Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The government of Bangladesh rolled out a major program to train 30,000 students in
information technology and IT-enabled services over the next three years to further its
Digital Bangladesh vision. The program is supported by the 'Leveraging ICT for Growth,
Employment and Governance project' (LICT) initiative of Bangladesh Computer Council
(BCC) launched in 2013. The World Bank is providing $70 million as loans for the LICT
project, which is the largest of its kind in the world .The training will be conducted by
Ernst & Young, a UK-based global professional services company. Of the 30,000
students, 10,000 will be given specialized training and 20,000 foundation training. The IT
and engineering graduates can apply for specialized training, which would last for 300
hours spread across three to four months. Topics include social media, mobile
technologies, cloud computing, big data, java, application development, information
security, networking, database management, programming and software development.
Other science graduates can apply for a 160-hour course on graphic design, analytical
research and technical IT support. Non-IT graduates and HSC students can apply for the
foundation course, which would cover areas such as online marketing, tech support,
business process outsourcing, outbound sales and customer service. Ernst & Young
would ensure job opportunity for at least 60 percent of the participants.
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Develop broad career plans, evaluate the employment market, identify the
organizations to get good placement.
Soft skills enable those qualities and attributes needed to succeed in the workplace. They
encompass an individual’s ability to listen well, to communicate effectively, to be
positive, to manage conflict, accept responsibility, show respect, build trust, work well
with others, manage time effectively, accept criticism, work under pressure, be likeable,
and to manners demonstrate good. Soft skills sit alongside and complement other types of
skills, including technical or job-specific skills, literacy, numeracy and information
technology skills. Soft skills are relevant to all workers and employees of all occupations
and staff grade levels, including senior executives. The internship program of the
university is an integral part of the MBA program. So it is obligatory to undertake such
task by the students who want to complete MBA degree. Students are required to work on
a specific topic based on their theoretical and practical knowledge acquired during the
period of the internship program and then submit it to the teacher. That is why I have
prepared this report.
Soft skills are mostly taught using examples, scenarios, games, and assessment. The
teaching methods in the soft skills training include
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1.4.1 Group activities
A descriptive research approach has used to conduct the report. Descriptive research is a
type of conclusive research which has its major objective is to provide the description of
something-usually market characteristics or functions.
While conducting smooth and accurately study everyone has to follow some rules and
regulations. In this report I use both primary and secondary data. The details of the work
plan are furnished below:
1.5.2 Observation
As I am going to prepare my report on the basis of, Leveraging ICT for Growth,
Employment and Governance is a project of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) under
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the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology so the
observations are limited to this project only.
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1.6 Limitations of the study
Scarcity of enough literature review
Preparing internship report is really troublesome
This type of report preparation is expensive
Collection of data was not smooth
Shortage of time period for preparing the report
BCC is the implementing agency of the project worth about Taka 572.48 crore. Of the
total amount, the World Bank is providing $70 million US dollars and the rest by the
Government of Bangladesh. The project is expected to be completed by 2018.
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2.2 Project details
2.2.1 Background
Bangladesh has sustained a good track record of growth and development over the past
decades. The economy has grown by nearly six percent per annum over the past decade;
and has been resilient to the effects of the recent global financial crisis and frequent
natural disasters. In addition, the country has made laudable progress on many aspects of
human development and is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals for
infant and child mortality and gender equality in education. However, development needs
remain large and pressing, with around 50 million people still living in poverty.
The Government of Bangladesh (GOB) has developed its Vision 2021 and Sixth Five
Year Plan with developmental targets which address some of these major challenges. The
GOB’s Sixth Five Year Plan puts an impetus on the use of ICT for improving factor
productivity, governance and service delivery, and on the development of the IT industry.
The Plan aims to accelerate growth to eight percent per year by 2015; ensure
participation, social inclusion and empowerment; promotes good governance; and
efficient delivery of public services.
Bangladesh’s ICT industry has developed considerably over the past decade.
Telecommunications has generated total industry investments of USD4.5 billion since
2002, and the industry currently provides about 8 percent of the government’s total
revenue per annum. Mobile penetration rates have increased from less than 1 percent in
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2002 to 44 percent at the end of 2010, and 98 percent of the country is now covered by a
wireless network. The government has also actively promoted its Digital Bangladesh
program which has generated high expectations among citizens.
Hence GOB recognizes the need to be holistic in its approach for leveraging ICT,
especially with regards to its Sixth Five Year Plan goals for governance, economic
growth, and employment creation. This is reflected in its strategic pillars for Digital
Bangladesh, which holistically covers (i) Digital Government; (ii) ICT in Business; (iii)
Connecting Citizens; and (iv) Human Resource Development.
