A perfect match: job fair bridges employers with employees in Bangladesh

Collaboration between industries and institutes increase job placement

After completing a course on becoming a beautician from the Ahsania Mission Training Center, Sonia Akter wondered how she would use her newfound skills to find employment. Luckily, she attended a job fair organized by STEP and quickly started a new career. “At the job-fair, I got an offer to join as a beautician in one of the beauty parlors. I accepted the offer and currently earning BDT 6,000 a month. “

Sonia is not alone. Out of the 2,000 job seekers who submitted their CVs, employers committed to hire an astounding 1,220 employees. Nazma Akter joined at Maroof Tailors & Cloth Store as a tailor, Md. Junayed Islam joined Voice Mail Mobile as a cell phone service technician, Pulok Roy joined Sigma Digital Electronics as an electrician, with each of them are earning currently around BDT 7,000 per month!

Career development is not just about what someone knows. It is also about how they sell their knowledge and skills to the job market and opportunities to engage with potential employers. Realizing the changing job market and help graduates seek competitive jobs matching their skills and interest – Skills and Training Enhancement Project (STEP) is organizing job fairs to boost the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Bangladesh.

A sizeable gap still exists between the employers’ requirement and the curriculum of the vocational training institutions in Bangladesh.The STEP project aims to provide linkages between the job market demand and student’s skill set. Many students who completed short-training courses or job seeking graduates benefited by communicating directly with the employers at the fair. Through job fairs, STEP has promoted the relationship between the job seekers and potential employers and helped them to understand the market demand and supply of the required knowledge and skills.

STEP organized the first job fair in May 2014. Around 2,500 job seekers from STEP supported short-term and polytechnic institutions along with owners and representatives of 54 industries and business organizations joined the day-long fair at the Institution of Diploma Engineers (IDEB) in Dhaka. There were 50 stalls at the fair. Industries and organizations such as Pran-RFL Group, Mohammadi Group, Sinobangla Limited, Bhuiyan IT Limited and Max Engineers participated at the job fair among others. Partners included Prothom Alo Jobs and the Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), an NGO network to help organize the event. Additionally, the honorable Education Minister, Mr. Nurul Islam Nahid attended the fair and helped promote the event through through media to promote attendance and knowledge sharing.

Many organizations and companies in Bangladesh do not yet use the internet to recruit and rely mainly on networking and internal recruitment processes. The career fair opened a window for employees and employers to find aperfect match. Moreover, face to face interaction with recruiters help job searchers make personal links and what they’re looking for. Job seekers also became well informed about the skills and experience needed to achieve their goals. The employed also benefited through networking, being more involved in their community, and exploring other career opportunities opportunities.

With two fairs completed and another two in the works, they are a big step towards improving the quality and relevance of technical and vocational education and training in Bangladesh. Continuing to strengthen the bridge between employers and employees, STEP is being implemented with financial assistance of $100 million from the World Bank and the Government of Canada.