Project at a Glance
Project Title | Vocational Training Centre for the Poor Community at Hilly Khagrachari |
Current Phase | January 2022 – December 2026 (the centre has operated continuously since 2008) |
Location | Khagrachari town, Khagrachari district, Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) |
Supported By | Licht Brücke, Germany |
Implemented By | ANANDO — Promotion of Culture and Youth Resource Development |
Trades Offered | Electrical, Electronics, Mechanical and Welding — each delivered as 10 months of institutional training plus a 2-month industrial internship |
Target Group | Disadvantaged, school-dropout youth from the CHT's twelve ethnic communities — eleven indigenous groups and Bengali settlers — with residential hostel facilities for trainees from remote hill areas |
Phase Target | 300 youth trained over five years (60 per year); the 19th batch of 60 trainees completed training in 2025 with a 100% pass rate |
Track Record | 1,047 youth admitted and 1,002 graduated since 2008, with 783 graduates in employment — an overall employment rate of 77% |
Why This Project
The Chittagong Hill Tracts — covering nearly 10% of Bangladesh's land area and home to about 1.8 million people — remains one of the country's most underserved regions. Geographic remoteness, limited infrastructure and restricted access to quality education leave many young people, especially from indigenous hill communities, without secondary schooling or marketable skills. School dropouts often become dependents of already vulnerable families. Yet Khagrachari town, the district's commercial hub, has a genuine demand for skilled craftsmen: many skilled workers left during earlier periods of conflict and never returned, and local workshops actively seek trained personnel. The Vocational Training Centre bridges exactly this gap — connecting the region's unemployed youth to its unmet demand for skills.
Project Goal
To enhance the employability, income generation and self-reliance of disadvantaged hill youth through market-oriented technical skills development — enabling school-dropout young people from the CHT to secure dignified livelihoods through wage employment, self-employment or enterprise creation.
How the Centre Works
• Dual training model: Competency-based training in four trades — Electrical, Electronics, Mechanical and Welding — combining theoretical instruction, hands-on workshop practice and project-based learning over a 10-month institutional course.
• Industry internship: Every trainee completes a 2-month industrial attachment in local workshops and enterprises, gaining real workplace experience — internships that frequently convert into direct job offers from workshop owners.
• Participatory selection: Trainees are recruited through community outreach (miking, posters, leaflets, newspaper notices and referrals), followed by household visits and parent consultations to verify socio-economic need and commitment.
• Hostel facilities: A residential hostel enables equitable access for youth from remote hill communities, improving attendance, participation and completion.
• Beyond the trade: Alongside technical skills, trainees receive soft skills development — communication, CV writing, workplace behaviour and mock interviews — plus basic computer and digital skills training, life skills, and gender and social awareness sessions.
• Quality and recognition: Continuous assessment through tutorial tests, quarterly and semester evaluations and final examinations, leading to certification; the centre maintains accreditation and strong linkages with employers, trade associations and local government.
Results and Impact
• 1,002 graduates produced across the four trades since 2008, from 1,047 admissions — a completion rate of about 96%.
• 783 graduates in employment — a 77% overall employment rate — spanning local workshop jobs, self-employment, wage employment and overseas work.
• In 2025, all 60 trainees of the 19th batch completed their courses, passed the final assessment and undertook internships, meeting 100% of the annual target.
• Increased household income, self-reliance and poverty reduction among beneficiary families.
• Reduced youth involvement in anti-social activities through productive engagement, and improved social standing for indigenous youth communities.
• A steady supply of skilled workers powering local economic growth in Khagrachari and beyond.
Our Approach
The centre's strength lies in its demand-driven design. Trades, curricula and intake are aligned with what local workshops, factories and industries actually need, and long-standing employer partnerships — built over ANANDO's decades of work in the region — provide free internship placements because businesses see the centre as a reliable source of skilled labour. Trainees are selected on interest, motivation and aptitude to ensure they remain in their trade after graduation, and employment support continues after course completion, with employment rates historically rising over time as graduates gain experience. Now in its seventeenth year, the VTC has grown into a recognised skills development institution for the Chittagong Hill Tracts — evidence of what sustained, locally rooted investment in young people can achieve.