A senior ILO specialist on Thursday underlined the need for finding an effective way of recruiting entry-level workers, which can help both the employers and employees maximise benefits of apprenticeship. And such effective system can be developed through fruitful dialogue among the government, employers and workers’ representatives, Michael Axmann, Senior Skills Development Specialist of the International Labour Organization in Geneva said. “Apprenticeship is an effective and internationally recognised way of promoting improved skills that will create opportunities for employment,” he said. He was inaugurating an apprenticeship programme at Nadia Furniture ltd at Manikganj. The ILO is facilitating formal apprenticeship progamme targeting some 6,000 beneficiaries in five priority industrial sectors-furniture, tourism, agro-food, pharmaceuticals and ceramic-under Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) project. The project funded by Canada recognises the key role the industry has to play in developing skills through apprenticeships for young people and is partnering with multiple enterprises within the furniture sector. Nadia Furniture is one of the partner companies that will train up its 100 workers, including 23 female. Senior Development Advisor of Canadian High Commission Riful Jannat and Managing Director of Nadia Furniture A Karim Majumder, among others, spoke at the inaugural event. Apprenticeship will help young people find jobs fit for them with decent salaries and safe workplace, Mr Axmann said, adding there are many countries that had developed improved skills through apprenticeship as it helps generate quality and demand-driven higher level of skills. This is imperative to doing such programme in Bangladesh and other countries to create more employment and increase productivity, he said. He added such a programme can create a win-win situation for both the entrepreneurs and workers. Talking to this correspondent, he said Bangladesh needs such apprenticeship programme to train up its workforce, especially the young people and create skilled manpower for domestic and overseas markets. Senior Specialist (B-SEP Project) of ILO in Dhaka Francis De Silva provided insight into the steps taken by the project to support the apprenticeship programme. A survey found such apprenticeship programme existed in the country in the past, it was not systematic, he said. He said the ILO is helping the government develop such programme following international standards and in a more structured way. The ILO aims to scale up such programmes among millions, especially for the people employed in the informal sector who do not have the opportunity to join the technical institutions or receive diploma or formal education. During his weeklong visit in Dhaka, Mr Axmann held meetings with relevant stakeholders, such as the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), National Skill Development Council, Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), Bangladesh Employers Federation and ILO country officials. During the meetings, he stressed social dialogue to identify the need of the industry and building linkage between demand and the supply of skills in the industrial sector. He also visited the factory of Brothers Furniture, which also launched a six- month apprenticeship programme to train up its 150 workers.
