Skills for a Shared Future: NSDA Marks World Youth Skills Day 2026 with Rally and Discussion

The National Skill Development Authority (NSDA) organized a grand rally and discussion meeting on Tuesday morning (July 28) to observe World Youth Skills Day 2026 under the theme "Skills for a Shared Future."

Held at the Investment Building in Agargaon, the event brought together cabinet advisers, state ministers, senior policymakers, training partners, and youth representatives to outline strategic roadmaps for human resource development and economic transformation.

Addressing the discussion as chief guest, Finance and Planning Ministry Adviser (Minister status) Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir emphasized the urgency of transforming the country's youth into a productive workforce equipped for changing global market demands. He revealed that the government is actively working on a new development model titled "Invest Bangladesh" to expand industrial production, eliminate bureaucratic red tape, ensure energy security, and establish seamless multimodal connectivity.

"Moving beyond post-2024 narrative politics to concrete actions, the government is taking realistic steps," Titumir said, adding that through coordinated investments and workforce upskilling, Bangladesh will rapidly recover to build a $1 trillion economy focused on sustainable prosperity and social protection.

Speaking as a special guest, State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Md. Nurul Haque, MP, highlighted ongoing government efforts to facilitate low-cost skilled migration. He announced that economic zones across the country will become fully operational within the next 18 months. He also noted that the Qatari government has initiated a project to align four Bangladeshi government Technical Training Centers (TTCs) with its specific labor market requirements, while warning that the government will take a zero-tolerance stance against illegal migration.

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister ABM Abdus Sattar stated that the Prime Minister has placed technology-driven skill development at the top of the national priority agenda, citing the recent initiative to launch AI-based traffic signals in Dhaka. He assured that the administration is actively taking steps to eliminate corruption and red tape to support effective skill-building institutions.

In her presidential address, NSDA Executive Chairman (Secretary) Dr. Nazneen Kawshar Chowdhury detailed the authority's ongoing efforts to harmonize skill development standards across government and private sectors. She noted that NSDA is formulating technology-driven curricula alongside foreign language courses in Japanese, English, Arabic, and Italian to match global demand.

Dr. Nazneen shared that tracking data from 787 registered training centers shows 74 percent of National Skill Certificate (NSC) holders have secured employment or launched entrepreneurial ventures, with 8.3 percent working across international labor markets in 72 countries.

The event, which concluded a nationwide media campaign initiated on July 15, was attended by representatives from various ministries, non-governmental organizations, industrial sector skills councils, assessors, trainers, and trainees.