ADB approves $100m for vocational training

Project to finance establishment of 19 TVET centres of excellence in eight priority sectors

ISLAMABAD:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million loan to help improve technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Punjab to ensure that skills training meets the demand for jobs in the country’s priority economic sectors.

The ‘Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project’ will help enhance the quality and relevance of TVET to increase graduates’ employability, upgrade workers’ skills, ensure more equitable access to training for women and disadvantaged groups, and improve management and strategic planning in TVET institutions.

“Punjab makes up over half the national income and is expected to make a significant contribution to Pakistan’s post-flood recovery,” said Yevgeniy Zhukov, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia.

“ADB’s project will fund demand-driven and gender-focused training to boost livelihoods and support industries that are key to Pakistan’s recovery and future growth,” he added.

ADB’s project will finance the establishment of 19 TVET centres of excellence in eight priority economic sectors: automobile assembly parts and repairs, construction, food processing, health, information and communication technology, light engineering, textiles and garments and tourism and hospitality.

They will provide programs with linkages to industry and deploy best practices. The project will include the development of skills training programs using technology in response to emerging trends in the fourth industrial revolution.

Given Pakistan’s high vulnerability to climate change, disaster resilience will be incorporated into the design of TVET centres of excellence while training the youth on how to prepare for and respond to disasters.

“Workers with skills in key areas such as construction and agriculture will be essential to implementing stronger safety standards, building back better and helping the country prepare for future natural hazards,” noted Rie Hiraoka, ADB Director for Social Sectors.

“ADB’s program also seeks to support women and will prioritise disadvantaged groups to improve their chances of finding quality jobs and boosting their incomes,” she added.

The project also includes a $2 million technical assistance grant from the ‘Japan Fund for the prosperous and resilient Asia and the Pacific’ (JFPR), which will help to strengthen the TVET institutional framework and strategy in Punjab.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2022.

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