APBF calls for economic uplift by boosting skills
Official says more youth enters labour market than formal system can adjust
Official says more youth enters labour market than formal system can adjust. CREATIVE COMMON
LAHORE:
The All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) has stressed the need for promoting skills development according to the private sector’s demand, saying that skilled youth can fulfil the industrial human resource needs, besides uplifting the national economy.
APBF President Syed Maaz Mahmood said that the employability rate of graduates from the formal technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system is very low due to lack of quality and relevance of the training content. He said that about three million youth enter the labour market, while the formal TVET system can only accommodate 0.5 million trainees annually. He said the gap between demand and supply of skilled workforce is due to limited cooperation between the public and the private sectors in TVET planning and its implementation.
Sharing experiences of EU countries, he said the EU countries mitigated their economic woes through skill development as skilled human resource was the key to surmount economic efficiency challenges of the country. He termed skill development as key priority to provide maximum jobs.
He remarked that Pakistan, having about 65% population of 30-year olds, has an opportunity to grow its industry through promotion of quality vocational training and technical education.
Mahmood said one of the main issues is the mismatch between the skills provided by the TVET institutes and the needs of the market. So the major challenge is to make sure that there are good linkages between the needs of the industry and what the TVET sector is producing in terms of skills.
He said the APBF had also organised a forum to discuss the key economic issues, including development of a better skilled workforce to cope with the emerging trends and need for global competitiveness.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2019.
The All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) has stressed the need for promoting skills development according to the private sector’s demand, saying that skilled youth can fulfil the industrial human resource needs, besides uplifting the national economy.
APBF President Syed Maaz Mahmood said that the employability rate of graduates from the formal technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system is very low due to lack of quality and relevance of the training content. He said that about three million youth enter the labour market, while the formal TVET system can only accommodate 0.5 million trainees annually. He said the gap between demand and supply of skilled workforce is due to limited cooperation between the public and the private sectors in TVET planning and its implementation.
Sharing experiences of EU countries, he said the EU countries mitigated their economic woes through skill development as skilled human resource was the key to surmount economic efficiency challenges of the country. He termed skill development as key priority to provide maximum jobs.
He remarked that Pakistan, having about 65% population of 30-year olds, has an opportunity to grow its industry through promotion of quality vocational training and technical education.
Mahmood said one of the main issues is the mismatch between the skills provided by the TVET institutes and the needs of the market. So the major challenge is to make sure that there are good linkages between the needs of the industry and what the TVET sector is producing in terms of skills.
He said the APBF had also organised a forum to discuss the key economic issues, including development of a better skilled workforce to cope with the emerging trends and need for global competitiveness.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2019.