The Ministry of Industries is working on a plan to conduct training programmes in Pakistan which will award internationally recognised certificates and diplomas to graduates, Business Recorder learnt on Monday. In today's competitive age, the quality and types of skills required internationally are fast changing and highly skilled workers are preferred.
According to sources, the ministry has planned to join hands with international institutions to train workers so that they get better jobs in the domestic and international market. According to a study conducted by the Technology Upgradation and Skill Development Company (Tusdec) overseas employers generally consider Pakistani workers incompetent and inadequately prepared.
There are over 1500 technical training institutes in Pakistan that are producing more than 300,000 students annually but disappointingly, students do not have professional capabilities. However, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have better access to the international labour market due to their output of highly skilled labour carrying internationally recognised certification.
Sources said the Pakistani government intends to send at least 600,000 skilled workers abroad annually. This target can be achieved by training workers according to the international standards. Although the government is striving to improve the standard of technical education as the current technical standards do not meet international benchmark.
Pakistani labour force continue to face the dilemma of only being able to earn low wages due to the lack of internationally recognised certificates and diplomas. The Tusdec's Skill Tech International centre has been set up in Pakistan to address this very issue through alliances with international certifying bodies.
In this regard, first alliance has been made with City and Guilds (C&G) of UK, the sources told. The C&G is the world's largest international examining and accreditation body for vocational, managerial and engineering training. It offers over 500 awards in 28 different areas. The C&G has over 125 years of experience in identifying training needs, developing assessment materials, carrying out assessment and training staff. City and Guilds awards a certificate to a candidate who can demonstrate the ability to master a particular skill based on standards set by the relevant industry.
Skill Tech International is the first C&G approved centre in Pakistan offering certificates and diplomas in a range of vocational qualifications. In the first phase, Skill Tech International is offering the following international vocational qualifications: electrical and electronic engineering, refrigeration and air conditioning, retail, sales and marketing, and Engineering Council.
Internationally, Skill Tech's graduates will be able to compete confidently with the international workforce. It will also be an internationally recognised resource centre for other technical institutes in Pakistan and help them in preparing skill standard and curricula in accordance with acceptable international skill standards. The Skill Tech International certification are also open to those candidates who do not wish to attend regular classes but prefer to be directly examined for award of certification.