Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF) on Wednesday organised a workshop on "Strengthening the Apprenticeship System in Bangladesh" in collaboration with the ProGRESS Project of the International Labour Organization's country (Bangladesh) office.
The workshop was held at BEF's Gulshan office.
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Topics that came up for discussion during the workshop included the overall strengthening of the apprenticeship programme in Bangladesh, a move towards private-sector-led apprenticeship programmes instead of the existing donor-based ones, and the need to clarify the differences between apprenticeships and internships.
Representatives from the ILO, BEF, and various sectors took part in the discussion.
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Participants pointed out that a few apprenticeship programmes were regularly being held by companies.
A common forum for existing institutions (BTEB, BMET, NSDA, etc.) to prioritise quality apprenticeships with a yearly follow-up and strategic alignment may encourage other companies to take initiatives for new apprenticeship programmes, they said.
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They also proposed a dual financing model for quality apprenticeships, where the government will be responsible for 70 percent of the investment and the industry the remaining 30 percent.