The Learning & Earning Training Programme organized by the ICT Division of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology aims to provide online freelancing training to citizens across Bangladesh. The goal is to contribute to the national economy and support the implementation of Digital Bangladesh 2021 by facilitating foreign exchange earnings. The training covered introductory topics over 2 days and more advanced topics over 5 days, with certificates awarded at the end of each course. Topics included profile creation, job hunting, bidding on international marketplaces, search engine optimization, blog and article writing, and responsive web design. The program aimed to equip participants with skills to earn an income through online freelancing.
1. Learning & Earning Training Programme
ICT Division
Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information
Technology
FinalReport
capacitybuildingforE-generation
2. Learning & Earning Training Programme
Ministry of Post, Telecommunications & Information Technology
(ICT Division)
2Final Report 2014
Editor
Khalid Noman Husainy
âĸ Focal Point Learning & Earning Training Programme (ICTD)
âĸ Former , Director IT, Swanirvar Bangladesh
âĸ Former, Technical Specialist Consultant World Bank, BCC, ICTD
âĸ CEO, TimeNow Ltd.
4. Khalid Noman Husainy
Focal Point Learning & Earning Training Programme (ICTD)
Former , Director IT, Swanirvar Bangladesh
Former, Technical Specialist Consultant World Bank, BCC, ICTD
CEO, TimeNow Ltd.
The 12 Best Reasons Being Self-Employed is better than being an Employee
1. Youâre your own boss.
You knew this one was coming, didnât you? Itâs the one we all dreamed about when we realized self-
employment was a viable option: being our own boss. Escaping the rat race and living life as we
pleased. Remember that? When youâre self-employed, you no longer have a âhigher-upâ governing
your every move. You control how your work is done. Your client has a say in the final product, but
thatâs it â their power ends there. How you get from point A to point B is completely up to you and
that is awesome.
2. You earn more money.
On average, freelancers earn 45% more than those who are traditionally employed. Theyâre also
allowed to deduct certain business expenses that employees are not, allowing to actually keep more
of what they earn. Feel like youâre not quite there yet? Thereâs no reason you canât pull in just as
much (or more!) money now than you did when you were traditionally employed.
3. You spend less.
When was the last time you were stuck in traffic on your way to work?
If you perform your professional duties from a home office, itâs most likely been a very, very long time.
(And, no, waiting in line for the bath - room for your morning shower doesnât count).
Think of all the money on transportation youâve been saving. Even if you work outside of your home,
as someone whoâs self-employed, you were able to choose the location. And Iâd be willing to bet you
chose somewhere that nixed the lengthy commute. Child care expenses may also be a thing of the
past for you. Along with expensive daily lunches âoutâ because of your distinct distrust of the office
fridge.
4. You enjoy variety.
When you were an employee â whether you were crumbling away in a cubicle, restlessly working
retail, or dying at the drive-thru â you were handed a manual or given some hasty instructions by
your boss and thenâĻthat was it. You knew what you needed to know to perform your job, and there
was never any reason to grow beyond that. Because your job never ever changed. As a freelancer,
your job is changing constantly. Youâre expected to continually adapt, learn, and update your
skills. With every new client comes a new challenge.
4Final Report 2014
5. When youâre self-employed, youâre forced to think â to be creative â and you love it,
donât you? (Itâs okay to admit it. Go ahead. Take a second to say it out loud.). Itâs a great feeling to
know that your skills are being put to good use and that those skills are going to continue to grow as
your business grows.
5. No co-worker drama.
Many of us work alone (or work remotely) and that isolation can be a bit daunting at times. But do
you really, honestly, miss your co-work-ers? Even the one who listened to her music sans
headphones? What about the guy who loved to talk (loudly) on his cell phone during his
breaksâĻright next to you? Or how about the gem of a human being who shirked all of their cleaning
duties on you? Your favorite co-workers became your friends and are likely still a part of your life in
that capacity. Everyone else? Good riddance
6. Sick Day? A-OK!
Freelance writer Jennifer Lawler has been self-employed for so long that she was taken aback when,
upon a recent visit to the hospital, she was asked if she needed a note excusing her absence:
âAnd then I realized that the default method in the world of work and education is to treat peo - ple as
if they are incompetent or lying or both. Because thatâs the only explanation for what is clearly a
routine question for an exam during business hours. I guess if I were employed in the traditional
corporate world, Iâd be forced to ask, âPlease boss can I take my daughter to see the neurosurgeon?
