommended it to be placed in the next NSDC meeting agenda for approval.

Table of Contents

Glossary of Key Terms & Acronyms 2

1. Introduction 4

2. Defining Skills Development 5

3. Vision, Mission & Objectives 8

4. Demand-Driven, Flexible and Responsive Training Provision 10

5. Nationally Recognised Qualifications 11

6. Competency Based Training & Assessment 15

7. Programs and Providers Quality Assured 17

8. Strengthend Role for Industry Sectors in Skills Development 19

9. Accurate Skills and Labour Market Data for Planning and Monitoring 22

10. Competent and Certified Instructors and Trainers 25