Govt signs service contracts for youth employment project

State Minister for Youth and Sports Md Aminul Haque has urged the Earn project to include dedicated ethics sessions in its training programmes, saying moral development is crucial to youth empowerment.

He made the remarks at a contract-signing ceremony for the World Bank-financed Earn project at the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Dhaka on Thursday (16 July).

He said aggressive behaviour is increasingly evident in children's speech and conduct, expressing concern over what he described as a decline in morals, ethics and social values.

He said meaningful ethics education is now largely absent, and stressed that the project's success should be measured by its impact on young people's moral development as well as employment outcomes.

Amena Begum, Secretary (Routine Duties) of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, presided over the ceremony.

The Earn project, implemented by the Department of Youth Development, aims to equip 9 lakh people aged between 15 and 35 who are not in education, employment or training with contemporary, demand-driven skills. Around 60 per cent of beneficiaries are expected to be women.

The state minister said youth employment and economic participation are among the government's key priorities. He added that the project would help build capacity in Bangladesh's creative and sports industries.

The project received expressions of interest from 401 organisations, including single entities and joint ventures. Of these, 78 were shortlisted and 69 submitted requests for proposals.

Following technical and financial evaluations and approval from the World Bank, draft contracts were negotiated with the non-governmental organisations that secured the highest combined scores.

The selected service providers are BRAC, Save the Children, CARE Bangladesh and Dhaka Ahsania Mission.

BRAC will operate in the Dhaka and Rangpur divisions, while Save the Children will work in the Barishal division and the Cox's Bazar and Chattogram districts.

CARE Bangladesh will cover the three hill districts and the Khulna, Mymensingh and Rajshahi divisions.

Dhaka Ahsania Mission will operate in the Cumilla, Brahmanbaria, Feni, Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Chandpur districts, as well as the Sylhet division.

Together with their joint venture partners, the organisations will establish 5,000 village-level training centres across 250 upazilas in all 64 districts by 2028.

The centres will provide training in contemporary and market-oriented trades to help young people pursue employment, entrepreneurship and self-reliance.

The government expects the initiative to support Bangladesh's economic transformation and graduation from least developed country status.

Md Motahar Hossain, Director General of the Department of Youth Development; Kazi Mokhlesur Rahman, Project Director; Syud Rashid Al-Zayed Josh, Senior Economist and Task Team Leader at the World Bank; and Dr Marina Nazneen, Additional Project Director and Joint Secretary, attended the ceremony.

Officials and consultants from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Department of Youth Development and the project were also present.

Representing Save the Children were Suman Sengupta, Country Director; ASM Rahamat Ullah Bhuiyan, Deputy Country Director; and Nishat Afroz Mirza, Interim Sector Director.

CARE Bangladesh was represented by Ram Das, Country Director; Kazi Rezwana Rahman, Head of People and Culture; Sazia Tarin, Senior Director of Finance; Fazlul Hoque, Head of the Government Relations Department; and Shahriar Alam, Senior Coordinator.

Representing Dhaka Ahsania Mission were Dr SM Khalilur Rahman, Vice-President; KM Jahiduzzaman, Executive Director of Programmes; and Mosammat Kanak Lata, Team Leader.

BRAC Education was represented by Shafi Rahman Khan, Director; Brigadier General (Retired) Golam Faruque, Head of Programmes; and Kazi Jahangir Alam, Team Leader.