With China-Bangladesh trade, economic and diplomatic ties continuing to expand, demand is growing across various sectors for skilled professionals with Chinese language proficiency. To make skills development programmes more relevant, standardized and employment-oriented in line with changing domestic and international labour market demands, the National Skills Development Authority (NSDA) has developed the country’s first Competency Standard (CS) and Course Accreditation Document (CAD) for the Chinese language, involving local and international experts.

The information was disclosed at the closing session of a validation workshop held on Tuesday (August 25) at the NSDA conference room to assess the relevance and labour-market applicability of the newly developed competency standards and curriculum.

The closing ceremony was attended by Public Administration Ministry Adviser (Ministerial Rank) Md Ismail Jabiullah as the chief guest. Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen attended as the Guest of Honour. NSDA Executive Chairman and Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh Dr Nazneen Kawsar Chowdhury chaired the event.

Advocate Nazmul Haque Nannu, president of the Bangladesh-China Friendship Association (BCFA), and Mirza Nurul Gani Shovon, chairman of the Informal Sector Industry Skills Council (ISC), were present as special guests.

The initiative aims to establish Chinese language as a distinct occupation linked to employment and professional skills, rather than treating it solely as a language competency. Through this framework, learners will gain not only language proficiency but also the knowledge, skills and competencies required for specific workplace roles.

In his speech, Adviser Md Ismail Jabiullah said China is making rapid progress in areas including robotics, artificial intelligence and modern technology. Considering Bangladesh’s national interests and the changing global geopolitical landscape, he stressed the need to further strengthen friendly and cooperative relations with China.

He said one of the government’s key priorities is creating employment opportunities. Although infrastructure was developed in the past in the name of development, it did not generate the expected level of employment. Therefore, new job opportunities for young people need to be created by improving skills, expanding access to international labour markets and strengthening cooperation with China.

He also stressed the need to create opportunities for students from Dhaka to remote villages, university students, working professionals and skilled workers to learn Chinese through online, hybrid and technology-based platforms.

According to him, a structured Chinese language skills framework could also make it easier for Bangladeshi students to pursue higher education in China. He noted that language is not merely a means of communication; it is also an important tool for understanding a country’s culture, history, values and civilisation.

He suggested joint cultural initiatives involving films, documentaries, books and digital content to further strengthen the historical and cultural ties between Bangladesh and China. Presenting the history of China-Bangladesh trade and cultural exchanges through modern creative platforms could also help deepen people-to-people relations between the two countries, he said.

Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen said education is one of the most important areas of cooperation between Bangladesh and China and that such cooperation would be strengthened further.

He said employment and work opportunities are being created for Bangladeshi citizens in the Chinese economic zone in Chattogram. In such areas, proficiency in Chinese will play an important role.

According to the ambassador, Chinese language skills will enable Bangladeshi young people and professionals to communicate more effectively with Chinese companies and investors, while expanding opportunities to benefit from growing economic cooperation between the two countries.

In her presidential remarks, NSDA Executive Chairman Dr Nazneen Kawsar Chowdhury said demand for skilled Chinese-speaking workers is increasing as trade, investment, technology, industry, education and human-resource cooperation between Bangladesh and China continue to grow.

She said Chinese should therefore be considered not merely a language skill but also an important competency for employment, professional communication and access to international labour markets.

She added that NSDA is working to develop skills aligned with labour-market demand through the competency-based Chinese language curriculum.

Dr Nazneen said the curriculum was finalized based on the views of local and foreign Chinese language experts, Chinese companies, industry representatives and other stakeholders. She stressed the need to strengthen cooperation with Chinese companies, Chinese language institutes and training organizations in Bangladesh to connect Chinese language training more effectively with employment.

The initiative is expected to create new opportunities for Bangladeshi youth in Chinese companies, Bangladesh-China trade and international labour markets.

During the validation workshop, participants held detailed discussions on the knowledge, skills and competencies required for Chinese language proficiency and the demands of the relevant labour market.

A four-day development workshop was held from August 16 to 19 to prepare the Competency Standard and Course Accreditation Document. Subsequently, the development process was completed through the validation workshop after incorporating feedback from relevant local and international experts, industry representatives and other stakeholders.

The initiative will enable NSDA-registered training institutions to introduce Chinese language courses. At the same time, skills assessment and nationally recognized certification will further enhance trainees’ employment prospects in both domestic and international labour markets.

The workshop also discussed the possibility of signing memorandums of understanding with several Chinese universities for joint certification.

In addition, an initiative was taken to develop a skills framework for the Chinese language occupation in line with Levels 2 and 3 of the Bangladesh National Qualifications Framework (BNQF). The framework will be equivalent to Chinese Language Test-HSK Levels 1 and 2.

NSDA members and directors, relevant consultants, industry representatives, training institution representatives and other stakeholders attended the closing ceremony.