Sujat Ali Sohan, the only earning member of his the family having children with thalassemia at home became jobless amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a great shock for him. During that time, instead of being demotivated, he took 50 days training in Jhalkathi 611 batch of Learning and Earning project. While learning digital marketing, he got a $150 job at Fiber Market Place. This successful freelancer has been making a turnover of around 50 lakh taka for the last one and a half years. He initiated to form a business entity named SAARC Enterprises. He has set himself a target of one crore taka sales in the next eight months.
To fulfill that goal, he appeared as an employer at the Jhalakathi Smart Employment Fair on Sunday. Just like him, Juthi Akhter was disappointed by the pandemic and went through a miserable life. After receiving the training, he got only a 5 dollar job and became more disappointed. Her frustration grew high and started thinking about her capability. But with the mentorship and motivation by the coach Shishir Mirza, she now understands that ‘the fruit of patience is always sweet’. This level 2 seller is earning more than 21 thousand dollars per month from fiber.
Unlike Sohan and Juthi; Abdul Qayyum Khan, a digital entrepreneur of Galua Union, was cheated while learning computers at the beginning of his career. He couldn’t do anything in two years even with training. Got a job in an NGO and didn’t get paid. After that, he started the work of downloading music on mobile with a computer shop. Then, he joined the Union Digital Center as an entrepreneur. Now he is earning 75-80 thousand taka per month by providing civil and commercial services.
The government is going to set up the Sheikh Russell IT Incubation Center in Jhalkathi to make more such success stories a reality. Amir Hossain Amu, President of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Industry and the Local Member of Parliament, laid the foundation stone virtually of the Joy D-Set Center in Sadar, Nalcity, Rajapur and Kathalia upazilas from the auditorium of the District Shilpokala Academy, along with the ICT State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak.
After that, the ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak answered various questions of the participants. The state minister said that apart from launching digital literacy centers, the government is also providing physical training in 90,000 educational institutions to give opportunities to the illiterate to use smart devices. He said that 580 women freelancers in Jhalokathi will be given financial support along with training. To build smart citizens this year in 10 districts; by 2025, 300 schools and 35,000 schools by 2031 will be taught English, mathematics and communication soft skills through the after-school program Kumon.
In the event, Palak handed over a check of 50 thousand taka to 22 out of 30 women entrepreneurs of Jhalokathi and said that those entrepreneurs who will be successful will be given a grant of 10 lakh taka. After that taka 50 lakh to 5 crores will be invested as equity investment through Smart Bangladesh Limited Company.
In the opening speech of the fair, Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, there is no alternative to work-oriented education to ensure smart employment. No one in this country will be unemployed if they can acquire skills. If Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s announced Smart Bangladesh is implemented, every person in this country will get all the services quickly. There will be no scope for any corruption.
The State Minister for ICT urged everyone who were present at the golden jubilee celebration of receiving the Joliot-Curie Medal of Peace by Bangabandhu to imbibe his ‘philosophy of love and peace’.
While speaking as the chief guest, Amir Hossain Amu said that everyone should work together to build a smart Bangladesh in keeping with the modern world. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s dream is to make every citizen self-reliant in this country.
Under the chairmanship of
The Deputy Commissioner Farah Gul Nizhum presided over the ceremony while the BRAC Kumon Chief Operating Officer Obaid Rahman, Director General of ICT Directorate Md. Mostafa Kamal, Digital Connectivity Project Director Pranab Kumar Saha, Sheikh Russell Digital Lab Project Director and Additional Director SAM Rafiqul Nabi, Zilla Parishad Chairman Advocate Khan Saifullah Panir and Sadar Upazila Chairman Khan Arifur Rahman also spoke on the occasion.
More than 1500 applicants were interviewed for the recruitment of 500 employees in 22 booths at the Smart Job Fair held in Jhalokathi. Seminars were also taken to meet the candidate’s qualification and skills deficiency in the interview.
After the ceremony, the ICT State Minister inspected the activities of Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center at Kashipur Chahutpur Mauza of Sadar Upazila and the progress of the construction of Hi-Tech Park and the proposed place for establishing Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center at Jhalokathi Sadar Krishnakathi Mauza.