No? Okay.â Seriously? Seri-ously?â
A day we donât work is a day we go without pay, but at least we can take that day off without
having to beg for our bossâ forgiveness. Or feel the demeaning sting of having to prove how ill we
were by providing a doctorâs note. Or fill out a stack of meaningless forms. Of course, we have to buy
our own health insurance. But even that isnât so bad; at least we get to choose which insurance we
use. Our health coverage is no longer left up to a head honcho choosing the cheapest package.
7. Your work area is truly yours.
Want dual monitors instead of one? Go ahead. Prefer a standing desk? Knock yourself out. And
framed photos of your friends and family? The more the merrier!
Decoration regulations (try saying that ten timesfast!) are a thing of the past. You can Feng Shui your
work space to your heartâs content. So put up that poster you found online, get in the habit of
watering your indoor fern, and finally buy that ergonomically correct chair!
Need some inspiration? Check out web pics of
60 jaw-dropping home office setups. Even if you already have a killer home office, improvements
can always be made.
5Final Report 2014
6. 8. New equipment when you want/need it.
If youâve ever worked in an office building, youâre well aware of the frustrations that come along
with the I-need-something hierarchy. Whether you need a new pack of pens, staples, or laptop
repair, as an employee you would have to ask someone for the equipment you needed. And then
they would ask someone else, who would ask someone else, who would ask someone else. It
could take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks to get the equip-ment or maintenance you
needed in order to complete your project.
Need something now that youâre a freelancer? Go to the store and get it. Get back to work.
The end.
9. No uniforms.
Being self-employed is a bit like being Phil Col-lins: No Jacket Required.
Also, no tie required. No neon polyester t-shirt. No two-toned logo-covered baseball cap.
Unless youâre meeting with a client in person â or via video chat â you can wear (or not wear)
whatever you darn well please. It might be a clichÊ to freelance in the buff, but itâs definitely an
option.
10. You set your own schedule.
Whether you crave the steady familiarity of a fixed schedule, or you long to mix it up with hours
that are more flexible; as your own boss, youâre the one who creates your schedule. If youâre not a
morning person, you can rest easy knowing that you no longer have to set your alarms in triplicate
in order to just barely make your morning meeting. Or, if earlyâs your style, you can set your hours
for the dawn and have a full dayâs work done before your chil-drenâs get up for school
11. Youâre more valued.
As a freelancer, youâre no longer part of the hive; youâre a highly-valued individual.
You get credit for your own work. And, through your ongoing marketing efforts, youâve even
started to earn some name recognition, not just among your long-time clients, but from complete
strangers as well.
6Final Report 2014
7. 12. You choose your own customers.
When you work as an employee, youâre more-or-less forced to serve whoever decides to show up
at your employerâs place of business Whether itâs a bedraggled couple with two crying children
looking to buy school supplies or the old man who screams at you because he still hasnât quite
figured out how the combo menu works or the confused woman whoâs called three times in the
past hour with the exact same customer service question: you had to help them. Because that was
your job If a client yells at you now, itâs because you chose the wrong client. Youâre the one in
control now, not them. You choose who you provide services to.
The Final Word on
Self-Employment
When the stress of everyday life starts to
wear thin on you, it can be hard to
remember how amazing your life â your
business â really is. You may even
consider giving it all up from time
to time.
Truth is: self-employment is a fantastic
lifestyle choice. Be thankful.
7Final Report 2014
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Number of workers active during the week
A chart of the number of workers active over the course of the week. Hover to see the time
interval, country name, and number of workers online.
Percentage of registered workers that were active
A chart of the percentage of registered workers that were active in a country over the course of a
week. Hover to see the time interval, country name, and relative number of workers online.
Complete Project:
1. Philippines: 355480
2. India: 293179
3. USA: 165019
4. Bangladesh: 132320
5. Pakistan: 126080
6. Russia: 26737
7. Canada: 17785
8. Ukrane:38157
Source : http://research.odesk.com/visualizations/country-dashboard/#/compare/false/Philippines/India/Bangladesh/Pakistan/Russia/Ukraine/United%20States/
Final Report 2014 50
52. Bangladeshi Freelancers in Online Marketplaces
Online Marketplace scenario for Bangladeshi contractors was excellent for the year ended on 2012.
Considering the growth rate during the first 2 quarters (ending on March, 2013 & June, 2013) for Bangladeshi
contractors in the online marketplaces, we have projected the scenario for the year ending on December,
2013 which looks to be very promising. We believe the real data at the end of the year will be more
encouraging than the data projected here.
