Given the large number of adolescents in char villages, and the lack of access to mainstream education services, the CLP identified adolescents as a section of the char demographic that held great potential to influence livelihoods and social development on the chars. CLP has therefore begun providing vocational training for adolescents aged 16 years and above who read at least up to Class VIII, and are willing to receive training.

The objective of these vocational training courses is to provide these adolescents with employable skills.

On the 31^st of March 2015, a ceremony was held to present participants of the most recent round of vocational training with their certificates. The ceremony was organised by CLP’s partner organisation, Bangla-Garman Sampreeti(BGS), and was held in Rangpur.

A total of 74 trainees were awarded certificates (22 girls and 52 boys). Their training, which was held from the 1^st of December to the 31^st of March, was in four different trades: Tailoring and Dress-Making (22 participants), Mobile Phone Servicing (17 participants), Electrical Wiring (13 participants) and Driving/Auto Mechanic (22 participants).

The ceremony was attended by local government officials and staff from BGS and CLP. Mr. Lokman Hossain, CLP’s Human Development Unit Manager, said a few words of appreciation for the project team for organising the event and also commended the participants for having completed the course successfully. Md. Ataur Rahaman, CLP’s District Social Development Manager, also delivered a speech focusing on the labour demand and job opportunities in the trades in which the adolescents had received training.

The participants expressed their overall satisfaction with their training courses as well as appreciation for the support and cooperation of their trainers. They were very pleased to have acquired these skills and felt the knowledge acquired through this training would improve their chances of securing better jobs in the future.

The ceremony concluded with the successful participants being presented with the certificates and a small gift from BGS. The closing speech was delivered by Jahurul Islam, Executive Director of BGS. He expressed his congratulations to all the participants who successfully completed the course.

Out of the 74 students who graduated, 25 have already secured jobs with different companies in Dhaka, while one participant got a job at the BGS Training Centre in Rangpur. Of the girls who graduated, 21 have plans to start a sewing/tailoring enterprise in their locality, with the support of their families