The global talent constraint findings from numerous studies by international consulting
firms and donors on the LICT industry in Bangladesh indicate that the country possesses
significant comparative advantage due to the availability of a large, English-educated
talent pool. In addition the industry has been found to possess particular strengths in
niche sub-segments such as software programming, graphics and animation, and data
entry services. However, the industry is performing far below its potential and is in need
of targeted government assistance to (i) improve the skills and employability of the
country’s large labor pool; (ii) put in place institutional mechanisms to enable industry
development, and (iii) present the country’s comparative advantage and build global
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linkages. Many Governments including Ghana, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines
and South Africa have recognized the untapped potential in the LICT space and have
undertaken similar programs to support the industry.
The government also recognizes the need to leverage e-Government for public sector
modernization. However the public agencies have systems and services that are largely
silo-based, replicable, insufficiently secured, and do not leverage electronic services
sufficiently in support of public sector reform efforts. The lack of shared IT hosting
infrastructure; and IT governance policies, standards and structures has exacerbated this
issue and presents a major barrier to providing seamless e-services. Hence there is a
critical need for these technology foundations to improve public sector efficiency and
effectiveness, and improve the reliability and security of government services and public
information - such as shared datacenter and disaster recovery center, videoconferencing
facilities between offices in Dhaka, enterprise architecture, and information security
governance and cyber-security response teams.
In this context GOB has sought assistance from the World Bank in the following two
areas related to ICT in business and in government. In particular, GOB has requested
support to develop the LICT industry and establish shared IT infrastructure and services
to support public sector modernization and e-Government efforts.
Each of these two components is expected to have significant development impact for
Bangladesh in the next five years. The LICT industry development component is targeted
to create an estimated 34,000 direct jobs, and potentially up to 120,000 indirect jobs as
studies have shown a ratio of up to 1 to 4 for direct and indirect jobs. In addition this
component is expected to increase LICT industry revenue by over USD200 million at the
end of the project. LICT is also expected to have significant social development impact
as the industry is biased towards the employment of women and youth.
The e-Government component is expected to provide GOB with the critical technology
foundations for governance reforms in the years ahead. These basic technology
foundations can significantly improve the GOB’s efficiency and effectiveness by
enabling all ministries/agencies to have a shared datacenter for hosting their systems and
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information; exchange information and collaborate using standardized interoperability
frameworks; improve the public sector’s ability to secure data through information
security policies, guidelines and standards. At present the lack of these horizontal
enablers is already limiting GOB’s ability to leverage ICT for governance priorities in the
country - including on-going and planned initiatives such as access to information,
national identification program, decentralization, and local government development and
service delivery.
The project is designed on the basis of analytical work carried out in the sector. The
design of the LICT component draws on the studies by international consulting firms and
donors. In particular it draws on World Bank’s AAA; which provided detailed
assessment, analysis, and recommendations for LICT industry development and
increasing women and youth participation in the sector. In addition, the World Bank
supported the development of a National e-Government Strategy in 2009 for the country,
which identified the necessary e-Government foundations to be developed and proposed
approaches for their development.
The project will allow the Government to holistically address the Digital Bangladesh
agenda. The project’s components are complementary as LICT skills development
activities will increase the capacity of local IT companies to support the e-Government
component, and conversely the e-Government component will fuel the development of
the local IT industry - thus strengthening local industry capacity and competitiveness for
export-oriented growth. The Bank is also preparing a national identification (ID) project
which includes building the ID systems and database, and the issuance of ID cards to all
eligible citizens. The national ID project will serve as the basis for identifying and
managing access to e-Government services; and this project will provide the technology
foundations needed for the national ID system. In addition the IFC manages a Bangladesh
Investment Climate Fund (BICF) program that supports Government to leverage ICT
extensively to provide government-to-business services online. Hence the program can
also leverage extensively on the e-Government foundations to enable GOB to provide for
more effective and effective services to businesses.
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2.2.3 Institutional context
Catalyze the growth of Bangladesh’s LICT industry for employment creation and
export diversification; and
Strengthen LICT facilities, policies, standard and guidelines for public sector
modernization.