No. 1 Marketplace:
2012 2013
Total
Registration
250,000 337,500
2012 2013
Amount Earned $13,000,000 $14,820,000
Amount Earned (Growth rate 14%):
Total Registration (Growth rate 35%):
Hours Worked (Growth rate 14%):
2012 2013
Hours worked 3,500,000 3,990,000
Final Report 2014 52
53. Year 2013 Scenario
Number of Freelancers
at the end of 2013
93,514
(Growth Rate: 60%)
IT 26,371
Creative 34,990
Marketing 13,202
Operations 3,157
Others 15,794
Year 2012 Scenario
Total Registered Freelancers 58,446
IT 16,482
Creative 21,869
Marketing 8,251
Operations 1,973
Others 9,871
No. 2 Marketplace:
Total Registration (Growth rate 60%):
Amount Earned (Growth rate 40%):
Year 2012 Scenario
Total Earning So far $5,916,800
IT $3,927,072
Creative $962,683
Marketing $491,285
Operations $394,120
Others $141,640
Year 2013 Scenario (projected)
Total Earning at the end of
2013
$8,283,520
(Growth rate: 40%)
IT $5,497,901
Creative $1,347,756
Marketing $687,799
Operations $551,768
Others $198,296
Final Report 2014 53
54. Top Skills:
PHP Programmers Graphic Designers
HTML Programmers Data Entry
WordPress Designers Android Programmers
CSS iPhone Programmers
MySQL Programmers iOS Programmers
Photoshop Designers JavaScript Programmers
Internet Marketing ASP.NET Programmers
Social Media Marketing
Average Hourly Rate:
March, 2013 quarter $9.32
June, 2013 quarter $9.08
Freelancer to Entrepreneur:
One of the most important observations from the leading marketplace is that there are 44 Bangladeshi
clients for every 1,000 contractors. The bottom line is only 4.40% of the freelancers were seen to be
converted to be an Entrepreneur. We believe, there is a huge opportunity to increase the number!
Source: Bangladesh online freelancer association
Final Report 2014 54
60. E-lance Statistics Bangladesh
Sl Job Category Presentence Among 16000 Jobs
1 Admin Support 199%
2 Sales & Marketing 156%
3 Design & Multimedia 23%
Causatives Variables
At the end of September, close to 50,000 registered freelancers on E-lance were from Bangladesh.
Freelancers in Bangladesh worked 158% more hours in first 9 months in 2013 .
Hourly jobs increased with 164% versus project based jobs that grew with 85%.
Businesses in United States, Australia and United Kingdom are the ones that hire Bangladeshi freelancers most.
Some word regarding the impact of the 'Learning and Earning' training program
It has definitely been an eye-opening program to many members of our society. Mixed with skill-training, it should bring us
long-term results. The next challenge will be to incubate the participants, and make them ready for a long-term career in
this field.
Thanks
Saidur Mamun Khan
E-lance
Country Manager, Bangladesh
Final Report 2014 60
61. Program Evaluation
Final Report 2014 61
Introduction
This report presents an assessment of Evaluation towards program-specific outcomes
and outputs as a result of the capacity-building training program provided from March
2013 through November 2013 by MoICT. The provided training was funding by the
Governmentâs Ministry Of ICT.
Outcomes and Outputs covered include:
Training Program-Specific
Basic Training
Skill Trainings on SEO, Design to Web, Graphics Design.
62. Final Report 2014 62
1. Survey Methodology
Randomly one hundred trainees were selected for the Survey, they are from seven
divisions. Through Survey monkey the questioner were sent to them in email and
facebook and they attended. They answered ten questions. This survey took 7 Days (1-
& December/2013). Here is the email list of the responders:
Email salim.t2d@gmail.com shomvob1987@gmail.com eitbd24@gmail.com litontalking30@gmail.com
anitashaukat@gmail.com sami26196@gmail.com abdurrahman585@gmail.co
m
elias452811@gmail.com lolitroy78@gmail.com
awladazhari@gmail.com shamim2276@gmail.com abusina65@gmail.com eng.juganto@gmail.com mahabubulbba@gmail.com
bion01072011@gmail.co
m
shamimakter1985@gmail.com advance_zipu@yahoo.com engr.sohar.pust@gmail.co
m
mamun01bd@gmail.com
husainy.mjabin@gmail.co
m
shimulsikder161@yahoo.com agmrhasan@gmail.com faridulsta@gmail.com manikppi2@gmail.com
husainykn@gmail.com sifatobaidullah@gmail.com akhossain84@gmail.com faruquemkt@yahoo.com masterblackna@gmail.com
imran.centrenic@gmail.c
om
sohelrana8989@gmail.com alif3130@gmail.com h_babu135@yahoo.com masudrana@gmail.com
marufa21d@gmail.com soyefalam6748@yahoo.com alirustam981@gmail.com h_suvas@yahoo.com md.showkatkhan@yahoo.com
md.easin1988@gmail.co
m
swapno2007@gmail.com amynwehrle@yahoo.com habib.panchagarh@yahoo.
