The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) on Wednesday approved procurement proposals for recruiting service providers under 10 packages of the Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET (EARN) Project, nearly two months after a Daily Observer report highlighted delays in its implementation.
The approval came at a meeting of the CCGP chaired by Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.
According to meeting sources, four organisations cleared by the World Bank " BRAC JV, Save the Children JV, CARE Bangladesh JV and Dhaka Ahsania Mission JV " have been selected to implement the project across the country.
Under the implementation plan, BRAC will cover Dhaka and Rangpur divisions; Save the Children will work in Barishal Division and the districts of Cox’s Bazar and Chattogram; CARE Bangladesh will operate in the three hill districts as well as Khulna, Mymensingh and Rajshahi divisions; while Dhaka Ahsania Mission will cover Sylhet Division and the districts of Cumilla, Brahmanbaria, Feni, Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Chandpur.
By 2028, the organisations and their joint-venture partners are expected to establish around 5,000 village-level training centres across 250 upazilas in all 64 districts. The initiative aims to provide demand-driven skills training and economic support to around 800,000 young men and women.
The World Bank-funded project, backed by a US$300 million loan, targets nearly 900,000 youths aged 15 to 35 who are classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), around 60 per cent of whom are women.
The project is designed to increase youth participation in economic activities, particularly in rural areas, while also supporting the growth of Bangladesh’s creative and sports industries.
Project Director and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Kazi Mokhlesur Rahman said EARN is not a conventional skills-development programme. Rather, it provides holistic support, including technical and financial assistance, to enhance employability and create sustainable livelihoods for young people.
