10 years of Brac's Apprenticeship Programme transforming the lives of school dropouts

Poverty has been a constant in Ayesha Begum's life since she was a child. She had to drop out of school against her will. When her father, the only breadwinner of the family, fell sick, there were days when the family had nothing to eat other than a fistful of rice. 

"My father had to sell utensils from our house to buy food. That was when I first realised I needed to empower myself and take responsibility for my family," said Ayesha. 

Soon Ayesha got to know about the Brac Apprentice Programme, which trained the youth and connected them with local shop owners, and joined it.

The programme offered her multiple skill learning opportunities, and initially, she chose tailoring. But the earnings from it could barely meet her needs. Moreover, she wanted to do something unconventional. 

In 2019, she enrolled in the mobile servicing training program. In the beginning, her family was not in full support, and others told her, "This is not a job for women; they must not work in shops." But Ayesha stayed determined and completed the apprenticeship. 

Ayesha has been enjoying her work for the last three years and has been preaching 'women can do it too' in her community. Now, she contributes to her family's expenditures and her three younger sisters' education, and also keeps aside some money to become an entrepreneur someday. 

She also wants to be an MCP (Master Craft Person, the local shop owner who provides the training) and help other girls in her society who had to drop out of school due to poverty. 

Under the motto 'Invest, young people will take care of the rest', Brac's Apprenticeship Model changed the lives of more than 80,000 youths in remote areas of the country by empowering them with market appropriate training. It has also provided an alternative learning pathway for girls who had no other learning options.

The training builds on the traditional 'Ustad-Shagird' (Master-Apprentice) model, where out-of-school adolescents and youths are placed as apprentices with local businesspersons (within two kilometre radius of the learner's territory) known as MCP. The MCPs are compensated by Brac throughout the training period. 

In 2012, Brac, in collaboration with Unicef, ILO and the Bureau of Non-Formal Education (BNFE), launched Skills Training for Advancing Resources (STAR) as part of the Basic Education for Hard-to-Reach Urban Working Children (BEHTRUWC) project. 

As the training is aligned with market-driven skills needs and the National Technical and Vocational Qualification Framework (NTVQF), graduate apprentices can also receive the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) certification and eventually get better-paid jobs in the formal sector as well. 

Almost a third of the employed population in Bangladesh has no formal education and only 5% have tertiary education. The high school dropout rate (38%) in the country is still very high, and less than 5% and less than 2% of people aged 15 and above have tertiary and vocational training, respectively (BBS, 2018).

This programme increased the empowerment level of the participants by about 20%, indicating that their role in household and personal decision-making may have been enhanced extensively.

"Under this programme, the learners are also given soft skill classes once a week. These classes go a long way in helping them know better about themselves and the sector they are working in," said Tasmiah Rahman, associate director, Skills Development Programme, Brac.

Field workers of Brac screen out the learners of this Apprentice Model. So far, 120,000 participants were reached through this approach, and although the training they provide significantly impacts women and girls, the model has been empowering the transgender and physically challenged community too.

Brac's internal report reveals a striking 62% reduction rate in child marriage among learners, leading to a decrease in childhood pregnancy. Job placement rate escalated to 80% among learners after training completion, with a six-fold increase in income. 

Women in non-conventional trades (e.g motorcycle mechanic, mobile phone servicing etc.) earn higher wages in the long run.

"The reason why we have a high success rate is because these training sessions come in very handy. The learners do not have to commute a long way to learn. The work-and-learn process is very efficient and gives them the reassurance that after the project completion, they can land stable jobs," said Tasmiah.

On a regular day, 26-year-old Saleh is usually busy repairing mobile phones. He did not let multiple physical disabilities come in the way of his dream of becoming independent.  

Saleh. Photo: Courtesy

In 2016, he took the apprenticeship-based training in mobile phone servicing from Brac. Impressed by his dedication and thirst for learning, his MCP quickly hired him after the training was completed. 

After working for 1.5 years, Saleh became confident enough to take an 'Unmesh' loan from Brac and open his own shop 'Tanjil Telecom'. 

He said, "Even a few years ago, I had to ask others to buy me a cup of tea, but now when people come to my shop, I proudly serve them tea. I have earned peoples' respect. Now, I am a happy man." 

Today Saleh earns three times more than his initial income. He and his brother run their family. He wants to bring computers and other machinery to the shop and expand his business.   

Keya Akter, a resident of Savar, got her training when she was 16 years old, and like Saleh, she also received the Unmesh loan.

Keya Akter. Photo: Courtesy

After being a trainee at a local parlour for a while, Keya started her own beauty parlour in 2019. She employs another young girl at her beauty salon and earns around Tk40,000.