ISLAMABAD: The Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project (IWRPP), approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council with a total cost of Rs23.982 billion, envisages the development of 20 centres of excellence (CEOs).
The project is to be completed in six years with the largest component, relating to the development of 20 COEs, will be implemented in 17 existing institutes of Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) and three existing institutes of Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC).
These are 12 in Central Punjab, three in Northern Punjab, and five in Southern Punjab in districts of Sheikhupura, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Lahore, Rawalpindi/ Murree, Multan, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Khanewal, and Gujranwala
The total cost of the project is Rs23.982 billion (US$ 109.53 million), including foreign exchange component of Rs21,896 million (US$ 100 million) to be funded by the Asian Development Bank under a concessional loan, and government of Punjab share of Rs2.086 billion.
The Ministry of Planning and Development is said to have informed the ECNEC in the proposal for approval that since the passage of the 18th amendment of the Constitution in 2010, provincial governments have been largely responsible for delivering, funding, and regulating TVET.
The meeting was further informed that improved performance from the TVET sector is a significant challenge given the scale of improvement required to meet the country’s skill needs. Another challenge facing the sector is low participation in skills training, with only 12 per cent of those aged 15-29 having received any skills training.
Moreover, overall TVET sector governance is fragmented, with no agency having overall responsibility for the planning, governance, regulation, and financing of TVET in the province. The PSDA has been established to do this, but it is not yet fully operational and will require assistance during the initial phase to carry out its functions.
This output will finance the establishment of 20 TVET COEs in eight priority economic sectors.
The priority sectors included- vertical sectors;(i) Tourism and hospitality;(ii) automobile/ motorbike assembly, parts and repair; (iii) construction; (iv) textiles and garments;( v) food processing (including agriculture, dairy and livestock products; (vi) health; (vii) information communication technologies (ICT); and (viii) light engineering (renewable energy, surgical instruments, farm machinery).
The meeting was further informed that these sectors were selected based on the following criteria: (i) government priority – sectors and skills; (ii) economic growth trends; (iii) availability of training service providers/ facilities; (iv) export potential; (iv) employment potential – both for men and for women;(v) availability of industry to absorb trained manpower; (vi) export potential, and (vii) existing development partner programs and projects.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
Comments
Comments are closed.