‘Vision 2021 Initiative’ is a public and private partnership initiative to create employability opportunities for Bangladeshi youth. The Vision 2021 Initiative was launched in 2015 through a path-breaking internship program, largely in the government ministries. Young Bangla has since collaborated with several ministries, government institutions and private sector companies to create internship and employability opportunities for young people. Following is the outline of the progress of the Vision 2021 initiative.

Vision 2021 Internship Program

Young Bangla’s Vision 2021 Internship Program is the first-ever in-job pre-employment training opportunity for university graduates in Bangladesh. Under this program, fresh graduates receive opportunities to work with the various ministries, government agencies and corporate offices. Since the inception of the Vision 2021 Internship Program, 28,500 Young Bangla members have interned in various public and private organizations.

Objectives of the Vision 2021 Internship Program:

• To engage youth in nation-building.
• To create the spirit of volunteerism among youth.
• To help the youth better understand the functionality of the government agencies.
• To increase employability skills among the youth, through education to employment.
• To initiate networking among employers and young employees.
• To engage corporate bodies with CSR activities.

Terms and procedures of Vision 2021 Internship Program:

• Any graduate or undergrad member of Young Bangla from a recognized educational institution can apply for the internship program.
• The applicant should be below 34 years of age.
• Call for application is disseminated through social media posts, newspaper circulars and Young Bangla website announcements.
• The internship duration is 4 to 6 months. Interns receive a stipulated honorarium.

Achievements of the Vision 2021 Internship Program With Government Ministries:

• 308 interns completed an internship at the Ministry of Power Energy and Mineral Resources (MoPEMR) at three phases from 2016 to 2018.
• 22 interns have been placed for exclusive training at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) from 2016 to 2019.
• 22 Young Bangla members participated in the Fast Track Future Leader (FTFL) Internships of ICT Division of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology (MoPTIT) in 2017.
• 21 youth were mentored to be construction observers in different projects of Local Government and Engineering Department of LGD Division of Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives in 2016.
• 20 youth were trained to be data enumerators in the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) Project of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in 2017.
• 1000 Young Bangla members became entrepreneurs under the E-shop project by Amar Desh Amar Gram of the ICT Division.