DHAKA (ILO News) – 17-year-old Shanta Akhtar’s family always struggled to make ends meet. Shanta’s father owns a tea stall in the suburbs of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, but providing for six children, including one who is physically disabled, was a struggle.

To help support the family, Shanta’s elder sister took a job in a garment factory. But this was not enough so Shanta’s parents asked her to leave school, before sitting her Junior School Certificate (JSC) examination, and work with her sister. They also wanted her to get married.

However the teenager rallied support from her teachers. They managed to stop her parents from forcing her into an early marriage, but there was still no money for her education.

Then Shanta learned of a vocational training course in cookery organized by a local NGO, UCEP Bangladesh, with technical assistance from the ILO Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) Project.

However, when Shanta talked to her parents about the training, their reaction was not encouraging: ‘Women are born to cook in the kitchen and can learn how to cook naturally. Why learn cooking through training?’ they said.

But despite this opposition, Shanta joined and successfully completed the six-month training, for which, thanks to ILO support, there was no fee. After graduating, she and some of her classmates enrolled in a 120-hour attachment programme at Bengal Meat Processing Industries Limited. Shanta performed well and was offered a job shortly after. She now earns 7,000 taka (USD 90) a month.

Believing in the power of vocational education

“The day I received my first paycheck, I rushed to [re]enroll myself into school. What surprised me most was that my parents did not utter a word against it! Now they have started believing in the power of vocational education.”

“It’s my biggest achievement in life. My parents are happy and have abandoned the idea of marrying me off early.”

The young woman now dreams of becoming a chief chef in her own restaurant.

“Many young women in Bangladesh face barriers to obtaining decent work. Access to skills training can provide them with a brighter future while also contributing to the socio-economic development of the nation,” said Cezar Dragutan, Chief Technical Advisor of the B-SEP Project.

The ILO Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) Project is funded by Canada. The project is working with the Government of Bangladesh to create a skilled labour force by linking young trainees to employers, opening real opportunities to apply the acquired skills and making them accessible to all.