Building Skills for Out-of-School Adolescents in Bangladesh
Working paper | Findings from the SKILFO pre-vocational education programme
About
Bangladesh has expanded access to basic education, yet many adolescents still leave school early, with one in five youth aged 15-29 not in education, employment, or training. Girls are disproportionately affected, and opportunities for re‑engagement remain limited.
The Skills-Focused Literacy for Out-of-School Adolescents (SKILFO) programme, implemented in Cox’s Bazar by the Bureau of Non-Formal Education with UNICEF support, provided 6,825 adolescents (60% female) with a second-chance pathway. Over 18 months, learners combined foundational literacy and numeracy with practical training across 13 trades, delivered through institute-based, enterprise-based, and outstation-based modalities.
Findings show strong apprenticeship placement rates (82%), significant gains in literacy and numeracy, and positive social effects such as improved confidence, delayed child marriage, and greater community recognition. This report highlights SKILFO’s potential for sustainability and scale-up, offering lessons for embedding pre-vocational education within Bangladesh’s non-formal education system.
