TVET job expo seeks to bridge skills gap and employment opportunities
A job expo in Dhaka has brought together employers, policymakers and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) graduates in an effort to bridge the gap between skills development and employment opportunities for young people.
The Job Expo and Advocacy Event 2026, titled “From Skills to Opportunities”, was organised by the Education and Development Foundation (Educo), in partnership with the Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO), under the LIFT (Leveraging Youth Employment in Bangladesh) Project at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre on Thursday.
Around 31 reputed industries and companies took part in the expo, offering job-seeking youth opportunities to meet prospective employers, submit CVs, explore career options and participate in recruitment processes.
The event also provided career counselling on CV writing, interview skills, career planning, mock interviews and job-search strategies.
Speaking as the chief guest, Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon stressed the need for young people to set clear goals and develop a roadmap to achieve them.
He said success should not be measured only in terms of material rewards, urging young people to create a “canvas of possibilities” and contribute to building a political, social and economic ecosystem alongside pursuing employment.
The minister also stressed the importance of ensuring access to capital for genuine entrepreneurs and keeping pace with artificial intelligence, market knowledge, product trends and changing market demands.
Dr Naznin Kausar Chowdhury, Executive Chairman (Secretary) of the National Skills Development Authority (NSDA), said TVET curricula must be aligned with labour-market requirements to create a genuinely skilled workforce.
She highlighted the importance of training, certification and assessment, as well as ensuring job placement after training and monitoring certified trainees.
She also stressed language training and assessment to prepare Bangladeshi workers for international labour markets.
The NSDA executive chairman urged young people not merely to seek jobs but to make themselves employable, saying the country should work towards establishing an effective skills ecosystem by 2030.
“Skilled Youth, Skilled Country – Bangladesh First,” she said.
Educo Bangladesh Country Director Abdul Hamid said the LIFT Project was working to bridge the gap between skills development and employment.
He said the initiative had provided technical and vocational education and training to 300 disadvantaged young people while seeking to connect them with employment opportunities.
He thanked the participating employers for supporting the initiative and urged young people to have confidence in their skills and move forward with self-belief.
Afzal Kabir Khan, Manager of Child Labour Elimination at Educo, presented the activities and achievements of the LIFT Project. A video highlighting the project was screened, followed by experiences and success stories shared by participating young people.
BSCIC Chairman Benzir Ahmed stressed the need to develop an internationally competitive skilled workforce and said stronger links between trained workers and market demand were essential.
He identified inadequate follow-up after training as a weakness and called for regular monitoring and support to ensure that trained young people could effectively enter the labour market.
The advocacy segment focused on improving the quality, relevance and employment outcomes of TVET in Bangladesh. It included youth voices, policy proposals and a panel discussion titled “Skills Development, Employment and Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Way Forward”.
Government representatives, development partners, skills experts and business representatives took part in the discussion.
The event was also attended by Mohammed Walid Hossain, Additional Secretary and Executive Programme Director of SICIP; Devabrata Chakraborty, Joint Secretar
