The All Pakistan Business Forum has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) Punjab for promotion of technical and skill development in the province.
APBF President Syed Maaz Mahmood and TEVTA Punjab Chairperson Ali Salman Siddique signed the memorandum on behalf of their respective organizations while APBF Chairman Ibrahim Qureshi and TEVTA Chief Executive Officer Akhtar Abbas Bharwana were also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Ibrahim Qureshi said the MoU is aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two organizations to work together for promotion of technical training. He called for formulating policy for the promotion of demand-driven technical education and vocational training in Punjab under the TEVTA.
He said that present setup of technical training is not addressing the requirements of modern industrialization taking place in the country. Pakistan is a country of more than 20 million people with a high percentage of youth along with fast growing industrial sector. But, unfortunately, both the sides are unable to accommodate each other, he lamented. As the skills required by industry is lacking in young graduates thus resulting in high rate of unemployment, he said.
TEVTA Chairperson Ali Salman Siddique said that promotion of technical education is vital and much-needed for the economic growth. The collaboration between the two institutions will ultimately bridge the skill gap, leading to a quantum jump in the country's exports, he added.
TEVTA in collaboration with the APBF is introducing demand-driven courses and it is willing to work with the industry for the promotion of skilled manpower, he said.
Maaz Mahmood said that APBF has been working to support technical education and skills development since a long time. "Recent conference of APBF shows its full commitment to make it a great tool and help for Pakistan." Pakistan has become the center of attention for world investment due to its geographical position in South Asia and investors from the developed countries are giving priority to expand their business in this country, he said.
APBF will extend maximum cooperation to the TEVTA in conducting Training Need Assessments, as the industry technical training centres both are unable to accommodate each other, he said. As the skills required by industry is lacking in young graduates, leading to high rate of unemployment. He urged the TEVTA chief to involve the industry directly while developing new courses and up-gradation of syllabus.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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