How Stalled Structural Overhauls Choke Talent in Graduate Workforce

The status of being "unemployed" after higher education is one of the most painful and the most stigmatizing identities in the eyes of the society in Bangladesh today. Getting an education, which used to be a ticket to a better life and to a sense of dignity, often ends up in a direct identity crisis. The millions of graduates from public, private and national universities are left to deal with the reality of a world that is becoming economically perilous for those who have earned university degrees but cannot find jobs, and cannot support themselves adequately.

This is underlined by the large number of highly educated job seekers entering the labour market every year. Hundreds of thousands of students enter university gates every year, but find the job market to be a very limited one. A survey shows as many as 52 of every 100 university graduates experience prolonged periods of unemployment or extreme underemployment. Research organizations have undertaken comprehensive research studies that have shown that the percentage of educated youth without formal employment at all levels has gone beyond a concerning rate, resulting in an unprecedented crisis for the country's tertiary educated population.

The current situation is compared to historical labour standards, highlighting the speed at which this crisis has developed. The historical figures of the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicated that, each year about 2.7 million young people joined the labor market in Bangladesh, while only about 189,000 young people, or a mere 7 percent, were able to get formal institutional employment. The number of tertiary-educated people without jobs has increased considerably in just 10 years. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Labour Force Survey has recently released a report which has shown that the overall national unemployment rate is around 3.65-5 percent but the unemployment rate among university graduates has risen to around 13.50-13.54 percent.

In recent years, economic growth has not been matched by job creation in higher value industries. Macroeconomic pressures, high inflation, business uncertainty and slow industrial growth have slowed down recruitment in the public sector and in the formal private sector. The gap between the demand and supply of qualified graduates continues to grow as the number of graduates grows exponentially while the capacity of sectors that are critical to the economy to absorb them is shrinking. Thousands of unemployed graduates are in acute psychological distress, depression and hopelessness, as they are unable to be self-sufficient, support their families and meaningfully contribute to the national economy. The fear of personal futures constantly looms, with high social stigma and family pressure making it a highly toxic environment for young minds. This sense of helplessness is often accompanied by social isolation, mental health issues, and sometimes even a complete distrust of the country's institutional framework in sad cases.

One of the main reasons for the high rate of unemployment among graduates is that their education is very far removed from the needs of the modern labour market. Higher education institutions regularly have their students graduate in large numbers with degrees in traditional subjects, but lacking in practical, technical, and analytical skills in the workplace that are desired by business employers. 

The statutory institutions of recruitment from higher education institutions and the private sector are still little developed, and workplace legislation ensures that certain fundamental rights are respected in the workplace.

The high proportion of young people looking for a public sector job, and the scarcity of jobs, reveals the fragility of the private sector. Government jobs are attractive because candidates have to prepare for civil service exams for years only to guarantee a job, stable pay scales and benefits for their retirement years. On the other hand, the private sector is seen as unstable, low on wage levels, low on promotion opportunities, and low on job security, making it a less attractive option to go down the enterprise or private corporate path to work at an early age.

Lack of employment of educated youth is the first direct cause of a serious drain on human capital in the domestic economy. Due to a lack of opportunities within their own country, and a high rate of recruitment bottlenecks, highly skilled graduates are increasingly opting to migrate to other countries for higher education and employment. Such an out-flow will drain Bangladesh of its best human resource – skilled human resources in the time of economic transition which requires skilled human resource.

Young women with education are confronted with multiple challenges in the workplace. In spite of the unprecedented high numbers of women graduating from the university, facing structural obstacles such as safety issues on the job, societal norms and constraints, under-representation in salary scales, and lack of representation in formal recruitment mechanisms. The data shows that in the urban areas, educated women are even more vulnerable to unemployment, and that the gender biases that exist continue to exclude half the educated population from contributing to national productivity.

To solve this systemic problem, the entire higher education system in Bangladesh needs to be transformed. Academic programs need to be modernized to reflect technical skills, vocational education, foreign language abilities and problem-solving from industry. Mandatory internship programs, university-industry linkages and courses for enhancing practical skills will make graduates come out of universities with skills that are relevant to the demands of the modern market.

The government should create a conducive environment for youth entrepreneurship and the development of young startups to relieve pressure on available employment channels. Educated graduates can be turned into productive job creators by expanding access to collateral-free loans, streamlining the business registration process, tax and other incentives for young entrepreneurs, and providing incubation support. The country has a large educated surplus which can be absorbed by a flourishing small and medium enterprise (SME) system.

The disproportionate youth unemployment rate is a major challenge for nationwide development and poses a risk to future growth possibilities of Bangladesh. Millions of young, educated and energetic citizens must not be left behind in the margins of the economy, if we are to be prosperous. Coordinated and structural reforms in the ministries of the government, the leadership of the private sector, the university administrations and civil society must be implemented to increase job creation, modernize education and give the youth of the country the dignity of job.


MD. Noor Hamza Peash studies
Law in World University of Bangladesh, Dhaka.