Some specific objectives which the project will achieve are the following:
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2.4 LICT component overview
The objective of the skills development activities is to develop a pool of 34,000 LICT
human resources of sufficient quality to support the growth of the LICT industry in
Bangladesh. Hence this component will develop various skills sets based on the needs of
the industry - including technical, soft, and middle management skills. In addition, it will
develop quality skills through assessment and certifications mechanisms, and program
priority skills to meet the immediate needs of the LICT industry. Bangladesh currently
does not have a significant position in the global LICT market for IT or ITES
competency, or domain specialization. It would therefore be important to adopt a multi-
pronged strategy based on these considerations:
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quality assurance skills programming, software testing and product development /
management skills --ITES segment (also referred as Business Process Outsourcing
or “BPO”): e.g. foundational skills related to communication and handling of
technology along with functional / domain expertise --Supervisory skills: Mid to
high-level management or supervisory skills
Demand/needs orientation: The component will build in significant industry
participation to maximize industry inputs, and develop mechanisms that promote a
needs-driven approach (e.g. partial subsidies for internships, industry-academia
collaboration).
Focus on ITES segment: The component will also place more emphasis on skills
development for the ITES (or business process outsourcing [BPO]) segment. This
segment has higher potential and is likely to be an important segment for
Bangladesh in terms of potential youth employment. According to Everest research
the sector is likely to grow globally from USD105-125 billion in revenues in 2010,
to USD256-268 billion by 2016. In the same period, the number of offshore jobs is
likely to double from 3.8 million people to 7.6 million.
Partnerships for training delivery: The component will leverage extensively on
partnerships between reputable and international training and certification providers
globally; and the local industry and academia to build in local knowledge and
needs. The skills required for working in the ITES segment are also more basic and
generic, but will need to be supplemented by additional skills that would depend
upon the specific nature of work (e.g. specific to process, industry, client, language,
level of work, etc.). However, it is also noted that Bangladesh should develop their
talent pool for IT in tandem with a talent pool for ITES. Among other reasons, there
is a convergence trend that is resulting in a rapid blurring of boundaries between the
segments. For example, in the recent past Dell bought Perot, HP acquired EDS and
Xerox took over ACS. There is also an increasing realization that companies need
to move subsequently to a full services play to grow their LICT business. In India
for example, five of the top 10 ITES companies in 2008-2009 were IT companies:
TCS, IBM, Wipro, Infosys and HCL. The component also builds in gender
considerations in its design. Women constitute a large part of the workforce in the
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ITES/BPO segment (for example women constituted 65 percent of the ITES
workforce in the Philippines. The sector therefore affords an important opportunity
for creating avenues of productive employment for a large number of women in
Bangladesh. In addition skills for ITES are fungible across sectors and can therefore
improve the quality of a wide range of services.
The prevailing governance status in Bangladesh continues to pose major challenges for
the country’s economic growth and social development. Hence, this component will
provide critical e-Government technological foundations for the country’s governance
agenda for the years ahead, and build the human capacity leveraging technology for
governance reforms
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public sector reform efforts. Hence, this component will establish the critical e-
Government technology foundations such as shared datacenter, interoperability
framework, information security governance, and enterprise architecture; and build the
capacity of IT-related personnel in the public sector.
This sub-component will develop and implement a program to convert ICT / CSE / non-
IT science graduates into IT services professionals by providing IT services skills
training. In interactions with the industry it has been represented that not only is there a
problem with the quality of IT graduates for the IT services segment, but there is also an
acute problem of the availability of adequate numbers for both the domestic industry and
for international placement.
Currently, the yearly number of IT or software graduates from public and private
universities and colleges are below 5,000. However, it is estimated that Bangladesh
needs, at least, 10,000 IT trained graduates to become a serious IT services outsourcing
destination in the global outsourcing market. Given the current tertiary level IT education
structure in public and private education system, the IT industry feedback is that the
quickest way to increase the size of the pipeline of IT/software graduates is to arrange a
top-up training program of six to nine months for graduates enrolled in various science
subjects in various universities or university colleges. Hence this sub-component will
focus on the development of 10,000 computer professionals over 4 years in Bangladesh.
