Government Prioritises Technical Education for Skilled Workforce

The Bangladesh government is prioritising technical and technology-based education alongside institutional learning to develop a skilled workforce capable of addressing the global challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and artificial intelligence (AI), said Minister for Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Professor Dr A Z M Zahid Hossain. He also called for expanding modern engineering training beyond Dhaka to divisional and district levels.

The minister made the remarks as the chief guest at a discussion marking the 56th founding anniversary of the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) and Mass Engineering Day. The event was held on Sunday, 8 November 2026, at the IDEB building in Kakrail, Dhaka.

Zahid Hossain said skilled human resources were essential for remaining competitive in today's technology-driven world. He added that the government was working continuously to develop such a workforce, giving priority to technical and technology-based education alongside institutional learning.

Emphasising collective efforts to build a modern and prosperous country, the minister said Bangladesh must remain at the centre of all development initiatives and national progress. He stressed the need to avoid divisions and disunity, adding that the government wanted to build an equitable, inclusive and humane Bangladesh with everyone's participation.

Addressing the engineers, the minister recalled that Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman had upgraded the status of diploma engineers by recognising them as sub-assistant engineers. Later, Begum Khaleda Zia included them in the second class.

The minister stressed that there was no alternative to ensuring timely and quality training for engineers. He urged the relevant institutions to expand technical training beyond Dhaka and make it available quickly at divisional and district levels.

He said extending access to modern training facilities to grassroots communities would help develop a skilled workforce across the country, benefiting individual families as well as the nation as a whole.

He also assured that the government would continue providing the necessary policy-level and institutional support to the relevant organisations to advance these initiatives.

The programme was chaired by Engineer Md Kabir Hossain, while Engineer Kazi Shakhawat Hossain delivered the welcome address. Leaders of IDEB's central executive committee, invited dignitaries, senior officials from relevant engineering departments, diploma engineers from different parts of the country and representatives of student organisations attended the event.

//DBTech/RHMPR/SMP/MSI//