Govt to launch employment exchange centre in Dec

The government will launch an Employment Exchange Centre in December to connect jobseekers with employers and create more employment opportunities.

Ariful Haque Choudhury, minister for labour and employment, announced the initiative at a press briefing at his ministry’s conference room in Dhaka yesterday, according to a press release.

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The centre will build a comprehensive database of jobseekers through job and career fairs at colleges and universities across the country, the minister said.

At the same time, online and offline databases will be developed to identify workforce demand across industries and factories. The centre will then establish direct links between jobseekers and employers, he said.

The centre will initially be launched on a pilot basis in Dhaka in December, before gradually expanding to all divisions and eventually all 64 districts, according to the minister.

Speaking at the briefing, Mahdi Amin, adviser to the prime minister and the spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Office, said the government had pledged in its election manifesto to establish an employment exchange and organise career fairs across the country.

“The initiative is aimed at creating opportunities for educated people as well as those outside mainstream education who want to enter the job market,” he said.

“Our demographic dividend is our country’s main strength, and we want to harness the aspirations of the younger generation,” Mahdi said.

He said the centre would also identify the skills required in different sectors in line with the demands of the modern economy.

Plans are also underway to develop young people’s skills through partnerships with skill-development institutions under various ministries, he added.

In the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said, “To establish a fair and merit-based employment system, the government has undertaken an initiative to establish an ‘Employment Exchange’ programme at the district and upazila levels across the country.

“Registered candidates here will be provided with the necessary support for appointment to vacant positions in various organisations, based on their merit and skills.”