DHAKA, March 14, 2023 (BSS) - The government has launched 'Hire and Train Program' to impart training and employment to 20,000 IT graduates by 2026.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak inaugurated the programme at a city hotel on Monday, said a press release today.

 Chaired by Executive Director of BCC Ranjit Kumar the function was addressed, among others, by Vice-Chancellor of Bangladesh University Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dr Satya Prasad Majumder, Secretary of ICT Division Samsul Arefin, Senior Transport Specialist and Program Leader of World Bank Rajesh Rohatgi, Deputy Project Director Mohammad Saiful Islam Khan. Component Team Leader EDGE Project Dr Mahfuzul Islam Shamim and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of more than 100 IT companies were also present. 

 World Bank financed EDGE project making a partnership with Center for Project Management and Information Systems (PMIS) and Institute of Information Technology (IIT) of Dhaka University and RISE of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) has been organizing to provide training to 20,000 IT graduates by 2026 on advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), robotics, blockchain through the country's IT companies.

 Palak said after first, second and third, the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has been coming with quick pace bringing a revolutionary change of almost everything around us. 

 "We will lag behind if we fail to cope up with this change," he said adding considering the consequence of 4IR the ICT Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister Sajeeb Wazed Joy has instructed to work in four areas of technology -microprocessor design, artificial intelligence, robotics and cyber security and the government has already started to work on it.
 
 "Hire and Training Program' has also been designed by the three stakeholders-- public, private and academia and the main characteristic of this model is: the IT companies will hire the IT graduates as per their demands and then provide them training," Palak said and added that the hire and train model has become an ideal example to reduce gap between public, private and academia as it has built an excellent partnership of these three stakeholders. 

There will be no gap between public, private and academia in future, he said.

 The state minister said the success of building a Smart Bangladesh is depending to a great extent on innovation, research and skills on advanced technologies. 
 
 Taking this reality into cognizance the government, in one hand, has been setting up specialised labs, incubation centers and research and innovation centers in educational institutions and on the other, developing skilled human resources on advanced technologies who would play vital role to build a Smart Bangladesh, he said. 
 
 Palak said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has again offered her dream of transforming Bangladesh into a sustainable, intelligent and knowledge-based and innovative Smart Bangladesh by 2041. 
 
"We are hopeful about materializing of her dream combinedly before the stipulated time," he said.

 Earlier, EDGE Project Director Dr. Muhammed Mehedi Hassan, PMIS director Prof Akram Hossain, Director RISE of BUET Dr Mohammad Anisuzzaman Talukder, Director of IIT Dr Mohammad Shafiul Alam Khan, BASIS President Russel T Ahmed, BACCO President Wahid Sharif and Digital Development Specialist of World Bank Suparna Roy took part in the panel discussion on 'Skills for Smart Bangladesh' which was conducted by Managing Director of Startup Bangladesh Sami Ahmed.