The information technology and information technology-enabled services (IT/ITES) industries require skilled human resources to unlock their potential. This will provide the foundation for take-off, which, for now, is falling short. As envisioned in Digital Bangladesh, the IT/ITES industries can adopt the latest technologies across different industries and should grow hand in hand with other drivers of growth. Access to quality higher education must rise to develop future industry leaders in IT/ITES. While the gross enrollment rate of tertiary education in Bangladesh has more than doubled from 7.7% in 2007 to 17.6% in 2017, this is still below the lower-middle-income country average of 24%. Demand for higher education in Bangladesh will surely increase as the economy expands; thus, the question now is what higher education fields should Bangladesh prioritize for investment. The IT/ITES industries need skilled graduates who can work up to global standards. This tracer study, which aims to improve the labor market outcomes of tertiary graduates of computer science and engineering and/or institutes of information technology in Bangladesh, will help in the preparation of a new highereducation project in the country to be funded by ADB, the Improving Computer and Software Engineering Tertiary Education Project. While that project selected only four universities, this tracer study covered an additional five universities in Dhaka. I hope that the study findings will prove informative and improve computer science and engineering and/or institutes of information technology beyond the nine universities included.

1. 1
Bangladesh CSE IIT Graduate
Tracer Study Findings
Ryotaro Hayashi, Social Sector Economist, South Asia Department, ADB
Bijon Islam, CEO, LightCastle Partners
October 21, 2019

2. 2
Content
• Employability Outcomes
• Labor Market Outcomes
• Access to Employment
• Quality and Relevance of CSE/IIT Education
• Key Findings and Recommendation

3. Employability Outcomes

4. 4
How do you measure employability?
• 𝐸1 =
𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝐸𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑
𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒
• 𝐸2 =
𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝐸𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑
𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 −𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑈𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑
• 𝐸3 =
𝐸𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 6 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 −𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑈𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑
• 𝐸4 =
𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑠
𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 −𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑈𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑
Job placement rate
National definition of employment rate
Important for higher education and TVET

5. 5Job placement after CSE/IIT graduation was 77.1% with large
variations across universities.
AUST = Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, BRACU = BRAC University, BUET = Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, DIU = Daffodil International
University, DU = Dhaka University, EWU= East West University, JU= Jahangirnagar University, JUST = Jashore University of Science and Technology, IUT = Islamic University of
Technology.
Note: Total number of respondents for each university are as follows: AUST (n=142), BRACU (n=140), BUET (n=203), DIU (n=140), DU (n=123), EWU (n=111), JU (n=121), JUST
(n=144), IUT (n=92).
92.4 91.1 87.1 83.8
75.4 72.9
66.9 65.0
57.6
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
IUT BUET BRACU EWU AUST DIU JU DU JUST
Overall average of 77.1%

6. 6
BUET, BRACU, IUT and EWU exceeded 90% employment rate.
AUST = Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, BRACU = BRAC University, BUET = Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, DIU= Daffodil International
University, DU = Dhaka University, EWU = East West University, JU= Jahangirnagar University, JUST = Jashore University of Science and Technology, IUT = Islamic University of
Technology
Note: Employment rate after graduation was computed by the number of graduates placed in jobs divided by the total number of graduates minus voluntary unemployed (i.e.
unemployed graduates that did not look for a job). Total number of respondents for each university are as follows: AUST (n=142), BRACU (n=140), BUET (n=203), DIU (n=140), DU
(n=123), EWU (n=111), JU (n=121), JUST (n=144), IUT (n=92).
97.9 96.8 94.4 92.1
84.9 81.6 80.0 77.9
65.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
BUET BRACU IUT EWU AUST DIU DU JU JUST
%oftotalgraduates
Overall average of 85.7%

7. 7Only around a quarter of graduates got jobs within 6 months but
more than half of JU, DU and IUT had jobs within 6 months.
Note: Total number of respondents is 938. Length of job search is measured by the number of months between the date the graduates were first
employed and the date of their graduation.
57.1 56.0 55.6
30.7
24.8 24.8 24.3
15.9
11.8
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
JU DU IUT EWU BRAC DIU BUET AUST JUST
Employment rate within 6 months, 2018 (%)
Overall average of 26.4%

8. 8
26.4% got employed within 6 months
Note: 1. Total number of graduate-respondents is 1,216.; 2. Length of job search is measured by the number of months between the date graduates were first employed
and the date of their graduation.
Length of Initial Job Search after Graduation, 2018 (in %)
NumberofGraduates
Months

9. 9(%)
Note: “Relevant” means those who can apply the skills they have learned to their job (i.e., excluding “skills not appropriate” from numerator).
Total number of respondents is 1,216 (male=955, female=261).
Employment rate-
overall, 86.2%
Job placement rate-
overall, 77.1%
Male, 82.2%
Relevant, 71.4%
Female, 58.6%
Relevant, 51.0%
More than 20 percentage point difference by
gender suggesting gender discrimination.

