Introduction

The activities of the Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) project being implemented by the Directorate of Technical Education under the Technical and Madrasa Education Division of the Ministry of Education with funding from the Government of Bangladesh and the World Bank are ongoing from July, 2021 to December, 2026. The main objective of the project is to accelerate the economic development of the country by reducing unemployment by providing skill enhancement training to the youth, workers, women, differently able people, ethnic communities, backward and disadvantaged people of the country in line with the needs of the country and international labor market. To achieve this goal, the project will strengthen the infrastructure of technical and health educational institutions located in the country and provide necessary skill enhancement training through various technical and health educational institutions throughout the country to meet the industry's demand-based and up-to-date skilled manpower. A total of 2,22,500 people will be trained under the component-2 (Innovative Skills Development Programs for Employment and Empowerment), sub-component-2.1 (Enterprise-based Training for Competitiveness and Inclusiveness) of the project. Through this training, six types of training will be provided to the unemployed and underprivileged population for employment, along with the capacity building of industrial owners, high-level officials of industrial factories, managers and also for different periods (eg 3 days, 14 days, 21 days, 3 months, 6 months). These training will only be provided either by Priority Sector Industry Skills Council or by Industry Associations.

ISCs or Associations have to submit a Skills Development Proposal (SDP) to the Project Office in a prescribed format in hard copy and on the www.apromis.online portal. To get a uniform structured SDP, ASSET Project organized a day long workshop on 16 Mar 2023 at the seminar room of Directorate of Technical Education, Agargaon, Dhaka. The workshop included a practical demonstration of a sample proposal and encouraged participants to share their experiences and knowledge. The primary objective of the workshop is to equip potential stakeholders with the necessary skills to create proposals that meet EBT requirements.

Participants exclusively were from various priority sector Industry Skill Councils (ISCs) specified in the Development Project Proposal (DPP) and the Enterprise Based Operation Manual.

Objective

The full-day workshop aims to enhance the capacity of potential stakeholders to create proposals for Enterprise Based Training. To achieve this objective, the workshop will include a mix of lectures and demonstrations on proposal templates, group discussions, exercises, and feedback from participants.

The workshop has several specific objectives are as follows:

• Introducing participants to the ASSET project and its activities,
• Enhancing their understanding of Enterprise Based Training and related issues
• Providing technical support to draft the Skills Development Proposals,
• Ensuring the uniformity of proposals
• Increasing participants' capacity to create proposals through practical exercises.

Additionally, the workshop aims to gather stakeholder expectations and ideas that may be beneficial for future work and establish organizational rapport and relations among stakeholders through sensitization and motivation.

Ultimately, the workshop aims to equip participants with the necessary skills and knowledge to develop successful proposals for Enterprise Based Training.

Methodology

The workshop utilized a participatory approach, incorporating group exercises, presentations, lectures, demonstrations on proposal templates, group discussions, and feedback from participants.

The workshop covered several modules, including.

• Understanding stakeholder needs
• Defining goals and objectives for enterprise-based training under the asset project
• Designing a course outline
• Preparing a realistic budget with an activity plan
• Developing a practical skills development proposal
• Participating in a group exercise focused on skills development proposal preparation.

Experienced officials with diverse expertise in developing and implementing Enterprise Based training programs under the ASSET project conducted the workshop.

Discussion

The workshop successfully achieved its objective of equipping participants with practical knowledge and skills to develop effective and compelling proposals for Enterprise Based training. However, some participants expressed a desire for more in-depth discussions on certain topics, such as budgeting and evaluation, and felt that a longer course would have allowed for more comprehensive coverage of these topics.

The inaugural session of the workshop had several distinguished guests.

Dr. Md. Omar Faruque, Director General (Additional Secretary), Directorate of Technical Education was the chief guest at the workshop. Dr. Md. Sirajul Islam, Additional Secretary (Development) of the Technical and Madrasah Education Division, Ministry of Education, was the special guest. The workshop was chaired the by Mr. Abu Momtaz Saaduddin Ahmed, Project Director of the ASSET project. The welcome speech was delivered by Mr. Md. Abdur Rahim, Additional Project Director (Deputy Secretary), ASSET project. The workshop presentation was presented, and SDP preparation was facilitated by Engr. Robindronath Mahato, Programmer, ASSET Project.