com
mdarifhossain77426@gmail.co
m
mdalamgir708@gmail.co
m
tawhidure@gmail.com anwarbg87@gmail.com imamhossen.cse.diu@gmai
l.com
mdshataz@gmail.com
mr24bd@gmail.com tofailahmed@gmail.com ashrafuzzaman.refath@gmai
l.com
imrulkayes63@yahoo.com moniislam57@gmail.com
mstmitu362@gmail.com trimsagar@yahoo.com asrafulgmtt@yahoo.com introvertmunna@gmail.co
m
mostakcseiu@yahoo.com
mumzism@gmail.com webhunternil@gmail.com bd.kahmed@yahoo.com iqbalhossainmpi@yahoo.co
m
mou.tusi@yahoo.com
nura.zakiaraj@gmail.com ziadulislam53@yahoo.com chanchal11100@yahoo.com j.alam37@gmail.com mr.nazmul91@yahoo.com
sakilkhanit@gmail.com emran@centrenic.com debaroy.13@gmail.com jico_hossain@yahoo.com nazmul.idlc@gmail.com
shetulatifa@gmail.com zannat@centrenic.com ecodehoster@gmail.com johurulislam1212@gmail.c
om
niladree143@gmail.com
putimaraonlineptc@yaho
o.com
raihanahmed85_@gmail.com rupakbd2011@gmail.com kishordas24@ovi.com nurrana50@gmail.com
rahatmd2013@yahoo.co
m
rajibdasrana1987@gmail.com saifuddinjabed@yahoo.com lailaanderson1709@yahoo.
com
obaida1971@gmail.com
rahattafsir@gmail.com raselahmad1452@gmail.com sajalhumanist@hotmail.com larningarning@gmail.com ohidulit@yahoo.com
royal@live.co.za rashid.shimul@gmail.com rony_ahmedd@yahoo.com professionalexpert.emon@
gmail.com
ovi85adhikari@gmail.com
63. Final Report 2014 63
Source: Survey Monkey
2. Collected Responses and Individual Findings.
Q1.How would you rate the course? Answered: 100, Skipped: 0.
How would you rate the course?
Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor
18%
8%
16% 61%
Answer Choices Responses
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair
Poor
Total
61.29%
20.97%
17.74%
0%
0%
100%
64. Final Report 2014 64
Q2. How closely did the trainer follow the schedule? Answered: 100, Skipped: 0.
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00%
Not at all closely
11.29%
33.87%
51.61%
How closely did the trainer follow the schedule?
Slightly closely
Moderately closely
Very closely
Extremely closely
3.23%
0.00%
Q3.Please rate the following aspects of the trainer. Answered: 62
65. Final Report 2014 65
Q4. How much have your skills improved because of the training at the class? Answered: 98, Skipped: 02
Answer Choices Responses
A great deal 44.26%
A lot 40.98%
A moderate amount 9.84%
A little 3.28%
None at all 1.64%
68. Final Report 2014 68
3. Survey Analysis
âĸ Q 2. More than 50 percent Trainers followed Schedule Extreme closely
and three percent slightly closely.
âĸ Q 3.Avarage rating for the training activities of the trainers was 1.53.
âĸ Q 5.Organizational arrangements rating is average 1.50.
âĸ Q 6.Ninety-one percent people would like to join us again in future in very
likely and one percent not likely.
âĸ Q 7.We have sixty three most favorite things about the training and those
are very positive. We have eight least liked things about the training.
âĸ Q 8.Eighty percent would refer our training to others, on fees basis too.
Twenty percent wonât refer.
âĸ Q 9.Ninety three percent liked the range of course fee
12000/15000/20000. Eight percent want the training free.
âĸ Q10. Most of them commented regarding the training program with
feedback.
âĸ Q4. Forty-four percent in a great deal and forty percent in a lot improved
their skill. One percent remained same.
âĸ Regarding Question No 1.L&E course was rated most in Excellent then Very
good ,Good.