10. 10
Working location, family commitment & Lack of skills have
influenced recruitment decisions of employers for female.
Note: Figures are based on the employer survey. Total number of respondents is 477 but the difference between 477 and the “n” indicated in the figure
is the number of respondents that did not answer the question (i.e., those that answered N/A).
36.5 34.6 28.2 27.2 24.7 23.4 23.0 20.4 17.2
17.4 24.0
20.1 24.4
18.6 27.8 24.6 27.1
17.9
15.8
25.6
30.6 24.4
25.7
20.2 29.4
19.7
25.8
20.3
13.8
16.3 20.3
16.9 16.5
18.1
24.2
24.7
10.0 2.0 4.8 3.7 14.2 12.1 4.8 8.6 14.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Lackrequiredskills(n=241)
Absenteeism(n=246)
Inability/reluctancetotake
challenges(n=209)
Dedicationtowork
(n=246)
Securityissues(n=296)
Maternityleavesand
workinghourrelaxation
(n=248)
Highlaborturnover
(n=248)
Familyconstraintsand
commitment(n=269)
Workinglocation(n=291)
%ofemployers
Great Extent
Moderate Extent
Neutral
Some effect
No effect
Factors Influencing Female Employment, 2018 (in %)

11. Labor Market Outcomes

12. 12
Monthly Income of Currently Employed Graduates, by University and Sector, 2018 (taka)
University
Overall IT/ITES services Education/Teaching Others
n Mean
Standard
Deviation
n Mean
Standard
Deviation
n Mean
Standard
Deviation
n Mean
Standard
Deviation
IUT 81 51,938 15,215 44 52,591 14,919 29 47,759 9,690 5 73,600 28,719
BUET 176 46,128 26,275 117 44,650 22,334 47 47,606 31,209 8 45,875 16,822
DU 75 44,200 13,542 70 43,786 13,773 4 51,250 9,465 1 45,000 NA
EWU 75 39,213 22,009 48 40,813 23,087 5 39,000 11,402 7 39,143 23,947
JU 70 37,500 14,075 28 41,500 17,234 32 34,375 11,446 6 35,167 9,806
AUST 99 36,995 16,363 69 36,667 17,197 20 37,475 13,461 5 39,200 19,071
BRACU 109 34,009 16,578 88 34,534 15,098 10 32,800 19,595 9 23,889 11,163
DIU 85 26,021 14,469 54 22,070 13,528 5 32,600 24,037 12 31,917 9,030
JUST 69 25,342 10,359 30 22,667 11,102 17 25,712 9,346 7 31,714 11,572
OVERALL 839 38,780 20,089 548 38,622 19,413 169 40,237 20,882 59 37,898 19,811
Average monthly salary was Tk38,780 with significant
variations across universities.

13. 13Private sector, especially IT/ITES industry, absorbs nearly 90% of
employed graduates.
Note: Total number of respondents is 938
Private sector, 89.5
Government sector,
6.2
Non-government
sector, 2.9 Self-employed, 1.5
IT/ITES services,
72.6
Education,
teaching, 16.1
Financial and
insurance
activities, 2.56
Manufacturing,
2.24
Others, 6.52

14. 1437.43% of employees have written agreement, whereas 28.37%
employees don’t have any kind of agreement
Note: Total number of respondents is 839
20.74%
37.43% 28.37% 86.53%
1.91%
2.26%
3.10%
7.27%
1.19% 1.31%
3.69% 6.20%
Yes, a contract Yes, a written
agreement/appointment letter
No Total
Permanent/Long term Temporary Fixed term

15. 15
Graduates became more interested in setting up a business after
gaining work experience
Note: Total number of respondents is 938
Self-
employed,
1.5
Employed,
98.5
Self-employed Employed
Currently self-
employed, 2.60
Presently not
working, 6.71
Currently
employed, 90.69
Employed After Graduation
Self-
employed,
1.5
Employed,
98.5
Self-employed Employed
Currently
employed, 7.14
Currently self-
employed, 92.86
Self Employed after graduation

