Freelancing project: questions raised over Tk 133,000 cost per person
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
The government plans to create employment opportunities for 50,100 young men and women in 13 city corporation areas across the country by providing freelancing training. For this purpose, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has proposed a project titled “Employment Creation Through Freelancing Training for Unemployed Youth in All Metropolitan Cities.”
The proposed project has an estimated cost of Tk 683 crore 10 lakhs. Based on this estimate, the cost per trainee will be Tk 133,066.
A Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 2. The Planning Commission said questions will be raised at the meeting over this cost as well as several other issues.
Project officials said that after processing by the PEC, the project will be implemented by the Department of Youth Development from this year until June 2031 if it is approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
A Planning Commission official told Agamir Somoy that the project will be implemented in 501 wards across 13 city corporations. The city corporations are Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Bogura, Khulna, Sylhet, Barishal, Rangpur, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Mymensingh and Cumilla.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports said a total of 2,004 batches will receive demand-based freelancing and IT training over five years. Each batch will have 25 trainees and the training will last three months.
Training will also be provided in demand-based trades including graphic design, digital marketing, web development, video editing and basic computer skills.
After completing the training, employment or self-employment will be created for at least 60 percent of the trainees. A structured assessment will be conducted at the end of each batch. Trainees will be selected by the Department of Youth Development based on a question bank.
Through implementation of the project, the trained young men and women will contribute to the expansion of the digital economy by earning domestic and foreign currency.
Questions Over the Proposed Cost
The Planning Commission said Tk 669 crore 43 lakh 66 thousand of the total project cost for the 13 metropolitan cities will be spent only on training. This amount will be used to train 50,100 people.
In this case, the estimated training cost per trainee is Tk 133,066. Questions will be raised at the meeting about the basis for this cost estimate and why the same cost estimate has been made for all metropolitan cities.
Besides, a circular instructs that the duration of a project should generally not exceed three years except in special cases. However, the proposed project has a five-year implementation period. Project officials will also face questions over this issue.
Officials said questions will be raised about how follow up of trained people will be conducted after the project ends. They will also be asked how employment will be ensured and how links with the market will be established and sustained.
They said it will also be asked whether the results of similar projects have been considered.
They said according to the guidelines for the formulation, processing, approval and revision of development projects in the public sector, the objectives of a project must be specific, measurable, achievable and relevant.
In this case, there are deviations in the proposed project.
Questions will also be raised about whether the selection criteria for trainers and trainees for conducting the proposed training activities have been reviewed based on current conditions and actual market demand.
