The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has called for putting an emphasis on building skilled manpower to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Thus, the Federation said importance should be given to setting up technical and vocational training centers in every district and upazila of the country along with conventional educational institutions.
The FBCCI made this call during the 2nd meeting of the Standing Committee on National Economic Policy and Planning, 8th Five Year Plan, SDGs, and Vision 2041 which was held at the boardroom of FBCCI today, said a press release.
While speaking as the chief guest, the senior vice president of FBCCI Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu said that the government should focus on creating efficient manpower to achieve various economic and development goals.
There is no alternative to building skilled manpower to accelerate efforts to achieve the SDGs.
"Skilled people are few in Bangladesh. It is very important to create expert trainers in order to teach the youths of our country. We should bring foreign expert trainers if it is needed," he added.
The senior vice-president also called for the establishment of an equal number of technical schools and colleges at the district and upazila level to align the institutional education curriculum with the industry.
Besides, Babu urged the government to keep a quota on the import of daily essentials to fulfill the demand of the upcoming Holy Month of Ramadan.
FBCCI Vice President M.A Momen said that keeping alive the entrepreneurs is essential for the development of the country's economy. "The financial policies need to be simplified for the new entrepreneurs," he opined.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Sameer Sattar said that foreign investment is very important in achieving the SDGs.
He called for taking steps to increase the number of foreign investments, building skilled manpower, and thus emphasize on the development of non-traditional sectors.
At the meeting, the Director in Charge of the committee Dr. Nadia Binte Amin said that the government policy cooperation needs to be further enhanced to harness the potentials of the SME sector.
The members of the standing committee spoke on economic development as well as on the reduction of improvement of inequality, education, Industry-Academia linkage, and women empowerment.
The meeting was presided over by the Chairman of the committee and former Director of FBCCI AKM Shamsuddoha.
FBCCI Directors Harun Or Rashid (Hafez Harun), Md. Nizam Uddin, Akkash Mahmood and Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque were present, among others, at the meeting.
