Chevron and the British Council held the closing ceremony for the ‘English for Business Success’ Project at the Chevron office in the city’s Gulshan recently, said a press release.
The event showcased the impact and outcomes of the 15-month project, which is funded by Chevron and is a part of a Government initiative called ‘Skills for Employment Investment Programme (SEIP)’.
The latter itself is financed by Asian Development Bank and the Government of Bangladesh.
Under this project, over 3,000 graduates aged 18-40 across Bangladesh were trained in English communication skills for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, a sizable number of which were subsequently placed in employment.
The British Council also developed curriculum in collaboration with the Bangladesh Association of Call Center and Outsourcing (BACCO) and delivered the trainings in 13 call centres nationwide.
The event was hosted by Ismail Hossain Chowdhury, Chevron’s Director of Policy Government & Public Affairs and chaired by Gary Orr, Director- Operations of Chevron Bangladesh.
Other key attendees included Jalal Ahmed, SEIP’s Executive Project Director; Mr. Wahidur Rahman Sharif, BACCO President; David Maynard and Faye Nicholls, British Council’s Director of Education & English and Teaching Center Manager respectively also took part as event as co-hosts.
In his remarks, Jalal Ahmed said, “Through this project, I’m thrilled that Chevron is taking important strides in investing in Bangladeshi youths for the long-term economic development of this country. Its partnership with British Council to build English language communication skills has added immense value to SEIP’s work.”
Orr said, “Chevron takes pride in investing in economic development, education and health programs for the communities that live near its facilities. Teaching English is another kind of investment. This project scales up our efforts by tapping into a crucial market need for English language skills to make Bangladeshi youths competitive in the job market.”
In addition to thanking British Council for its seamless execution of the project, Chowdhury acknowledged the key contributions of SEIP of Ministry of Finance and the Asian Development Bank. He congratulated them for implementing a robust program to support the skills development of youths – a key national priority of the Government of Bangladesh.
Nicholls said, “Improved English skills allow individuals to better compete in the job market and raise their standard of living. This project has equipped young people in Bangladesh with relevant skills to enable them to better contribute to their families, communities and society as a whole.”