Paths to progress: Empowering youth through skills development

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across Bangladesh, causing lockdowns, closing schools and destroying livelihoods, Delwar Hossain was confronted with a difficult situation. With five siblings and ageing parents, he was forced to drop out of high school and start working to support his family.

"I had no other choice,” says Delwar, now 22. “My father is retired, and my siblings no longer provide the support he needs. Since we earned less income and had endless family problems, I thought it would be best if I started earning money. I would like to continue my studies, but I need to take care of my parents.”

Soon after abandoning his formal education due to financial struggles, Delwar was visited by staff from a UNICEF partner organization. They informed him about a vocational education and training programme at a multi-purpose centre supported by UNICEF with funding from the European Union, where he could learn about computers. Despite having no prior computer training, he began learning a wide array of skills and applications thanks to his determination and guidance from the centre’s dedicated instructors.

"I did not know anything about computers, so I was excited to learn,” Delwar recounts. “I slowly learned how to operate a computer. Then I learned how to use Gmail and even mastered Photoshop. The course helped me improve my creative skills and gave me the confidence to take initiative.”

Despite acquiring these new skills, he lacked the means to practice his newfound expertise. On the advice of his instructor at the centre, Delwar began offering his services at a local shop that specializes in electronic products after graduating from the course.

"I am currently renting out a small area of this shop from the owner [Dewan], who I know from my neighbourhood, with part of my monthly income,” Delwar explains. “I also saved some money and used it to buy a second-hand computer that I use for work.”

In the shop, he navigates through diverse tasks from helping customers to fill out forms to creating documents, using the skills he learned from the multi-purpose centre.

However, financial challenges persist and Delwar says that he does not always have a consistent flow of clients.

"I get more customers when students are applying for university or working on school projects,” he explains. “There are days when I get two or three customers and then, during peak times, I have many.”

"I am getting customers and earning money,” he adds. “My income ranges from 5,000 to 20,000 BDT each month.”

 A Vision for the Future

Delwar's aspirations go beyond his current circumstances, and he hopes to expand his business and the services that he can provide to customers. He is grateful for the support he has received from the multi-purpose centre but recognises the need for additional learning.

"There are a lot of things I do not know yet,” he explains. “In the future, I want to get better at graphic design. And I want to buy a printer.”

 The road ahead is not without obstacles. As the sole provider for his family, Delwar’s income contributes to the family but falls short of meeting all their needs. To better support them, he hopes to expand his business and is exploring how he can get financial support to rent additional space and buy new equipment to make this possible.

But despite his struggles, Delwar envisions a brighter future for his community. With dreams of opening a coaching centre, he envisions a space where young people facing similar struggles can access education to learn skills that generate income and ensure a sustainable livelihood.

"Many young people are unemployed in my area,” he says. “I want to help them build skills so that they can be productive members of society and live with dignity.”

UNICEF wishes to express gratitude to the European Union for their support, which has helped over 4,100 adolescents and young people in Cox’s Bazar to enrol in vocational education and training.