Causes of youth unemployment

|My thoughts and opinions |

Bangladesh has extensive treatment for young people, so youth unemployment is a critical issue. The country is experiencing stable economic growth and increasing levels of education; however, many youths are either unemployed or underemployed. The negative impact of this, on many levels, cannot be ignored, and the ‘real’ consequences need to be understood further to bring about effective and sustainable solutions.

Employment Out Of Sync with Education

Bangladesh’s educational system contributes to the high youth unemployment rate. This unique system focuses more on theory than practice, making it difficult for students to find work after graduation. As a result of this skills gap, graduates cannot secure jobs, while businesses are left seeking suitable candidates.

Slow Hiring in High-Growth Fields

Despite Bangladesh’s constant economic growth, employment expansion in high-demand industries, such as technology, engineering, and professional services, is lagging. The salary component is substantial, and unlike most sectors, the manufacturing industry, where most people are employed, is characterised by ready-made clothing. This provides few prospects for educated youth, especially those seeking white-collar employment.

Population Pressure

The number of job seekers who enter the labour market each year, with a population of over 170 million people, exceeds the number of jobs. There is a demographic advantage, leading to intense competition for a small number of opportunities and high unemployment or underemployment among many youths.

Limited Enterprise Options

Despite being a potential solution to youth unemployment, young people in Bangladesh encounter many obstacles to entrepreneurship limited access to financing, poor training programs and bureaucratic hurdles. these challenges discourage innovation and small business creation that absorbs the unemployed youth.

Gender Disparities

Cultural norms, workplace discrimination, and safety concerns disproportionately affect the young women of Bangladesh in the labour market. Such factors restrict their involvement in the labour market, aggravating the youth unemployment crisis.

Weak Labor Market Policies

Thus, ineffective labour market policies are part of the problem, as well as insufficient support for all those seeking jobs. Those are missing or poorly implemented across care counselling, vocational training and job placement services that put many young people adrift with no direction in their search for work.

Informal Economy Dominance

The informal economy comprises a large part of the overall employment landscape in Bangladesh. Though this sector does provide jobs, they tend to be low-pay and without job security, pushing many youths into precarious work rather than secure employment.

Conclusion

In Bangladesh, we need a policy mix to mitigate youth unemployment. It requires reforms of the education sector to match curricula to the needs of the market, targeted employment generation in promising sectors, and greater support for entrepreneurship. Furthermore, focusing on gender equality and reinforcing labour market policies can foster a more egalitarian job market. Through appropriate strategies, Bangladesh can tap the potential of its youth and convert the demographic challenge into a demographic dividend.

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