FAISALABAD. Pakistan’s first skill development university will be established in Islamabad to impart international standard training and skills to the Pakistani youth said Zulfiquar Ahmed Cheema Executive Director National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC).
He was addressing a seminar on cooperative vocational training (CVT) in Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) here.
He said that Pakistan is blessed with unlimited resources including 200 million hardworking, committed and dedicated people. He said that if this asset is properly utilized, we could get a place in top ten countries. However, in this connection we have to equip 80 million productive youth with international standards skills and vocational training. “They can change the fate of Pakistan in addition to resolving the issue of unemployment and poverty on permanent basis”, he added.
He said that CVT was introduced initially in Lahore and Karachi. Now this program will be expended to whole of Pakistan with the technical and financial help of EU, Germany, Norway and Netherland. He hoped that the industrial units of Faisalabad will fully cooperate in this project as it would not only fulfill their demand of skilled workers but also generate much needed economic activity in the country.
He further told that NAVTTC has already started Prime Minister’s Youth Program. During its first and second phase 25/25 thousand youth was provided technical training and now in its third phase, the training will be imparted to another 50 thousand youth while stipend would also be enhanced from 25000 to three thousand.
Addressing as guest of honor Mian Muhammad Adrees former president Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry said that we have only 1.4% jobs for 3.2% youth entering every year in the labor market. He termed this human resource as precious asset but warned that it could turn into a demographic flood if we failed to capitalize it with proper technical and vocational training
Substantiating this point, he said that overseas Pakistanis are sending foreign remittances to the tune of 15 billion dollars per annum which is three times more than 6.6 Billion dollar Extended Fund Facility of International Monitory Fund.
Mian Muhammad Adrees also stressed GDP growth rate at 7% to maintain present pace of economic development in addition to providing jobs to the surging population. He also demanded six percent allocation in federal and provincial budgets for education and out of it at least 50 % should be earmarked for the technical and vocational training.
Earlier, in his address of welcome, Chaudhary Muhammad Nawaz President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry briefly introduced Faisalabad and FCCI and said that initially the local industry was depended entirely on unskilled workforce which was replaced with skilled workers to improve the quality and on the demand of the importing countries. The local industry made in-house arrangements for the training of its workers which were later supported by TEVTA that provided trainers and inducted local industrialist in its BODs to upgrade curricula and start new training courses in according to the market needs. “Thus we can say that the concept of Cooperative Vocational Training was already in practice in Faisalabad though it was in its rudimentary form and at individual level”, he said and added that there was dire need to involve women in CVT who forms 52% of our total population and without their mainstreaming we cannot achieve our development goals.
Earlier, Hans Ludwing Bruns, Head of Program TEVTA Reforms and Michael Paulo, Component Leader gave presentation on the CVT. During question answer session Muzammal Sultan, Rana Sikandar Azam, Ahmad Hasan, Sanaullah Khan Niazi, Muhammad Abid, Qurratul Ain and Jameel Ahmed asked interesting queries.
