With industrial activities picking up and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) knocking our doors, there has been a lot of debate around the availability of skilled human resource availability in Pakistan. The sings are encouraging as both the public and private sectors have upped the game of late. That said, a lot is still found wanting, especially when it comes to coordination between the institutes and the industry, and the follow-up of vocational training programs by the providers.

There are talks of Pakistan being able to export skilled human resource in good numbers in the next five years. While the objective is good, it may lack some realism, as independent studies show that Pakistans existing skilled workforce export, mainly to the Middle East gets heavily underpaid, without much job security. Pakistan would do much better to utilize the skilled workforce within in the country. There is no dearth of opportunities, and with things looking up, the demand would surely increase.

There is little denying that Pakistans demographic makes an even more compelling case for greater focus on vocational training, and more focused one at that. For a country with 60 percent population below 25 years of age, and with lower levels of conventional education, both in terms of numbers and quality vocational training becomes ever so crucial. Various studies have put down the lack of employment opportunities amongst youth in Pakistan, as a big component towards them getting into criminal activities.

The economic benefits are surely more visible, but the societal benefits cannot be ignored either. It is heartening to see many NGOs working hard in the area to make the youth more inclusive in terms of economic and social empowerment and well being. Karigar Training Institute is one such entity amongst others that has come a long way to enable the young, literal and semi literate people from less privileged sections of society to become economically independent.

Karigar Training Institute is located in Karachi, and has been operating successfully since 2009. The centre offers basic training programs of six months duration to develop semi-skilled workers capable of undertaking skilled tasks under supervision. The centre offers courses in various trades that include electricians, plumbers, refrigeration and motor cycle mechanics.

The output has been nothing short of impressive, with 80 percent of trainees excelling in technical board exams, and bulk of them getting decent jobs, either at home or overseas. While Karigar may not be doing something entirely different from various others, it is surely producing good results. The potential is there for the likes of Karigar to grow bigger and better and add more trades, such as, waiters, chefs, welders, painters and so on.

The potential is limitless and the need is to have more effective coordination between training providers and industry, to get more focused output. A little more help from the government would also help, as such institutes strive really hard to attract donations.