The British Council and Chevron held the closing ceremony for the ‘English for Business Success’ Project on 7 November 2018 at the Chevron office in Gulshan, Dhaka. The event showcased the impact and outcomes of the two-year project, which was funded by Chevron and is a part of a Government initiative called ‘Skills for Employment Investment Programme (SEIP)’. The latter is financed by the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Bangladesh and planned to continue till 2024.
Under this project, around 3,000 graduates aged 18-40 across Bangladesh were trained in English communication skills for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector and subsequently placed in employment. British Council also collaborated with the Bangladesh Association of Call Center and Outsourcing (BACCO) through delivering the training in their 13 call centers nationwide.
The event was co-hosted by Ismail Hossain Chowdhury, Chevron’s Director of Policy Government & Public Affairs and Faye Nicholls, British Council Teaching Centre Manager. Gary Orr, Acting Country Manager Chevron Bangladesh chaired the event. Other key attendees included Jalal Ahmed, SEIP’s Executive Project Director; Mr. Wahidur Rahman Sharif, BACCO President; Mr. Zhigang Li, Social Sector Economist at Asian Development Bank.
In his remarks, Jalal Ahmed, SEIP’s Executive Project Director said, “Through this project, I’m thrilled that Chevron is taking important strides in investing in Bangladeshi youths for the long-term economic development of this country. Its partnership with British Council to build English language communication skills has added immense value to SEIP’s work.”
In addition to thanking British Council for its seamless execution of the project, Ismail Hossain Chowdhury acknowledged the key contributions of SEIP of Ministry of Finance and the Asian Development Bank. He congratulated them for implementing a robust program to support the skills development of youths – a key national priority of the Government of Bangladesh.
Gary Orr, Acting Country Manager of Chevron Bangladesh said, “Chevron takes pride in investing in economic development, education and health programs for the communities that live near its facilities. Teaching English is another kind of investment. This project scales up our efforts by tapping into a crucial market need for English language skills to make Bangladeshi youths competitive in the job market.”
Faye Nicholls discussed British Council’s role in the forefront of Skills Development in Bangladesh, “Improved English skills allow individuals to better compete in the job market and raise their standard of living. This project has equipped young people in Bangladesh with relevant skills to enable them to better contribute to their families, communities and society as a whole” he added.
