F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, Shafqat Mahmood Wednesday said the government is focusing on introducing technical and professional training programmes at school level so that matriculated students come out with some marketable skills.
Addressing the Inter-Provincial Ministerial Conference on TVET, the minister said that government is making reforms to link education and vocational training system with the labor market requirements as it is at the forefront of incumbent government’s agenda.
The federal government constituted a task force representing all stakeholders in the sector in order to identify multitude of challenges pervading TVET sector in Pakistan and to devise a roadmap to address the systemic issues, he added.
In this regard, National Vocational & Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) held today the first TVET related Inter-provincial Ministerial Conference for a more inclusive implementation strategy for the Task force recommendations, the minister said.
The minister further said that he believe Education & Skill Development are beyond politics and we must all put our efforts collectively in the national interest to promote skill development and empower our young people.
We are working in close collaboration with overseas ministry, chambers of industries, private sector and the key stakeholders to identify the skills as required in the domestic market and overseas” he told.
The government will soon establish the first National Skill University at Islamabad, he said adding that five Centers of Excellence, one in each province will also be set up.
He emphasized on working in close collaboration with provincial governments including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan so that a uniform TVET system is launched across the country.
He thanked the participants for their contribution in addressing the systemic issues being faced by the skill sector and showed resolve to further the efforts for skilling the youth.
However, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Youth Affairs Usman Dar speaking on the occasion said the present government is focused on revamping the TVET sector. The government is also committed to support and empower our young people, he added. The government, he said, soon going to launch National Youth Development Framework that will help in synchronizing training with job placement, Usman informed.
Moreover, we are working on a National Employment Exchange Portal which is being developed by NAVTTC that will facilitate youth in matching skills with the demand of labor market, he added. He appreciated the efforts of NAVTTC for working hard to overcome shortcomings of skill sector.
“With the help of NAVTTC, we are focusing on enhancing innovation driven entrepreneurship skills of youth and promote blue collared and white collared jobs” Dar told.
The Conference was attended by the ministers from Punjab, Sindh, KP & FATA, Balochistan, AJK, ambassadors of European Union, Turkey, Germany, Norway, and representatives from China, USAID, UNDP, Scotland & British Council, GIZ, ADB, TIKA, JICA, and all provincial TEVTAs.
They welcomed the initiative of the education ministry and NAVTTC for arranging inter-provincial meeting and appreciated the attention being given to the TVET sector by putting collective efforts, both at federal and provincial level, to address TVET sector challenges. The participants gave valuable suggestions and recommendations to uplift the skill sector.
Chairman NAVTTC, Syed Javed Hassan said skill development is critically important to provide employment opportunities to the youth and increase foreign remittances. Right now our capacity is limited to skilling only 400,000 people in the formal sector but that needs to be increased considerably as well as enhancing the quality of training, he added.
The Executive Director NAVTTC, Dr. Nasir Khan, gave a detailed presentation on eight major areas of intervention including cleansing governance structure from fragmentation, increasing capacity of TVET system, improving quality, ensuring meaningful involvement of industry, delivering equal access (Skills for all), producing skilled labor workforce to meet international job requirements, and building a positive image of TVET to attract more youth towards skill sector.
In his concluding remarks, Federal Minister for education said that all suggestions put forward by the participants would be incorporated into TVET roadmap called ‘Skills for All” strategy.
The conference agreed to establish “Inter-provincial TVET Ministers conference” as a permanent forum to evolve consensus on TVET related issues at the national level.
The participants of the conference also agreed to adapt the “Skills for All” strategy as a national strategy document for development of TVET sector in the country.
