Bangladesh seeks Canada's cooperation in technical education

Bangladesh has sought Canada's assistance in improving the quality of technical education to deal with the new requirement of skills during the forthcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), says a press release. 

Bangladeshi business leaders, at a virtual meeting of the Canada-Bangladesh Joint Working Group on Strengthening Commercial Relations on Tuesday, said the changes in the labour market brought by Covid and the 4IR will require new skills in the world job market. Therefore, the country seeks assistance from Canada in technical education.

While presenting a report on information technology and education, Syed Almas Kabir, a member of the working group and also director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries (FBCCI), said "If Canadian technical education institutes set up campuses in Bangladesh or invest in joint ventures with local institutes in these sectors, it will become mutually beneficial for both countries."

According to a2i, the 4IR will make 50% of the job vulnerable by 2030 in Bangladesh, says the report. As per data presented at the meeting, in Bangladesh, 91.40% of the labour force working in various sectors has no training. By 2025, 7.2 million people will need sector-based training which will reach 9.75 million by 2030 and more than 29 million by 2050.

Especially, the skills in Cyber Security, Sensors and Machine Intelligence Algorithm, Big Data and Analytics, BlockChain-Distributed Ledger Technology, Simulation, Visualisation and Digital Twin, Industrial Internet of Things, Autonomous robots, neural networking and machine learning, 3D printing, Cloud Edge Computing, Human-Machine Cooperation, Virtual augmented reality will appear to be necessary, the report adds.

FBCCI Director and Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Dhaka President Md Saiful Islam recommended undertaking exchange activities between Bangladesh and Canadian training institutes.

Nuzhat Tam-Zaman, the Canadian co-chair of the Joint Working Group, said they will discuss the issues with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), two Canadian technical education institutes.

Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BPGMEA) President Shamim Ahmed urged the Canadian Counterpart to establish linkages between BPGMEA training institute with the same kind in Canada.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Canada Khalil Rahman recommended including the representatives from the Business Council of Canada (BCC) and Manitoba Chamber of Commerce in the working group.

President of Cancham Bangladesh Masud Rahman, Editor of Travel Magazine "Vromon" and Adjunct Faculty of Daffodil University Abu Sufian, and the Secretary-General of FBCCI Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque were also present in the virtual event, moderated by  Angela Dark, senior trade commissioner, Canadian High Commission.