16. Access to Employment and CSE/IIT Education

17. 17
Graduates engaged in CSE/IIT because of their interest
Notes: Total number of respondents is 1,216 (male=955, female=261). Respondents were asked to choose a maximum of three reasons for selecting the
course they studied. The option “Others” included reasons such as parents were in the same field, foreign jobs/migration potential, interest/influence of
friends and family, observed role models, and not getting a chance elsewhere.
87.0
68.7
66.1
26.6
43.2
89.3
64.0
66.7
19.9
55.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Interest in computer science
and engineering
Employment opportunities in
the sector
Further my career Good salary Others
%ofgraduates
Male Female

18. 18
Internet is the most popular instrument for graduate job search
Note: Total number of respondents is 938. “Others” includes suggestions by supervisors
6.9
2.2
3.8
3.9
3.9
5.1
6.6
6.8
7.8
16.1
36.7
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Others
Off-campus job fair
University bulletin board
University career guidance office
Other informal network
On-campus job fair/recruitment
Social media
Informal network of friends
Informal network of family/relatives
Traditional media advertisement
Online job matching site
% of total graduates with jobs

19. 19
Among the unemployed, 69.8% got a job offer but did not take it
because of low salary
Note: Total number of respondents is 106. Others include being advised by parents/spouses not to take the job, family commitments, health issues, no desire to
work, going to start job/self-employment, plan to go abroad, family problems, and desire for government job.
13.2
19.8
22.6
28.3
31.1
38.7
46.2
69.8
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Lack of interest
Others
No relevance to the area of study
Not a prestigious firm
Location
Not interested in position offered
Not good work condition
Low salary
% of unemployed graduates that did not accept
at least one job offer

20. 20Top reasons for pursuing education after graduation includes
Advancing Career and Requiring advanced skills
Note: Total number of respondents is 59. Short-term technical training is for a few months or less, mid-term technical training is for around 6 months, and
long-term technical training is for 1 year or more.
Short-term
technical training,
3.4
Mid-term technical
training, 8.5
Long-term technical
training, 5.1
Post-graduation
education, 23.7
Studying abroad,
57.6
Chartered
accountancy, 1.7
No job immediately after
previous training, 9.4
Job requires
higher level skill,
31.8
Want to change
career, 15.3
Wish to advance
career, 36.5
Expectation of
higher salary , 7.1
Type of Further Education or Training
Programs Favored by Students or Trainees, 2018 (%)
Reasons for Pursuing Another
Education Course after Graduation, 2018 (%)

21. Quality and Relevance of CSE/IIT Education

22. 22
Areas for improvement exist despite graduates’ high satisfaction
with CSE/IIT education
Note: Total number of respondents is 1,216
0.1 1.2 2.6 1.8
17.8
1.0
6.65.6 2.1
4.4 3.5
6.2
1.6
5.9
11.8
11.7
13.0 16.6
20.5
8.8
14.6
61.4
54.3
49.9
51.4
40.1
39.2
48.5
21.1
30.8 30.0 26.7
15.4
49.3
24.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Overall Knowledge acquired in
the classrooms
Skills gained in the
laboratory/workshops
Soft skills Internship Reputation of the
university
Career guidance
%ofgraduates
Highly dissatisfied Moderately dissatisfied Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Moderately satisfied Highly satisfied

23. 23
Improved career guidance is highly necessary
AUST = Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, BRACU = BRAC University, BUET = Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, DIU =
Daffodil International University, DU = Dhaka University, EWU = East West University, JU = Jahangirnagar University, JUST = Jashore University of Science
and Technology, IUT = Islamic University of Technology.
Note: Total number of respondents for each university are as follows: AUST (n=142), BRACU (n=140), BUET (n=203), DIU (n=140), DU (n=123), EWU
(n=111), JU (n=121), JUST (n=144), IUT (n=92).
91.0
73.2
69.7
64.5
62.1
46.0
41.4 41.3 40.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
JUST DU AUST JU BRACU EWU DIU IUT BUET
%ofgraduates
Career guidance

24. 24
Internship had significant scope for improvement
AUST = Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, BRACU = BRAC University, BUET = Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, DIU =
Daffodil International University, DU = Dhaka University, EWU = East West University, JU = Jahangirnagar University, JUST = Jashore University of Science
and Technology, IUT = Islamic University of Technology.
Note: The initial total number of respondents for each university are as follows: AUST (n=142), BRACU (n=140), BUET (n=203), DIU (n=140), DU (n=123),
EWU (n=111), JU (n=121), JUST (n=144), IUT (n=92).
84.5
64.3
60.0
55.8
51.3
39.8 38.7
35.1
30.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
JUST (n=142) DIU (n=140) AUST (n=135) BRACU (n=138) JU (n=113) DU (n=123) BUET (n=186) EWU (n=74) IUT (n=92)
%ofgraduates

