Teamwork, leadership – skills Bangladeshi corporates want most: TBS survey

Infograph: TBS

In their hiring practices, Bangladeshi businesses prioritise teamwork and leadership abilities over globally most sought-after skills such as analytical thinking and emerging technology literacy, finds a survey by The Business Standard. 

Industries in Bangladesh also emphasise the value of soft skills such as communication proficiency, resilience, curiosity and motivation in employees to move forward.

The findings of the survey, unveiled on 9 May, have been featured in the second edition of the Economic Intelligence Bangladesh (EIB), a publication of TBS with assistance from the research firm DataSense, shedding light on the soft skills most valued by Bangladesh's corporate sector.

Though advanced technological literacy emerges as one of the universally essential skills, things like Artificial Intelligence and big data have not yet appeared in the top-5 priorities of Bangladesh's corporate sector.

Industries here choose to wait for such high-tech skills until their next phase of recruitment.

The survey titled "Skills for the Future in Bangladesh" reflects the perspective of 27 leading corporate houses, collectively employing around 3.90 lakh employees across diverse industry clusters in Dhaka and Chattogram.

Employers in Bangladesh have highlighted a glaring shortage of problem-solving skills among young graduates seeking corporate jobs. On the brighter side, English Language skills, whatever required for the specific job, have been readily available in new recruits, and thus received less emphasis in recruitment efforts, reveals the survey.

While global corporate trends spotlight creative thinking, Bangladesh's corporate landscape emphasises interpersonal dynamics and managerial prowess. This preference is expected to persist over the next two years in Bangladesh, according to the survey findings.

Only 37% respondents have been found "satisfied" over the performance of new recruits, which tells why 93% of them conduct in-house training programs to groom new entrants for the assigned jobs.

Around 63% of companies surveyed consider not hiring foreign workers often, even if local candidates did not meet their requirements while 22% of companies, who were willing to hire foreign workers "quite often," belonged to sectors that require a large and diverse workforce, namely the ready-made garment, fast-moving consumer goods, hospitality and electronics industries.

Scarcity of problem-solving abilities among young graduates vying for corporate roles remains a growing concern for Bangladesh's industries.

As Bangladesh's corporate landscape evolves, the spotlight on teamwork, leadership, and holistic skill development underscores the nation's commitment to nurturing a competitive workforce poised for future challenges.

To access the latest issue of Economic Intelligence Bangladesh, visit the EIB website: intel.tbsnews.net