The program would target both computer and non-computer science professionals and
train them for jobs in IT. Given the importance of clear industry linkages for such a
program, it is best to entrust the program to the industry in Bangladesh. Leading IT
associations will be involved in the design and rollout of the program. Students to be
enrolled in the project will be selected from various ICT/CSE/science/engineering
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subjects; such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, bio-chemistry, statistics, population
science, etc. The selection process will maintain a minimum gender ratio in order to
encourage women’s participation. To ensure that the training provided to the students is
relevant to the industry requirements (so that they can be absorbed readily by the
software/IT industry), the training curriculum development and delivery of training will
be coordinated by industry bodies (e.g., BASIS) jointly with concerned government
entities like BCC. The expected sub-activities are as follow:
This sub-component will develop the foundational skills of 20,000 ITES professionals in
a way that is closely aligned with the requirements of global markets, and provide
training grants to companies meeting a minimum set of skills development and hiring
criteria, and support the GOB’s existing National ICT Internship Program administered
by BCC. Foundational work skills are fundamental to creating a competitive ITES labor
force as these are necessary for virtually all its sub-segments, including BPO and micro-
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work. These skills address areas such as cultural sensitization, basic PC and data skills,
interpersonal communication, and a good professional attitude in general. The advantage
of the alignment with global markets approach is that it would create a talent pool that
can cater to the requirements of the global industry, besides helping to enhance the
quality of the workforce for a range of domestic sectors. It is proposed to closely
integrate assessment and training so that results can be achieved faster, and training
activities can be more tightly coupled with individual needs.
An anchor institution could be competitively identified to house the program. The anchor
institution could then partner with leading international companies to train trainers, and
provide a quality assurance process for both the trainers and students subsequently
trained by them. This would ensure that the training program is consistent with the needs
of the global market, besides creating a talent pool that would make it easier to attract
investments by the companies associated with the program. In addition; this sub-
component will provide training grants to ITES companies. In interactions with local
companies, it was found that it was possible to rapidly ramp up the number of jobs in the
BPO sector, in case a training program was put in place to address the skills gap. Hence,
the grant program is expected to help companies in Bangladesh’s ITES/BPO sectors to
quickly expand employment and address opportunities in the global markets. This would
also provide flexibility to local companies to devise their own training programs for
interns. The training grants would be provided to companies expanding existing
operations, and starting new ones. This grant will be applicable to local companies that
have immediate demands for skilled employees (around 4000 HR); such as those in
graphics, animation and call centers. It would also be applicable to international
companies setting up offices in Bangladesh, which would need immediate and
customized skills from local companies that have a developed training program.
The training grant will complement the GOB’s existing National ICT Internship Program
as it will support training from a company perspective; and the design and operations of
the training grant program will take guidance from similar initiatives being implemented
in other countries. This grant will enable the recruiting companies to provide essential
computing equipments such as laptop, computer etc to the new knowledge workers for
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establishing work environment. This will enable the trained workforce to acquire industry
experience to become world class knowledge worker. The training grant will also be
designed to have a two-level structure, in order to support the short-term and quick-win
needs of the industry, and support the ITES skills requirement over the remaining project
period. In order to promote social inclusion in the industry, the grant will also be
designed to provide higher incentives to companies to train women, and disabled and
indigenous Bangladeshis. An operational manual will be developed by BCC and
approved by the Bank within six months of the project implementation start date. The
manual will provide details on the training grant program, eligibility criteria, qualifying
criteria, grant calculation, disbursement plan, and application procedure and monitoring.
This sub-component will support a leading local academic institution to partner with a
credible global BPO player to establish a supervisor/mid-management level training
program focused on LICT, as the lack of such skills is a consistent challenge faced by
almost all LICT companies locally and globally. Hence Bangladesh could further build a
competitive advantage through the availability of such skills. A tie up with one of the
leading management training institutions in Bangladesh with an international counterpart
will be a quick win for the industry.
