Skill development: MoU signed to use school labs for trainings

Minister says plan formulated to impart marketable skills to 2 million youth.

LAHORE: As many as 7,000 health professionals and 15,000 women health workers will be trained in use of information technology (IT) under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC) and the Schools Education Department, Minister for Labour and Human Resource Raja Ashfaq Sarwar said on Monday.

He was speaking at a meeting of the Skill Development Committee at the Planning and Development Department auditorium.

The minister said the MoU would pave the way for use of computer labs at public school to hold these trainings in evening hours. He said applications had been sought from those interested in consulting for the project.

The meeting was told that a plan had been formulated in coordination with departments concerned to meet the target of training two million youth in marketable skills under the Punjab Growth Strategy of 2018. It decided that the trainings would be completed by May 2016.

Sarwar said skills in demand among domestic industry as well as in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) would be selected for the purpose. He said he hoped the province’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) would improve once the trainees would join the industry as skilled workers. He said 10 MoUs had been signed between the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) and domestic companies for the purpose and work was underway for signing of three MoUs with companies in GCC countries.

Industries Secretary Nabeel Javed was asked to ensure timely provision of funds needed for holding the trainings.

The meeting was also informed that in order to improve livestock yield 30,000 people across rural areas would be trained in skills like administering vaccines to livestock.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2015.