The government will launch district-level ‘Employment Exchanges’ to directly connect jobseekers with employers, with disadvantaged and marginalised groups given priority, Prime Minister’s Adviser and his Office spokesperson Mahdi Amin has said.

“We are going to launch the Employment Exchange at the initial stage. Several dialogues and consultations have already been held among different government agencies on the initiative,” he said.

Mahdi Amin was speaking at the second session of a national conference titled ‘Implementing a Five-Year Strategic Framework for Achieving the SDGs: Policy, Partnership and Priorities’ at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka on Wednesday.

He said the initiative would address a longstanding gap in the institutional framework for creating and coordinating employment opportunities.

“The main objective is to establish a direct link between the demand for and supply of employment,” he said.

The Employment Exchange will initially be introduced at the divisional level before being expanded to every district across the country, he added.

According to Mahdi Amin, the programme will bring local employers and jobseekers together through both online and offline platforms. It will also provide technical skills development, capacity-building and an effective referral system, with the private sector directly involved in strengthening institutional skills and qualifications.

He stressed that no citizen should be left behind in the country’s economic growth and development.

“Fully integrating disadvantaged people into the mainstream of the national economy and social protection system is one of the government’s key priorities,” he said.

Mahdi Amin also outlined a number of government initiatives aimed at promoting inclusive development, investment and employment, including plans to create 100,000 new jobs in the health sector, with women to receive priority for 80,000 of those positions.

He said the government was also working to expand the Family Card and Farmer Card programmes, while reforms in education, healthcare, digital access, environmental protection and water management were being pursued to reduce inequalities between urban and rural communities.

The adviser said the government was committed to creating an inclusive Bangladesh in which citizens, regardless of their social, political, economic or geographical backgrounds, would have equal opportunities and access to development.

He also said the government was working to attract greater domestic and foreign investment, create employment and reform state institutions as part of its broader development age