During the inauguration of the workshop, Dr. Md. Omar Faruque, Director General (Additional Secretary), Directorate of Technical Education, encouraged the participants to actively contribute to the success of the workshop. As the chief guest, he emphasized the importance of utilizing the grant funds in a productive manner to contribute to the goal of a developed and smart Bangladesh by 2041. Dr. Faruque also urged the Project Management Unit (PMU) to provide necessary support to the institutes in developing Skills Development Proposals that will lead to the creation of a skilled workforce. He emphasized the need for the ISCs to work effectively to change the perception of TVET among the general population. Finally, he formally inaugurated the workshop.

Dr. Md. Sirajul Islam, Additional Secretary (Development) of the Technical and Madrasah Education Division, Ministry of Education urged to utilize the fund for the betterment of the country and to innovate and explore new skills.

Mr. Md. Abdur Rahim, Additional Project Director ASSET Project presented the power point slides on ASSET project and Enterprise Based overview. He presented the main objective of the project and its main components along with the allocated budget of each activity.

Mr. Abu Momtaz Saaduddin Ahmed, the chair, emphasized the importance of preparing high-quality SDPs and utilizing the Enterprise Based training grant effectively to produce valuable human resources. He also urged ISCs to train people for domestic and global job markets.

Mr. ABM Khorshed Alam, Senior TVET Advisor at the World Bank, Bangladesh, emphasized the importance of effective skill training for global job market competitiveness. He also expecting new type of training programs like Solar, Easy bike battery, Thai Glass works, Video Editing, etc.

The technical session, moderated by Engr. Robindronath Mahato. He also discussed the various sections of the SDP.

Later, the participants were divided into 04 groups for hands on practice and groups members were requested to prepare their won SDP as per the sample. All the participants actively participated in the practice session for preparing their SDP draft. Practice session of the workshop was continued till 4.00 pm after lunch and prayer break (1.00-2.00 pm). 

The course participants were highly engaged during the sessions and provided positive feedback regarding the course content and delivery. The hands-on activities were especially well-received, as they enabled the participants to apply the concepts learned in the lectures to real-world scenarios. The participants indicated that the workshop provided them with new insights and knowledge that they could readily apply to their work. 

The groups were facilitated by Engr. Robindronath Mahato, Programmer, ASSET Project. All the participants actively participated in the practice session.

At 2:30 pm, the presentation session regarding the workshop outcome commenced, and all participants were requested to attend and provide feedback on the SDP to ensure that they had a clear understanding of it. The interactive presentation proved to be effective in helping the participants acquire a clear understanding of the SDP. Following the presentation, a question-and-answer session was conducted, during which officials from the ASSET project provided answers to participants' questions. The workshop participants expressed satisfaction that they would be able to prepare the SDP. The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks from Mr. Abu Momtaz Saaduddin Ahmed, the Project Director of the ASSET Project, at 5:00 pm.

Output of the workshop

The workshop concluded with the following outcomes:

• The participants gained an overall understanding of the ASSET Project.
• The participants comprehended the objectives of the Enterprise Based Training.
• All participants completed a defined portion of the Skills Development Proposal according to the provided template.
• The participants expressed their satisfaction with finalizing the SDP according to the Enterprise Based Training operation manuals.
• Stakeholder expectations about the implementation of Enterprise Based Trainings were effectively acquired for future work.

The workshop facilitated the development of congenial relationships and rapport among the stakeholders through sensitization and motivation.

Conclusion

The participants of the workshop reported a high level of success, expressing that they gained valuable knowledge and skills which would allow them to create effective Skills Development Proposals for Enterprise Based training. In-depth discussions on certain topics were especially helpful in providing a deeper understanding of SDP among the participants. The organizers took note of the feedback given by the participants and are considering necessary changes to improve Skills Development Proposals.

Overall, the workshop was a valuable and enriching experience for all participants, significantly enhancing their technical knowledge and capacity.