25. 25
96.5
88.1
86.4
85.1
80.3
75.9
67.7
55.9
10.0
1.1
1.2
10.8
25.5
1.3
3.8
4.9
1.9
0.8
2.4
1.0
88.8
3.5
7.0
7.4
13.1
18.9
10.8
5.9
44.1
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
IUT
BUET
JU
AUST
BRACU
JUST
DIU
EWU
DU
Skill appropriate for job Job requires higher level skill Job requires lower level skill Skills not applicable
CSE/IIT programs can be adjusted to teach a more
adequate level of skills for the labor market
Note: Total number of respondents for each university are as follows: AUST (n=107), BRACU (n=122), BUET (n=185), DIU (n=102), DU (n=80), EWU (n=93), JU (n=81), JUST (n=83), IUT (n=85).
Relevance of Information Technology or Computer Science and Engineering Programs to First Job
after Graduation, 2018 (%)

26. 26
Graduates said facility improvements were highly necessary
AUST = Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, BRACU = BRAC University, BUET = Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, DIU =
Daffodil International University, DU = Dhaka University, EWU = East West University, JU = Jahangirnagar University, JUST = Jashore University of Science
and Technology, IUT = Islamic University of Technology.
Note: Total number of respondents for each university are as follows: AUST (n=142), BRACU (n=140), BUET (n=203), DIU (n=140), DU (n=123), EWU
(n=111), JU (n=121), JUST (n=144), IUT (n=92).
87.5
82.9
71.1 70.7
63.4
42.4
37.8 36.4 35.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
JUST DU JU BRACU AUST IUT EWU DIU BUET
%ofgraduates
Improve facilities

27. 27
Practical skills and soft skills can be enhanced
AUST = Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, BRACU = BRAC University, BUET = Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, DIU =
Daffodil International University, DU = Dhaka University, EWU = East West University, JU = Jahangirnagar University, JUST = Jashore University of Science
and Technology, IUT = Islamic University of Technology.
Note: Total number of respondents for each university are as follows: AUST (n=142), BRACU (n=140), BUET (n=203), DIU (n=140), DU (n=123), EWU
(n=111), JU (n=121), JUST (n=144), IUT (n=92).
73.2
71.4
69.4
63.6 63.4
59.3
45.1
40.4
35.9
64.2
49.3
61.1
50.4
56.3
45.0
17.1
35.0
41.3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
DU BRACU JUST JU AUST DIU EWU BUET IUT
%Ofgraduates
Up-to-date practical skills Enhance training on soft skills

28. 28
Graduates also said that qualified teachers were strongly
needed in their universities
Note: Total number of respondents for each university are as follows: AUST (n=142), BRACU (n=140), BUET (n=203), DIU (n=140), DU (n=123), EWU
(n=111), JU (n=121), JUST (n=144), IUT (n=92).
25.6
26.1
38.0
54.9
58.6
65.5
71.9
85.7
88.6
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
BUET
EWU
IUT
JUST
DIU
AUST
JU
BRACU
DU
% of graduates

29. 29
Investing in CSE/IIT higher education in Bangladesh could be
instrumental in developing the IT/ITES ecosystem1
Employability of CSE/IIT graduates varies considerably across
gender, job search period, university, and location2
Internship, career guidance, practical training and soft skills
enhancement have scope for improvements3
Key Findings

30. 30
Access to CSE/IIT programs, particularly for women, needs to
be expanded1
Quality and relevance of CSE/IIT can be enhanced through
more practice, better career guidance and internship2
Universities can strengthen support for start-ups to increase
the number of successful high-tech entrepreneurs3
Recommendation

31. 31
Thank You
Ryotaro Hayashi, Social Sector Economist, South Asia Department, ADB
Bijon Islam, CEO, LightCastle Partners
October 21, 2019

32. 32
Active job seekers, among those not in jobs, amounted to
only about half of graduates who are largely students.
Note: Total number of respondents is 128. Others include reasons such as awaiting response from employer, no jobs available, awaiting busy season,
believe that there is no chance to get a job, and preparing for Bangladesh Civil Service exam.
82.0
9.4
3.1 5.5
Voluntary
Unemployment
Family commitment
Found a job that will
start later
Others
16.4
13.3
52.3
Voluntary Unemployment
Did not want to work Abroad Student/Trainee
46%
54%
Not Seeking Jobs Seeking Jobs
Of 22.9% graduates not
placed in jobs