Life after Life: Future of Work in Bangladesh is a foresight-based study examining how automation, artificial intelligence, shifting trade patterns, LDC graduation, and changing social aspirations will reshape employment in Bangladesh’s manufacturing and high-value services sectors over the next decade.

The study is conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in collaboration with LIRNEasia under the FutureWORKS Asia initiative, with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). It applies an integrated foresight methodology combining horizon scanning, expert and non-expert stakeholder consultations, and a Delphi-based scenario-building workshop to identify the key drivers of change affecting Bangladesh’s labour market and construct plausible futures for the country’s world of work.

The study pays particular attention to youth, women, and persons with disabilities, the three population groups whose labour-market outcomes are most sensitive to how technological change, governance, and social aspirations interact.

Beyond constructing futures, the study assesses Bangladesh’s existing policy architecture against the scenario findings, identifying gaps in how the country is preparing for the transformation of work. It proposes actionable policy priorities grounded in the foresight analysis, designed to hold across multiple plausible futures.

The research aims to contribute to evidence-based, forward-looking policymaking on employment, skills, and inclusion in Bangladesh.