Bangladesh's productivity has increased but the country is still struggling for a lack of skilled labour force, said Dulal Krishna Saha, executive chairman of National Skills Development Authority. 

"If we can teach skills to the youth, they will contribute to the country's growth," he said during a visit to Khulna Shipyard recently for an understanding of an "Uttoron -- Skills for better life" project.

The three-year project is currently being implemented by Swisscontact-Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation in Sylhet, Dhaka and Khulna divisions with funding from Chevron.

An advanced welding training programme is being run under the project in Khulna Shipyard. Some 24 trainees of the first batch received their training completion certificates recently from testing, inspection and certification company Bureau Veritas.

"This training will help the youth be skilled and contribute to the economy," said Saha.

He was accompanied by Muhammad Imrul Kabir, director for corporate affairs at Chevron Bangladesh, while M Shamsul Aziz, managing director of Khulna Shipyard, was present, said a press release.