The group received certificates at a ceremony held at the BEF 10 December 2015 to mark their successful completion of the first module, “Generate your Business (GYB) Idea” of ILO’s ‘Start and Improve Your Business’(SIYB) course. The course is supported by ILO’s Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) project funded by Canada.

In addition to the 150 new entrepreneurs, 16 local trainers who have also been trained by the Sri Lanka SIYB Association also received certificates. 

Mr. Cezar Dragutan, Chief Technical Adviser of ILO’s Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) project said: “Start and Improve Your Business is ILO’s flagship management training program targeting micro and small enterprises. By introducing it to entrepreneurs in Bangladesh we will help them gain the confidence and skills to launch or better manage their own businesses, generate jobs and contribute to the national economy.”  

Mr. Francis De Silva, Senior Skills Specialist B-SEP Project and SIYB Trainer said,ILO is introducing the ‘Start and Improve Your Business’ course as part of its actions to strengthen priority industrial sectors. By working closely with the BEF, a pool of 100 trained and qualified SIYB trainers will be created in the coming months. By the end of the B-SEP project in 2018 it is planned that several thousand entrepreneurs will have been trained.

Developed in the 1980’s by ILO, SIYB has been introduced in more than 100 countries through a network of 2,500 partner institutions with 237 master trainers and 17,540 trainers (40% women).Its current outreach stands at 4.5 million trainees (50% women entrepreneurs) and has generated an estimated 2.7 million new jobs, making it one of the biggest programmes of its kind.

Those taking part in the ceremony and a round table on the initiative included chief guest Mr. ABM Khorshed Alam, Chief Executive officer(Additional Secretary) National Skills Development Council(NSDC) Secretariat; Mr. Shafiuddin Ahmed, Chairman, National Coordination Committee for workers Education(NCCWE); Mr ShaquibQuoreshi, Secretary, Bangladesh Employers Federation; Mr. Mostafizur Rahman, Chairman, Bangladesh Technical Education Board; Md. Mokhlesur Rahman, Senior Operations Officer, World Bank; Mr. AKM Hamid, President Institute of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh (IDEB);  Rokhya A. Rahman, President, Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Bangladesh (FWEB) and Mr Sabur Khan, Chairman Daffodil International University.