A contract signing ceremony for the appointment of service providers under the Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET (EARN) Project (1st Revised) was held at the conference room of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The project, implemented by the Department of Youth Development (DYD) under the Ministry of Youth and Sports with World Bank funding, aims to provide skills training and economic opportunities to nine lacs young people aged between 15 and 35 who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), with 60 percent of the beneficiaries being young women.
The ceremony was chaired by Amena Begum, Secretary (routine charge) of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, while State Minister for Youth and Sports Md. Aminul Haque attended as the chief guest. Speaking on the occasion, the state minister highlighted the project's goal of enhancing youth engagement by creating employment opportunities for young men and women, stressing that true success would be achieved when benefits reach grassroots youth.
Following the recommendation of the proposal evaluation committee and the World Bank's no-objection, four leading organizations—BRAC, Save the Children, CARE Bangladesh, and Dhaka Ahsania Mission—have been selected as service providers for the project. Department of Youth Development Director General Md. Motahar Hossain, EARN project director Kazi Mokhlesur Rahman, World Bank senior economist and Task team leader Syed Rashed Al-Zayed Josh, additional project director (joint secretary) Dr. Marina Naznin, among others, were also present in the ceremony.
The EARN project aligns with the government’s election manifesto, which places the highest priority on increasing employment opportunities and promoting the economic participation of young people. The initiative is expected to significantly impact youth employment and economic resilience in Bangladesh.
