Labour Market and Skill Gap Analysis for the Construction Sector in Bangladesh

The construction sector of Bangladesh has expanded dramatically in recent years. The development of the construction industry plays an important role in the overall development of Bangladesh. In the government's 8th Five-Year Plan for fostering national economic development, the construction industry is recognized as one of the priority growth industries. The construction industry of the country has grown significantly during the last decade, accounting for approximately 8% of the total GDP (MoF, 2021). According to BBS (2020), the construction sector has shown promising growth over the last decade among the 15 important sectors that contribute to the country's GDP. The development of this sector has been aided by projects such as the Padma Multi-Purpose Bridge and the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development. And the future growth of this sector will necessitate increased workforce productivity through skill development. And, to design particular strategies for skill development in the construction sector, a detailed assessment of the labour market and skill situation is required.

The main objective of this study is to explore the labour market and the overall skills gap in the construction sector. Besides, the specific objectives are: (i) to take stock of the overall demand and supply of skills in the construction sector, and how these demands and supply will change in the next 10 years; (ii) to measure various types of skill mismatch (i.e., skill gap, skill shortage, over and under-education, horizontal mismatch, etc.); (iii) to take stock of government policy and interventions to produce and upgrade the skills for the construction sector; and (iv) to assess the type of training programs required to meet the skill demand.