Bangladesh needs skilled mid-level managers to maintain robust and sustainable economic growth as the country is set to become a mid-income country by 2021. Andreas Hartman, Head of Development Cooperation of German Embassy, expressed this view while speaking at a conference on ‘Formulating Recommendations on Demand Driven Higher Education Needs in Textile and Readymade Garment sector of Bangladesh’ at a city hotel on Thursday Addressing the programme, Hartman said skilled mid-level managers are pre-requisite for robust and sustainable economic growth in Bangladesh. He also said about 5.00 billion USD is siphoned off out of Bangladesh as the country lacks mid-level managers. “Although the industry has been growing tremendously, further growth and sustainable development together with improved working conditions remain a challenge due to the skill gap of the mid-level managers in the industry,” he added. Referring RMG sector as vital for socio-economic development of Bangladesh, Professor Yousuf Ali Mollah said this project will help to make the textile and RMG a vibrant sector. A daylong conference on ‘Formulating Recommendations on Demand Driven Higher Education Needs in Textile and Readymade Garment sector of Bangladesh’ was held at a city hotel on Thursday, said a press release. The core goals of German Bangladesh Higher Education Network for Sustainable Textiles (HEST) project are improving quality of study programmes, boosting applied research and developing capacity of mid level managers in Textile and RMG sector. University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh in association with German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) jointly organised the workshop. UGC is the implementing authority of the two-year long project. Andreas Hartman, Head of Development Cooperation of German Embassy, Dhaka, Professor Dr. Mohammad Yousuf Ali Mollah, Member, UGC, Dr. Md. Khaled, Secretary, UGC and Rumana Kabir, Representative of DAAD, spoke on the occasion. Speakers suggested for preparing an updated curriculum, conduct-need based research, establish a teachers training centre and knowledge sharing platform, capacity development of mid level managers, make bridge between industry and academia and adopt a policy to address the issue. The project has been successfully running with 12 universities which includes Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Asian University for Women, Bangladesh University of Textiles, BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, North South University, Notre Dame University Bangladesh and University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. Three German Universities are collaborating.
