My name is Ainul Haque Jubel. I live near Sylhet town, situated in the northeastern part of Bangladesh. Right after my birth in 1998, when I was six months old, I had typhoid. My family's financial condition was not good, my parents tried but couldn't do anything to cure me fully.

I was unable to move one of my legs after that. That was the after-effect of typhoid. Since then, I have become physically challenged. The doctor in our village suggested my parents go to Sylhet town and contact an orthopaedic doctor. When they went to the Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital, they referred them to Dhaka.

My father was a construction worker and had limited means, therefore he could not take me to Dhaka for better treatment. As a result, one of my legs became permanently paralyzed. I grew up as a disabled child in our house.

Even though I was disabled, I still managed to move by myself. I was always very much interested in going to school. I was always thinking about doing something that could change my life.

When I was six years old, my parents enrolled me to our village primary school. I passed the primary school certificate examination by getting the first division. Then in 2010, I was admitted to Jalalpur High School for grade six. That school was very far from our house.

I paid the tuition fee with a scholarship from my school because my exam results were good. Paying for my tuition fee was impossible for my father as he had another five children. He was the only person earning in our family. My mother looked after the household chores.

I sat for the secondary school certificate (SSC) examination in 2015. I successfully passed with a CGPA of 4.61. The result gave me the confidence to enrol for a diploma in computer technology. To do so, I had to go to Sylhet town every day or pay for accommodation there, which was quite impossible for me at the time.

My family did not have the money to pay for me to travel to the city. Finding no way, I got admitted to a college in our village. In 2017, I passed the HSC exam with a CGPA of 3.00 from the science department. I tried again to enroll for a diploma in computer technology but was not successful.

After completing school, I was unemployed, and wasn’t doing anything, which was frustrating sometimes. In 2019, after being unemployed for two years, a friend suddenly showed me the Sylhet Technical School and College (TSC) information leaflet.

The leaflet was about a free graphic design course and mentioned that the career guidance officer would help guide the graduates for employment after completing the course. That gave me hope of becoming independent.

The next day, I immediately went to Sylhet TSC and took BDT 200 from my friend to buy the admission form and applied for the course. As it was a project run course, I was provided the transportation costs, which was a huge support for me to continue.

After finishing the course, I was placed in a local furniture firm as a designer. My starting salary was BDT 6,000. It was a relief for my father from then on, as I could then help contribute to supporting my family. Now my salary has increased to BDT 12,000.

During the pandemic, I was afraid of what would happen to my family if I was laid off. I am immensly grateful to my employer for their support to the employees during the worst pandemic in recent times.

There were times when I never thought I would ever get the chance to do a training course and get a job but that small skills training made this happen. Therefore, I decided to become an influencer for TVET education to help promote the training to the youth in my community.

I have been sharing my TVET journey with the Sylhet district people through a campaign initiated by the Sylhet Technical School and College about how we can use such opportunities to get skilled and contribute to the prosperity of the country. That's why I keep telling the youth around here to 'Get skilled and change your life'!

Fast facts

• The European Union supports the ILO's Skills 21 project. The project aims to support TVET institutes in Sylhet, Bagerhat, Feni, Jamalpur, Khulna, Kaptai-Rangamati and Gaibandha to transform into model TVET institutes.
• In Bangladesh, some 3.2 million young people with disabilities lack the skills necessary to find employment. One reason is that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions cannot cater to the needs of those with disabilities.
• The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), under the Technical and Madrasa Education Division (TMED), Ministry of Education, has carried out several steps in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to make its 118 TVET institutes disability-inclusive. Thus, like Jubel, other youths suffering from some disabilities can access to TVET and Skills training and employment.
• As a result of the measures taken to enhance disability inclusion, enrolment of students with disabilities at DTE's TVET institutes increased significantly with ILO support.
• Nine TVET institutes have now established partnerships with the Organization for Disability Peoples (OPDs).
• Out of 118 TVET institutes under DTE, 99 now have an Annual Disability Inclusion Action Plan featuring a budget and timeline.
• Dissemination of DTE's model of disability inclusion in TVET institutes supports the inclusion of 12 different types of persons with disabilities in their monitoring system.