This sub-component will build the LICT capacity of BCC and local industry. It will
support the development of the BCC as the anchor institution for LICT industry
development in Bangladesh, by supporting the set up of a dedicated LICT unit (Unit),
developing an industry development plan and roadmap, and provide for expert guidance
to the Unit. Based on international experiences it is important to have such an anchor
institution to lead Bangladesh’s IT/BPO skills development efforts, as the anchor
institution will have to fulfill multiple internal and external roles for developing the LICT
sub-sector. These roles include: (i) championing LICT within the country, for both the
public and private sector; (ii) strategic planning and implementation of industry
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development activities, especially with regards to skills development and industry
promotion; and (iii) representing the government to external LICT clients, and facilitating
their investments and operations
The anchor institution will be set up as an LICT unit (the Unit) in BCC because MOICT
has been given the mandate to build the country’s IT industry sector (which includes the
LICT sub-sector), with the BCC as the technical agency carrying out this role. However,
BCC currently does not have sufficient capacity in terms of structure, resources and
technical expertise. Hence, this sub-component will outline the strategy, structure,
mandate, roles and responsibilities, and resource requirements to set up and
operationalize the Unit. It will also provide training, systems, tools and other resources to
ensure that the Unit has a sufficient level of knowledge and skills, and sufficient capacity
for statistical reporting, monitoring and evaluation. The Unit will have personnel hired
from the market for (i) strategy, planning and M&E; (ii) skills development; and (iii)
industry promotion. It will be important to have the right institutional structures, or the
skills developed in the program. Hence, a small compact team will integrate the global
marketing functions, industry promotion and skills development activities. The advantage
of this tight integration is that it can respond better to potential investors, while at the
same time having a better connection with industry needs for talent development and
investment promotion activities. As part of the set up, this sub-component will also
develop an LICT industry development strategy for Bangladesh. It is imperative to
develop a realistic and feasible strategy for Bangladesh as the global LICT market has
developed rapidly over the years to become highly sophisticated and competitive. Such as
strategy will help the country to focus its resources on the greatest LICT opportunities,
align the efforts of the public and private sectors, help the country to be opportunistic in
business development, and focus on LICT niche markets where Bangladesh has a
sustainable competitive advantage. Hence, this sub-component will conduct a rapid
demand assessment, scan the competitive landscape, identify the country’s generic value
proposition, develop the industry’s positioning and niches, and provide five-year
development roadmap and skills development program. This sub-component will also
support the provision of an expert advisor, and set up an international advisory panel
consisting of global LICT experts and practitioners to guide Bangladesh’s industry
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development efforts. The advisor will provide inputs on the LICT unit’s strategic
directions, bring in relevant contacts and networks worldwide, and guide the operations
of the Unit; while the advisory panel will provide a mechanism for Bangladesh to rapidly
access top-level LICT expertise, provide face-to-face interaction with select members of
the advisory group over the project period, and help raise the visibility of Bangladesh’s
initiatives globally.
For local industry capacity building, this sub-component will promote and facilitate the
set up of an LICT industry forum, and support local companies in adopting globally-
accepted certification. The industry forum will be composed of the major industry
associations such as BCS, BASIS, BACCO, AMTOB, ISP Association, various content
developers associations, etc. It will include a platform for representation by the free-
lancer community, and women entrepreneurs and employees in LICT companies. For
this, the sub-component will conduct a quick feasibility assessment, provide
recommendations for its set up and operations, facilitate dialogue between the various
associations, and promote the associations’ participation using the project activities as
incentives. In addition, this sub-component will provide technical assistance to foster
local capabilities to generate a shared development vision for the industry, and organize
the dispersed knowledge and resources towards common objectives, and assistance to
implement jointly-identified actions. On certification, the LICT companies need to have a
consistent level of quality and process maturity in order to be at par with other off-shore
destinations, and it will be difficult and costly to overcome a low-quality perception, if
such experiences are established early in the process. Hence, this sub-component will
assess and identify relevant global certifications for local companies, provide training
assistance for companies working towards certification, and provide payment for the
certification fee if the companies are successfully certified. The local beneficiary
companies will be selected through an objective process to be approved by the Bank.
There are already various types of LICT company certifications available, and the key
ones are:
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Mellon University. CMMI has emerged as the definitive standard for process
maturity in the IT industry. It is a well-known and standardized model for assessing
and improving software and systems development processes. It is a global standard
developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) to help companies achieve
higher quality in their processes and applications development. The certification is
internationally recognized and helps establish the credentials of IT companies
globally.
VMO Certification Process, which measures ITES companies’ performance based
on its COPC-2000 VMO standard, a rigorous framework of best practices which
was designed to measure third party customer services providers. This is a vital
certification for flawless execution of call centers.
This sub-component will provide financing support to the LICT Unit in BCC for industry
promotion. According to industry inputs and various studies, LICT industry promotion is
of critical importance to the industry’s development due to the generally poor perception
of the country from an investment perspective, and the lack of awareness and/or interest
by the global LICT market.
