Trades and skills: WB loan for Tevta

Tevta chairman said the initiative would also be replicated in other cities across the province

LAHORE: Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) chairperson Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said on Wednesday that the World Bank (WB) had extended a loan worth $50 million to the provincial government in connection with the Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF).

Sheikh made the remarks while speaking to a delegation of WB functionaries. The Tevta chairperson said a part of the loan had been earmarked to finance the procurement of state-of-the-art equipment for the authority’s institutes. He said the acquisition of the machines would facilitate effective imparting of training and also upgrade standards of laboratories across Tevta institutes.

The Tevta chairperson said the WB would also provide technical assistance for students’ training at the authority’s institutes under the PSDF. He said a modern system of training and examination had been introduced in connection with the initiative. Sheikh said the initiative would also be replicated in other cities across the province.

He said the authority had realised the targets set by the WB in connection for PSDF over 2015-16. Sheikh said an Industry Partnership Programme had been successfully launched under the auspices of the fund to facilitate the provision of technical training in accordance with market needs. The Tevta chairperson said the authority’s institutes would be revamped and training delivery would be improved. Sheikh said this would not only enable youngsters to acquire quality training but also secure placements across the nation and abroad.

COO Jawad Ahmed Qureshi was also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th,  2016.