Vocational training: Trained manpower essential for development, says Cheema

NAVTTC is focusing on competency-based training of the youth


Our Correspondent July 19, 2016
Zulfiqar Ahmed Cheema.

ISLAMABAD: Imparting technical and vocational education to the youth is essential for accelerating economic growth, for which purpose National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) has undertaken a number of initiatives, its Executive Director Zulfiqar Ahmed Cheema said.

He was addressing a seminar at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Tuesday, which was organised to highlight the commission’s role in promoting vocational and technical education in the country.

He said his organisation provides policy direction to the technical and vocational education training, coordinates with institutes and regulates their working in the country.

He said they have now adopted a proactive approach and developed a strategy to produce demand-driven technical manpower in the country.

The commission is now shifting to competency-based training to improve the employability of the trained workforce, Cheema said.

A database of 0.7 million trained and skilled individuals in various trades has been developed and uploaded on the commission’s web portal and employers can use this databank to recruit persons of the desired trade.

He said a job placement centre has been established at the commission’s headquarters, and will also be established at provincial and divisional levels for better placement of skilled and trained persons in the public and private sectors.

He said the National Training Bureau has been merged with the commission and will be converted into a training institute so that its trainees can be accepted throughout the world.

Cheema said the commission’s job portal is linked to the websites of major trade bodies and recommended that the ICCI also link this portal with its website, to benefit its members.

Speaking at the occasion, ICCI Senior Vice-President Sheikh Pervez Ahmed, said that youth bulge accounts for 65 per cent of the population and that it is essential to provide quality technical education and training to them to enhance their employability in the private sector, as opportunities in the public sector are limited.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2016.

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