The perception issue has changed to a limited extent but remains a challenge in attracting
investments in the near term. In addition, there is low awareness and/or interest in
Bangladesh as an LICT destination as the industry is nascent to date, and there have been
limited industry promotion activities in the past decade even when the global LICT
industry was growing at a tremendous pace. There is also a need for internal industry
promotion to attract sufficient youth and women, in particular, to take up LICT skills
development activities. Bangladesh’s LICT industry is, thus, in need of a comprehensive,
coherent and professionally planned and implemented industry promotional program to
address these challenges; and to support the supply-oriented activities such as skills
development, capacity building, and strategic infrastructure support. Hence, this sub-
component will develop an industry promotion plan, provide business development
services, and implement the necessary actions. The industry development plan should
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outline the promotional tools and tactics for Bangladesh to showcase its capabilities to
the broader markets, reach and communicate its value proposition to target audiences in
niche sub-segments, and attract investments and clients for the industry. The plan will use
the industry development strategy (refer to description above) as its foundation. It will be
developed based on research of the target market (through surveys, interviews and/or
focus groups), and incorporate significant inputs from local industry. The target audience
will be potential clients from relevant parts of the world who fit within the niche sub-
segments identified in the industry development strategy, and the plan will
comprehensively cover various types of promotion tools. The plan will also include a
promotion program that includes participation in key conferences, production of
marketing collaterals, improvement of the country’s ranking in key LICT indices, and
outreach programs to attract youth and women into the industry.
The sub-component will also assist the LICT unit to develop LICT businesses for the
country by building a contacts database consisting of relevant target clients and partners,
identifying two to three industry champions (Including Secretary-level and above) within
the government, implementing strategic outreach programs for the industry champions
and targeted clients, and providing mentoring support to the LICT unit and industry
champions throughout the business development cycle. The following actions are
expected to be carried out to further support the industry promotion plan:
Develop various industry promotion tools. This includes marketing collaterals such
as brochures, presentation slides, newsletters for use by local industry stakeholders;
and for distribution through various channels, such as trade shows, direct mailers,
foreign embassies, etc.
Support industry’s participation in key trade shows and conferences (in
collaboration with the activities of the Export Promotion Bureau in the Ministry of
Commerce), and organize the first in-country conferences on LICT for global
audiences.
Conduct media relations campaign for contacting and staying in touch with targeted
members of the media (reporters). This includes the development and distribution
of press releases, press kits, and public service announcements; in order to gather
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coverage in newspapers, magazines, or other mass-media of relevance to
Bangladesh’s target audiences.
Increase the country’s visibility and standing in recognized global LICT rankings
by relevant research, advisory and consultancy firms such as A.T. Kearney,
Tholons, IBM, and Gartner. Hence, the sub-component will assist BCC to collect
and disseminate relevant statistical data, establish linkages with these firms,
identify key matrixes of weakness per ranking, and establish linkages to the other
project activities in order to improve on these matrixes.
Conduct an outreach program for youth and women to encourage their participation
in the LICT industry. In particular, the program will focus on encouraging women’s
participation in skills development by reaching out to women-oriented educational
institutions, identifying relevant female spokesperson(s), promotion in relevant
media channels for women, etc.
Dhaka University
Jagannath University
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology
East West University
Brac University
American International University-Bangladesh
University of Asia Pacific
Daffodil International University
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East West University
Brac University
University of Asia Pacific
Soft skills are essentially people skills -- the non-technical, intangible, personality-
specific skills that determine your strengths as a leader, listener, negotiator, and conflict
mediator. "Hard" skills, on the other hand, are more along the lines of what might appear
on your resume -- your education, experience and level of expertise. People value soft
skills because they are an indicator of Job performance. Some other reasons are:
Customer service.
Effective performance
Interpersonal skills
Sales
Interviews
Leadership
Team Building
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3.2 Components of soft skills
Group Discussion
Interview Skills
Communication Skills
Presentation Skills
CV Writing
Group discussion is a group of individuals with similar interest who gather either
formally or informally to bring up ideas, solve problems or give comments. It tests an
applicant’s-
3.A.1.1 Interpersonal skills: Interpersonal skills are the life skills we use every day to
communicate and interact with other people, both individually and in groups. People
who have worked on developing strong interpersonal skills are usually more successful
both their professional and personal lives.
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Problem Solving - Working with others to identify, define and solve problems.
Decision Making – Exploring and analyzing options to make sound decisions.
Assertiveness – Communicating our values, ideas, beliefs, opinions, needs and
wants freely.
• Leadership Skills
• Motivational Skills
• Team play
• Divergent Thinking
• Listening Skills
• Presentation Skills
• Analytical/Logical Skills
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3.A.3 Types of topics
• Abstract
• Domain specific
• Current Affairs
Spoken English
Must be logical, Coherent, simple sentences nothing esoteric.
Knowledge
The amount of genuine facts and figures quoted by a candidate…no beating
Around the bush.
Convincing power
Ability to push his/her ideas to the group while appreciating others point
of view.
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Body Language
Signs displayed by the body, that either match or contradict what is being
said or heard
Maturity
Ability to handle the situation at hand …
how he/she puts across his/her opinion
how the participant handles opposition
how the participant handles pressure
how the participant either
mingles/follows/leads the team.
