Human Capital – A Source of Competitive Advantage

• 23 Mar 2021
• 3:30 pm
• Online

The event took place in the presence of Honorable Industries Minister Mr. Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun M.P.,

Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, as the “Chief Guest”, Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), the United States Embassy in Bangladesh, Ms. JoAnne Wagner as the “Guest of Honor” and the President – AmCham Mr. Syed Ershad Ahmed, as the “Session Chair”.
MODERATOR: Mr. Syed Mohammad Kamal, Vice President – AmCham & Country Manager, Mastercard – Bangladesh
PANELISTS: Mr. Md. Musharrof Hossain (Keynote Presenter), President – Federation of Bangladesh Human Resource organizations (FBHRO), Mr. Syed Almas Kabir, President – Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS).
AmCham Former Presidents Mr. Aftab ul Islam, and Mr. Md. Nurul Islam also spoke on that occasion.

“Human Capital” has its genesis in this new world order due to COVID-19 where organizations globally had to resort to business continuity plans and shift their workforce to remote operations almost overnight, keeping the safety in mind. So, in these uncertain and unprecedented circumstances, we all are trying our best to  strategize future business and talent decisions. Organizations are warming up to the limitless potential of adopting new-age technologies and the imminent need to accelerate digital transformation. With a staggering population of more than 160 million, we face an enormous challenge in providing employment to millions of youths. Every year about 2 million youths enter the job market of which many remain under employed or unemployed. Things would have been much worse if a considerable number of them (annually about half a million) had not found the opportunity to work overseas. Converting the huge number of people into human capital is only the key solution to tactfully solve the problem and tap the future potentials.

It is very important to determine which other sectors outside RMG can be exploited to harness this working youths’ prospective. With the expectation of export diversification, we should be attentive on knowledge based high tech industry amid growing challenges. Therefore, it is time to formulate a roadmap for investment by designing a development curriculum. If this functional youth group of the country can be trained in various sectors including ICT, modern agriculture, light engineering, tourism and service industries through long-term planned training, then these trained workforces will be able to establish their position in the country and in the international arena. We also need to develop vocational institutions and train the unskilled labors before they set out for their uncertain life abroad with some specific skills for a better rate of return from our national investment.

The complexity of these challenges requires a multi-faceted policy response since  the next phase could be much more challenging. It is crucial that the government, private sector, and concerned stakeholders in Bangladesh all step up and work together to adapt as best we can. We at AmCham Bangladesh with a diverse membership base and outlook focusing on global, national or business ecosystem at large, attempt to develop an approach that might help the business & regulatory leadership set the priorities on right strategies making rapid and inevitable remedies.

A good number of AmCham members including the Executive Committee Members, foreign dignitaries, business leaders, media representatives and other distinguished guests attended the virtual event.
The event received a significant coverage from the leading print, online and electronic media with a noteworthy importance.

MEDIA LINKS:
The Daily Star
The Financial Express
The Daily Observer
The Business Standard