TVET4RE: Connecting Skills, Industry and Renewable Energy in Bangladesh

TVET4RE (Vocational Training in the Field of Renewable Energy) is a development project running from 2025 to 2028, aimed at strengthening Bangladesh’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system so that it can meet the needs of the country’s emerging sustainable energy sector. Bangladesh has set ambitious renewable energy targets, yet the sector faces a shortage of qualified technicians and skilled professionals, and private sector involvement in TVET remains limited. By fostering closer collaboration between public institutions and industry, the project seeks to equip students, teachers, and TVET stakeholders with the green and digital skills needed for technical roles in the green economy. The project is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ (The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), in cooperation with the Government of Bangladesh.

TVET4RE forms part of GIZ’s wider portfolio of development work in Bangladesh, spanning the vocational sector and other areas. GIZ has been active in the country since 1972, and the project builds on this long-standing engagement and institutional experience.

Mentor to Impact (MTI) contributes to the project as a partner focused on skills and stakeholder engagement. MTI supports the mapping of skills needs across the sustainable energy sector, the design and rollout of stakeholder surveys, and the development of coordination mechanisms that bring together TVET institutions, government bodies, and the private sector. Together, these activities strengthen the evidence base that guides the project and help build durable working relationships between the actors whose cooperation the green transition depends on. In doing so, the activities support the wider objectives of aligning training with labour market demand and embedding collaboration as a lasting feature of Bangladesh’s TVET system.

Key Objectives

• Expand and update technical and vocational training programmes: Integrate learning content on sustainable energy into secondary, higher secondary, and diploma-level programmes, with an increased emphasis on workplace and industry-based learning.
• Build private sector engagement: Establish structured formats for private sector involvement, including internships, apprenticeships, and company placements, to ease the transition from training to work.
• Strengthen institutional and human resource capacities: Equip TVET stakeholders, including teachers, trainers, and policymakers, with the competences needed to manage and steer transformation processes.
• Align training with labour market needs: Improve the provision of gender-responsive, labour market-oriented information on TVET opportunities in the sustainable energy sector, giving young people a clearer path into technical careers.

Focus Areas

The project focuses on five technologies for Polytechnic Institutes: electrical, power, mechanical, electronics, and refrigeration and air conditioning. For Technical Schools and Colleges, the project covers five trades: general electrical works and maintenance, refrigeration and air conditioning, automotive works, electronic control and communication (home appliances), and general machine operations (lathe and welding).

Project Scope

TVET4RE works across multiple levels of Bangladesh’s TVET system. At its core is the establishment of an institutionalised dialogue between public TVET actors and the private sector, creating a reliable information base for planning and adapting training to labour market needs. This is supported by labour market analyses, stakeholder surveys, and digital tools for more efficient data management. New and revised curricula integrate both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in sustainable energy, reinforced by workplace learning opportunities. A gender-responsive approach runs throughout, ensuring women and young people are better represented in technical education and employment, and positioning TVET as a driver of inclusive, sustainable development in Bangladesh.

TVET4RE is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ in cooperation with the Government of Bangladesh.