3.A.7.1 Passive
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3.A.7.2 Aggressive
3.A.7.3 Assertive
3.A.8 Things to do
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Be aware of the latest current affaires
Memorize basic facts and figures.
Never hesitate to be the first one to speak.
Be mentally agile
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3.A.12 Wrong ideas
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Part: B Interview skills
3.B.1 Interview
A structured meeting between you and an employer. It’s a view between two way street
Employers are attempting to determine if you are an appropriate fit for the job and
their culture
You decide if the environment is right for you.
The purpose of the interview from the employer’s point of view is to assess/evaluate your
suitability, relative to other applicants.
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Exploring your values, beliefs, expectations, skills, and qualifications as they
relate to the type of work you are seeking
Gathering information about you to help in making an informed decision.
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Panel interviews mostly desired for top level job roles
No Communication Skills
Failing to express oneself clearly
Not being aware of one’s body language
Failing to control those nerves
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Failing to give appropriate examples
Trying too hard to please the interviewer
Attention
Sitting on the edge of the chair
Leaning forward and making eye contact while you answer
Crossed legs
Legs crossed at ankle
Hands on the table
Arms crossed on chest
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3.B.7.3 Right way to sit
Hands comfortably and naturally placed either in the lap or on the arm rest
Relaxed hands
Open hands
Clenched hands
Cracking Knuckles
Wringing hands or drumming fingers
Hands on hips
Hands in the pocket
Correct preparation
Knowing the things that are important to interviewers
Practicing your answers
Perseverance
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3.B.8 Practical project in body language session
We had to make a short play within 30 minutes and perform the play as a silent actor
only with the help of body organs, which is called mimes, for improving our body
language
Here we were learned practically how to seat in a chair while being interviewed
and I had also to take seat as an interviewee in front of my trainer, Mr. Raj Kumar.
We had to make a hand shake session one by one with Mr. Rajkumar as like as an
MNC’s employee do.
Paraphrased as
Run me through yourself
Give me a profile sketch
Who is <NAME>
Suggested Answer –
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Know your interviewer's greatest need
Experience/industry exposure
Career aspiration
Also paraphrased as
Suggested Answer
Also paraphrased as
What are your negative
What are things you aren’t good at
What affects your performance…
Suggested Answers
Managing time
Your answer must highlight your skills and relate it to the job role
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Example – “Ma'am/Sir….I have the right attitude, I am very focused in my work and am
hard working, I have always wanted to be a part of the <NAME> industry because I
consider my core skill set to revolve around people/Technology…I am a very strong team
player and I have both theoretical and functional knowledge about ….I am confident I
will be an asset for your organization.
Reassure your interviewer that you're interested in long-term. Avoid being too specific,
i.e., naming the promotions you someday hope to win, you'll sound presumptuous. If
you're too vague, you’ll seem aimless
Suggested Answer –
“I am interested in this <JOB ROLE>and want grow with time in <Org NAME>Judging
by what this position is about, it's what I'm looking for and what I am very well qualified
to do. In terms of my career path, I'm think if I do my work with excellence,
opportunities will open up.
A place where I can learn and grow, where I am allowed to enjoy good work culture I've
always loved small towns <if you are applying for a job in a small town>….name the
place I've always loved Big towns <if you are applying for a job in a Big town>….name
the place
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What are your career options right now?
Suggested Answer
Fresher : Ma'am/Sir, I've applied for a couple of organizations and am awaiting their
response, my career preference is however more inclined towards<JOB ROLE>I will be
excited if my candidature fits your requirements and if I can be a part of your
organization.
Have a few heroes in mind or anyone else who has been your mentor. Be prepared to give
examples of heroes ,their words, actions or teachings have helped inspire your
achievements
Be prepared with a good example, explain why the decision was difficult…the process
you followed…the effective way you carried it out…and the beneficial results.
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I'm concerned that you don't have any experience …why hire you!!!
Suggested Answer
I’m a quick learner and my not having any experience is in a way good….what you train
me on is what I will learn and I will give it my best shot…
Discuss your goals for each major area of your life: career, personal development &
learning, family, health
Never discuss this issue till it is mentioned by them. Rule of any negotiation is: the side
with more information wins .Research the Company / market and this position for any
relevant salary information.
Expected behaviors and expectations for individual actions within a society, group,
or class. Within a place of business, it involves treating coworkers and employer with
respect and courtesy in a way that creates a pleasant work environment for everyone.
