Press Release | The Centre Collaborates with BGMEA for New Youth Programme to Create Decent Work for Young Workers in Bangladesh’s RMG Industry

From left: Kirubaleni Arul Dass (The Centre), Faruque Hassan (BGMEA), Ines Kaempfer (The Centre), 

Neela Hosna Ara (BGMEA), Quamrunnessa Babli (The Centre)

Dhaka, September 21, 2022: In collaboration with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), The Centre for Child Rights and Business (The Centre) announces the implementation of a new, innovative Youth Development Programme to create decent work for young workers in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment (RMG) industry.

This announcement follows a stakeholders engagement meeting between Faruque Hassan, President of BGMEA, and Ines Kaempfer, CEO of The Centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh yesterday. The meeting discussed how The Centre’s Youth Development Programme offers various opportunities to increase and strengthen support for BGMEA members to help youth looking for decent work and develop young workers to their fullest potential in their supply chains.

The Centre’s innovative Youth Development Programme offers activities that help out-of-work or disadvantaged youth in Bangladesh to access decent work and develop their skills, with packages of support that allow Bangladeshi RMG factories to recruit and cultivate a motivated, young workforce. 

The Youth Development Programme builds on investments that Bangladeshi RMG factories have already made in human resources, compliance and health and safety systems by offering training and decent work for young workers, identifying suitable roles or workstations for young workers and preventing hazardous work risks. This enables factories to create a supportive environment for young workers that meets their specific needs and complies with international and local regulatory requirements. 

Soft skills and developmental training support will be provided for young workers with a focus on professional and personal development, including technical skills development, basic education, literacy skills, financial literacy and basic computer skills, as well as soft and life skills, career skills, and prevention of gender-based violence.

Faruque Hassan said, “Bangladesh is passing a golden era in terms of demographic dividend as we have a young population. We have to capitalise on the opportunity for the greater benefit and prosperity of Bangladesh by turning young population into human resources with knowledge and skills.” 

“BGMEA looks into every opportunity to engage in initiatives like the Youth Development Programme to turn youth into a skilled and efficient workforce who will contribute to the development of Bangladesh,” he added.

Ines Kaempfer shared, “Upskilling young people is key to the growth and development of the RMG sector. From delivering long-lasting improvements in recruitment and retention rates, improving young worker management, to developing the technical and soft skills of young workers, the Youth Development Programme not only improves the life skills and life opportunities of young workers, but also offers the opportunity to Bangladesh’s RMG sector to become a driver for youth development.” 

“With the support of the BGMEA, we look forward to broadening the participation of the programme so we can spread its benefits to reach more young workers and RMG factories in Bangladesh,” Ines said. 

The meeting held at the BGMEA Complex was also attended by Neela Hosna Ara, Director of BGMEA, Kirubaleni Arul Dass, The Centre’s Manager for Services and Products, Europe, Africa and Americas and Quamrunnessa Babli, The Centre's Bangladesh Country Manager. Further information on our Youth Development Programme is available here or can be requested at info@childrights-business.org. 

The Centre’s collaboration with BGMEA was covered in Business Insider Bangladesh. Click here to read the article.