As the country is facing a bulge of unskilled young labour force, Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) has launched technical and vocational skill education in Punjab with focus on the Higher Secondary Schools in the first phase. During the pilot phase, this campaign has been launched in five districts of Punjab; including Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Rawalpindi, and Multan, and will cover 50 higher secondary schools.
The objective of the campaign is to introduce the benefits of technical & vocational training and linkages to promising formal and self-employment opportunities at the right time. This campaign for Skills Activation is the first step towards sensitising our youth about the benefits of vocational training.
Jawad Khan, CEO PSDF said, "PSDF will not just provide youth with training opportunities, we also promise to help them secure suitable employment or self-employment opportunities. By conducting the same activity in 50 schools across the selected districts of Punjab, PSDF hopes to motivate more students to sign up for technical & vocational education and pursue sustainable income generation opportunities.
Through this collaboration, the school education department and PSDF also hope to contribute to the skills development sector by developing a vocational curriculum and Training Learning Resources (TLRs), introducing soft skills modules and Teachers Training, and sponsor results-oriented research to improve TVET outcomes in schools.
It may be added that Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) in partnership with the UK's Department for International Development (DFID, UK) and the World Bank aims to provide quality skills and vocational training opportunities to the poor and vulnerable populations of all the 36 districts of Punjab in order to improve livelihood prospects for them. Since its establishment in 2011, PSDF has trained more than 227,000 youth in over 200 trades by engaging 250 plus private & public sector training providers. Over the next 5 years, PSDF is on a mission to train over 400,000 youth across Punjab that will be employed in Pakistan and abroad.