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3.B.10.2 Core values:
Core values define employees, clients, organizations and products / services. They are
golden opportunities to build a foundation of expectations and trust.
Organization leaders must be responsible for the values their employees, organizations
and their products / services demonstrate. Taking responsibility for their core values
allows organizations to build their corporate culture and reputation with confidence
A code of conduct outlines the mission and values of the business or organization, how
professionals are supposed to approach problems, the ethical principles based on the
organization's core values, and the standards to which the A code professional of conduct
are will be held.
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3.B.13 Time management
Arrive to the office on time and do not make a habit of leaving early
Arrive to all meetings on time
Complete your work on time
Plan for vacation in advance
Notify supervisors of unexpected absences as soon as possible
You need time management so that you can plan your day right and still have time for
some fun, have less stress, and better work habits.
3.B.15.1 Things to do
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Use a calm tone of voice.
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3.C.2 Communication process
3.C.3.1 As a Sender-
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3.C.3.2 As a receiver
3.C.4.1.Verbal
Oral
Face to face
Telephone
Mettings
Conversations
Interviews
Debates
Lectures
3.C.4.2.Non-verbal
Eye contact
Tone of Voice
Body Language
Written Communication
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3.C.5 Communication Barriers
Our Perceptions
Pre-conceived notions
Assumptions
Stereo types
Negative attitude
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Part D: Presentation Skills
To be a good speaker, one should have to know some specific presentation techniques.
Those techniques should include:
Body language
Slide Structure
Fonts
Color
Background
Graphs
Spelling and Grammar
Conclusions
Questions
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3.D.2.1 Slide Structure
Good:
Avoid wordiness
1-2 slides per minute of your presentation
Show one point at a time
Bad:
3.D.2.2 Fonts
Good:
Bad:
3.D.2.3 Color
Good:
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Use color to emphasize a point
Bad:
3.D.2.4 Background
Good:
Bad:
3.D.2.5 Graphs
Good:
Bad:
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Title is missing
Shading is distracting
No spelling mistakes
No use of repeated words
No grammatical errors
3.D.2.7 Conclusion
3.D.2.8 Questions
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Part D: Presentation Skills
3.D.1 CV writing
Career objective
Qualifications
Achievements
Experiences
Personal background , etc.
Header
Objective
Work experience
Job title history
Computer skills
Technical knowledge
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Academic qualification
Personal details
Declaration
4.1 Learning
After completing my training under this program which is operated by BCC called
Leveraging ICT for growth, employment and governance, I found myself more confident,
skillful and aware .This program has increased my overall efficiency. Now I can-
I hope those skills will ensure my professional growth. As a result, there will be a better
chance to get a better job and in the long term benefits, I should have e good governance
power to ensure the proper maintenance of my organization as well as my county.
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4.2 Experience
During my training program, I applied in a USA based IT firm named Kazi IT for the
position of Senior Executive (Operation). After 3 steps procedures I was finally selected
for the one to one interview with the CEO of Kazi IT. With the earned knowledge from
LICT training, I had succeeded and got the appointment for my applied position.
5.1 Findings
Ernst and Young (EY), a UK-based leading global professional services company has
undertaken the responsibility to train up the young leaders of Bangladeshi university
graduates by an agreement signed up with ICT division of Bangladesh government where
the World Bank agreed to finance for the project. As part of the agreement In June 2015
the company launched a Foundation Skills Training Package at AIS department of
Jangnnath University as part of a national, systemic approach to developing foundation
skills units of competency, qualifications and skill sets. As a pilot project it lacks some
professional standards with the context of corporate culture.
Presentations were largely in the nature of traditional type, i.e.; little scope to
match with niece industry requirement.
Periodic individual assessment was not reported or published.
Trainer was non-business background.
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5.2 Recommendations
Presentations should be focused on much more corporate real life aspects such as-
5.3 Conclusion
One of the most common constraints against the education system of third world
countries is a large gap between institutional learning and the demand of working place.
The gap should be minimized for the country’s actual development in the context of
human resources. Considering this fact World Bank is willing to train up the young
graduate of Bangladeshi universities. As a part of the project the World Bank has taken
the project named LICT where the Bangladeshi young fresh graduates are being trained
up to make them future leaders. Perhaps no one would doubt about the necessities of the
project if it would be implemented as per the individual’s, broadly country’s requirement.
So the ultimate success rate would be treated after the successful placement, and on the
matter of how effectively they can cope up with the organizational environment among
the graduates who were trained up. Undoubtedly such a rigorous training program is the
demand of modern corporate requirements.
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