Produces skilled workforce for market needs: 'TEVTA Punjab promotes industrial linkages in skill training'

Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) Punjab is committed to promote industrial linkages in the skill training delivery to produce young skilled workforce for the market needs.
"The technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system in Pakistan has limited participation from the private sector, however, through measures like Germany Pakistan Training Initiative (GPATI) a paradigm shift is being made to this end," says Jawad Ahmed Qureshi, chief operating officer, TEVTA Punjab, while speaking at the first ever steering committee meeting of the GPATI here on Thursday. A large number of people from different industries, participating in the GPATI, attended the meeting.
GPATI is a new training approach towards creating a demand-driven technical and vocational education and training system in Pakistan, which is based on the German Dual Training System. The German system has been modified and developed into an appropriate model of co-operative training to match Pakistan's needs for a highly skilled workforce.
The pilot phase of GPATI is carried out in Karachi and Lahore and funded by the BMZ, while its implementation is managed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
TEVTA Punjab, in December last year, has introduced GPATI in Lahore after it had started in Karachi with active participation of national and multinational companies. Chief Operating Officer TEVTA Punjab, Jawad Ahmed Qureshi lauded the support from the German and other European countries for the overall reforms in the technical and vocational education and training.
He said poor linkages between industry and training delivery organizations is one of the major challenges in the TVET system of Pakistan, adding the GPATI programme has opened a window of opportunity to meet this challenge. In Lahore, over 56 national and multinational companies are participating in the GPATI programme run by TVET Punjab. At the moment, 500 trainees are enrolled for different training programmes at three of the TEVTA Punjab training institutes. Half of the training of these trainees will take place in the companies at real time workplace.
Earlier, Hans-Ludwig Burns, co-ordinator TEVT Reform Support Programme also highlighted different aspects of the German dual training system, its link to GPATI and the overall reform programme, which aims at greater engagement of the private sector in TVET planning and delivery.