Skills, knowledge exchange between Bangladesh and Australia imperative
Bangladesh and Australia can both benefit if they establish a long-term and mutually beneficial partnership through the exchange of skills, knowledge, experience and culture.
Such cooperation will expand opportunities for Bangladesh, particularly for its younger generation, to pursue education and employment abroad.
A strong and sustained exchange between the two countries could also have a positive impact on Bangladesh’s socioeconomic development.
Speakers made these remarks at a discussion meeting held at a restaurant in the capital on Sunday evening (August 23).
The discussion, titled “Exchange of Skills, Knowledge, Experience and Culture between Bangladesh and Australia,” was chaired by Alamgir Islam, secretary of the Bangladesh Association of Australia. Maulana Shamim Saeedi, vice-president of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) and son of renowned Quranic commentator late Maulana Delawar Hossain Sayeedi, attended the event as the chief guest.
Among others, Professor Faikuzzaman Badsha of Shanto-Mariam University, Altaf Hossain, director of Green Community Entrepreneur Club, Begum Amatun Nur, director of Green Community Entrepreneur Club, and Romel Ahmed spoke at the event.
The Green Community Entrepreneur Club and the Bangladesh Association of Australia jointly organised the discussion.
Maulana Shamim Saeedi stressed the importance of humanitarian and ethical education. Praising the initiative taken by the expatriate Bangladeshis in Australia, he said they had organised such an event because they continued to think about Bangladesh despite living amid prosperity in a developed country. He urged others to work for the country with the same spirit of patriotism.
He also called for creating opportunities at universities for lectures by renowned scholars and academics from around the world to facilitate access to skills and practical knowledge.
Alamgir Islam said relations between Bangladesh and Australia should not remain limited to government-to-government ties; rather, people-to-people relations between the two countries need to be strengthened further. In this regard, skills and cultural exchanges can play an important role.
Speaking at a programme titled “Bangladesh–Australia: Mutual Skills Development, Knowledge and Cultural Exchange,” he said the initiative should not be viewed merely as a skill-development programme. Instead, it could serve as a potential platform for the exchange of skills, knowledge, experience and culture between Bangladesh and Australia.
Alamgir Islam said the relationship between the two countries should not be built solely around the movement of people from Bangladesh to Australia. Instead, an effective framework should be developed based on “mobility, knowledge exchange and partnership—not migration.”
He said People Exchange, Skill Exchange, Knowledge Exchange, Institutional Exchange, Business Exchange and Cultural Exchange could be advanced in an integrated manner under this cooperation.
Regarding the role of the Bangladesh Association of Australia, he said the organisation does not want to work as a training provider or employment agency. Rather, it wants to act as a “bridge builder” by establishing connections among different levels of government, institutions, universities, businesses, professionals and community organisations.
Other speakers also called for the exchange of knowledge, science and skills between the two countries.
They said Bangladesh could benefit from Australia’s experience in areas such as international workplace practices, industry standards, occupational safety, skills assessment, vocational education, technology, innovation and quality assurance. On the other hand, Bangladesh could offer Australia skilled manpower, experience in manufacturing and production, agriculture, ICT, textiles and garments, entrepreneurship, and opportunities to connect with the South Asian market.
They highlighted potential areas of cooperation between the two countries, including construction and skilled trades, agriculture and agribusiness, aged care and community services, ICT and digital skills, and renewable energy and the green economy.
They also stressed the need to establish institutional partnerships among universities, training institutions, industries and community organisations. At the same time, they emphasised the need to discuss initiatives such as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), Skills Assessment and Qualification Mapping to ensure international recognition of skills and experience acquired in Bangladesh.
Calling for more regular engagement between Bangladesh and Bangladeshi-origin professionals living in Australia, Alamgir Islam said Bangladeshi professionals working in engineering, medicine, education, business, construction, IT, research, agriculture, economics and other fields could serve as an important source of knowledge for Bangladesh.
The speakers said cultural exchange was equally important alongside skills exchange. Exchange programmes could be introduced among young people of the two countries in education, leadership, sports, arts, community service and entrepreneurship. At the same time, there are opportunities to showcase Bangladesh’s culture in Australia through the Bengali language, music, dance, literature, cuisine, history and festivals.
They said the framework for future cooperation between the two countries should be two-way. Bangladesh will learn from Australia, while Australia will also benefit from Bangladesh’s skills, people, businesses, culture and experiences.
The speakers stressed the importance of building a long-term and practical partnership between Bangladesh and Australia with the goal of “people-to-people connections, skills exchange, mutual cultural understanding and creating new opportunities.”