One of the major takeaways from the assessments was the urgent need to enhance the skills of workers to boost productivity and efficiency. The assessments revealed that only 30% of the workers were deemed skilled, while the remaining workforce was either unskilled or semi-skilled, with limited expertise in compliance, quality control, and productivity.
In total, 86% of respondents from factory management acknowledged the necessity of training to improve knowledge and performance. Primary areas identified for enhancing workers' performance included food safety, HACCP, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), quality management systems, occupational safety and health, and productivity risk assessment. Among the factories surveyed, half had training facilities, and nearly all had designated trainers to provide orientations to workers. However, only 18% of these trainers were women. Overall, there was a positive attitude towards organising workplace-based training within the factory premises and enhancing the capacity of trainers to deliver high-quality training for workers.
BYETS project is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) and implemented by Swisscontact.
The project aims to support Training Service Providers (TSPs) and enrol 10,000 youths in market-driven training in two key sectors, namely AP and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), across Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna, and Rajshahi divisions. Simultaneously, the project will provide WBT by partnering with employers to upskill 15,000 workers in the AP and Readymade Garments (RMG) sectors.