The National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Thursday stressed the need for adopting a comprehensive strategy to boost manpower export to earn more foreign remittances. "Enhancing the manpower export to other countries, especially the Middle East, is vital to attract more remittances that play a critical role in stabilizing the national economy and empowering the youth," MNA Sheikh Fayyaz ud Din said who chaired the committee meeting.
The committee met here to evaluate the performance of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC).
Managing Director Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) Kashif Noor apprised the panel of the challenges faced by the corporation in promoting overseas employment and said that skill mismatch is a main hurdle in sending Pakistani workers abroad.
He said that most of the workers are going abroad in the construction sector while other sectors go unattended due to low level of skills being imparted in the skills development institutions.
However, he said, the OEC has set up a job portal to connect the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) where both the organizations share and match the data of trained job seekers and employment opportunities abroad, respectively.
"Let the bygone be bygone," said committee member MNA Khial Zaman while criticizing the past regimes for weak policies for the purpose. He urged the Overseas Ministry to chalk out a four-year plan for sending skilled and highly-skilled workforce abroad in various sectors.
The committee chairman said that the ministry should set targets in this regard and discuss the way forward for their achievement.
Khial Zaman said that the Overseas Ministry should focus on service sectors as the construction sector in the Gulf States does not need labour any more. Skill centers at district and tehsil levels should also be set up to train the youth, he added.
MNA Zahra Wadood said that the government should approach the foreign countries for export of maids, who would help earn foreign exchange.
Kashif Noor said that at present NAVTTC, Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) and others are responsible for human resource development as the subject had been devolved after the 18th Amendment.
Managing Director Overseas Pakistanis Foundation Dr Amir Sheikh said that around 3,500 departments are working under the NAVTTC that is only focusing on local job markets. "Some 95 percent of the youth are being trained at par with the standard of local job market," he claimed.
The OEC MD urged the committee to bring legislation over the issue that binds the NAVTCC to train 50 percent of the youth for international job market.
Kashif said that the OEC has formulated a plan for enhancing manpower export and identified the responsibilities of relevant departments in that regard.
The committee chairman asked the OEC MD to present the proposals before the committee in its next meeting.
Meanwhile, the OEC officials informed the body about the initiatives taken by the department.
The OEC had sent more than 142,629 workers abroad for overseas employment, besides securing manpower export to South Korea and 15 other countries through Employment Permit System (EPS).
To a query, the officials said that around 8,588 workers had gone to South Korea under the EPS.
The department had also imparted Korean language training to over 2,300 job seekers, they added.
The meeting was attended by members of the National Assembly including Khial Zaman, Syed Javed Hussain, Noor-ul-Hassan Tanvir and Zahra Wadood Fatemi, and officials of the ministry and its attached departments.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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