Flagship / Regular Program
Agrojatra
Inclusive Youth Skill Development Program (IYSDP)
Advancing Development Through Youth Skills: Learn. Lead. Win.
Implementing Body: IRDA-CIL
Location: Nilphamari District, Bangladesh
Target: 2,000+ Youth
Approach: Disability-Inclusive · Gender Transformative · Market-Driven
01
Background & Rationale
Youth unemployment and underemployment remain critical development challenges in Bangladesh, disproportionately concentrated in rural districts such as Nilphamari. Despite the country’s sustained economic growth, large numbers of young people — particularly women, girls, and persons with disabilities (PwDs) — remain excluded from the formal labor market and decent work opportunities.
Structural barriers compound this exclusion: limited access to quality, market-relevant training; social stigma and discriminatory attitudes; inaccessible physical and digital learning environments; and the absence of pathways connecting skill development to employment or entrepreneurship. For PwDs, these barriers are especially acute, often rendering existing programmes inaccessible or irrelevant.
Agrojatra-IYSDP responds to this reality not as a temporary intervention, but as a permanent, adaptive, and inclusive institutional response — a flagship programme that evolves with the labor market and leaves no young person behind.
The programme is aligned with the principles of Leaving No One Behind (LNOB) and contributes directly to six Sustainable Development Goals:
SDG 1
No Poverty
SDG 4
Quality Education
SDG 5
Gender Equality
SDG 8
Decent Work & Economic Growth
SDG 10
Reduced Inequalities
SDG 17
Partnerships for Goals
02
Program Overview
Agrojatra — অগ্রযাত্রা — meaning ‘Forward Journey’, is a flagship, ongoing inclusive youth skill development initiative of IRDA, implemented through the IRDA Center for Innovation and Learning (IRDA-CIL). The programme equips young people with practical, demand-driven competencies to enhance their employability, entrepreneurial capacity, and access to decent work in both national and global labor markets.
Grounded in a disability-inclusive and gender-transformative framework, Agrojatra-IYSDP goes beyond skills training to address the systemic and social barriers that prevent marginalized youth from participating in and benefiting from economic development. It is designed as a competency-based, market-responsive model that continuously adapts to evolving labor market trends, technological shifts, and emerging employment opportunities.
Youth to be Reached
Ongoing programme
Core Training Areas
Initial Phase
Programme Status
Nilphamari District
03
Training Components
The programme offers structured, competency-based training in three high-demand, strategically selected skill areas. Training is delivered through interactive sessions, practical exercises, peer learning, and real-life simulations to ensure immediate workplace readiness.
A
Chinese Language & Culture
Comprehensive language training with HSK exam preparation, opening pathways to international employment and study opportunities in China and Chinese-funded development projects and industries in Bangladesh.
B
Spoken English
Practical communication skills for education, professional employment, freelancing, and global engagement — building confidence for local and international workplaces.
C
Computer & Digital Skills
Basic Computer, Foundational ICT, Microsoft Office, internet use, and digital productivity — essential competencies for modern employment, entrepreneurship, and remote work.
All training components follow a competency-based curriculum aligned with national and international labor market standards. Courses are regularly reviewed and updated based on employer feedback, market intelligence, and emerging sector opportunities.
04
Target Beneficiaries
Agrojatra-IYSDP aims to reach a minimum of 2,000 youth across Nilphamari District, with an explicit priority focus on groups facing the greatest barriers to economic participation. The programme adopts a positive action approach to ensure that marginalized groups are not merely included but are actively centered in all programme activities.
Priority Groups
Additional Target Groups
05
Inclusion & Accessibility Framework
Agrojatra-IYSDP integrates a comprehensive Disability-Inclusive Development (DID) and Gender Transformative (GT) approach across all programme elements. Inclusion is not a peripheral consideration — it is a core design principle embedded in every aspect of programme delivery.
Disability-Inclusive Access
Ensuring equal participation for persons with disabilities through reasonable accommodations, flexible learning methods, and physically accessible training environments.
Gender Transformative Approach
Actively promoting gender equality, challenging discriminatory norms, and ensuring women and girls can access, participate in, and benefit from all programme activities.
Safe & Non-Discriminatory Environment
Creating training spaces free from discrimination, harassment, and exclusion — where all participants feel safe, respected, and valued regardless of background or ability.
Male Engagement & Advocacy
Engaging men and boys as champions of inclusion; advocating with government stakeholders for systemic, policy-level change to support inclusive workforce participation.
Specific inclusion measures include: provision of reasonable accommodations for PwDs (including flexible scheduling, accessible materials, and supportive learning environments); individual and community-level awareness activities to address stigma; and sustained advocacy with government stakeholders for systemic policy change.
06
Strategic Approach
Agrojatra-IYSDP adopts a market-oriented, adaptive, and partnership-driven approach that distinguishes it from conventional training programmes.
Market Intelligence & Curriculum Adaptation
The programme maintains continuous labor market monitoring — tracking employer demand, emerging sectors (including foreign investment projects, development programmes, and digital economy growth), and technological advancements — to ensure training remains relevant and forward-looking.
Competency-Based Learning
All training is competency-based, outcome-focused, and benchmarked against national qualifications frameworks and international standards, with regular assessment and certification.
Employer & Institutional Partnerships
IRDA actively cultivates partnerships with employers, recruitment agencies, technical and vocational institutions, and development actors to create direct pathways from training to employment, internship, and entrepreneurship support.
Adaptive Delivery
Training modalities are adapted to participant needs and contexts, including flexible scheduling, peer support mechanisms, and blended learning approaches where appropriate.
LNOB Principle
Every programme decision — from recruitment to curriculum design to assessment — is guided by the commitment to reach and meaningfully include those furthest behind.
07
Expected Results & Outcomes
Agrojatra-IYSDP is designed to produce measurable change at individual, community, and systemic levels.
Improved employability and job readiness among participating youth, including PwDs
Increased access to local and international employment and decent work opportunities
Enhanced language, communication, and digital competencies aligned with market demand
Strengthened pathways to entrepreneurship, freelancing, and self-employment
Reduced social and structural barriers to workforce participation for marginalized groups
Increased proportion of PwDs, girls, and women accessing quality vocational training
Strengthened employer awareness and willingness to hire inclusive workforce
Contribution to a replicable inclusive skill development model for rural Bangladesh
08
Geographic Coverage & Implementation
Programme Area
Nilphamari District
Implementing Body
IRDA Center for Innovation and Learning
Programme Status
Flagship · Ongoing
Scale-Up Potential
Designed for National Replication
09
Strategic Alignment & Vision
IRDA envisions a skilled, inclusive, and resilient youth population for Bangladesh, where all young people — regardless of gender, disability status, or socio-economic background — can contribute to and benefit from sustainable socio-economic development.
The programme contributes to IRDA’s broader institutional mission of promoting inclusive, equitable, and sustainable rural development — strategically aligned with Bangladesh’s development goals and its transition to a knowledge-based economy.
Agrojatra-IYSDP is IRDA’s commitment to that vision — built on the conviction that Skilled Youth means an Unemployment-Free Bangladesh.