Vocational training is the key
Experts stress need for enhancing skills.
FAISALABAD:
As many as six million families in Pakistan are living below poverty line that can only be redressed by providing technical skills to the people, Jahangir Alam Chohan, director general of the Benazir Income Support Programme (Special Initiative) said on Thursday.
Chohan was addressing the inaugural session of Skill Development Project under the Waseela-i-Rozqar Programme jointly launched by the University of Agriculture’s (UAF) Department of Continuing Education.
Chohan said that in the first phase of the project, 249 people living below the poverty line would be equipped with technical skills through nine short courses. He said the trainees also be paid a monthly stipend of Rs6,000.
He said Pakistan’s skilled labour, living abroad, were contributing 12 billion dollars to the GDP. This, he said, must be enhanced by producing more trained manpower.
Chohan said that the vocational training sector led to the development of a certificate-based skill and a non-recognised training such as in-house or product-based training under the BISP framework. The population of the BISP was the poorest of the people, he added.
UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that around 80 million of the country’s population was youth.
“It is a matter of concern that only six per cent of them can get higher education,” he said.
Prof Khan said that the UAF continuing education had trained 134,000 students in technical education through short courses since its inception.
He stressed the need to promote vocational education among people who cannot attend regular schools.
Shahid Aslam, the BISP director general (Punjab Chapter) said that under the Waseela-i-Rozqar Programme, BISP will provide loans up to Rs300,000 among randomly selected beneficiary families currently receiving subsistence cash transfers.
He said under the same initiative, the BISP has also been providing health insurance of Rs25,000 per year per family.
“The scheme is aimed at providing opportunities to people to get services from any of the hospitals on the panel. It also provided life insurance of Rs100,000 each to these people.”
UAF’s Prof Mahmood A Randhawa said that 60 million of the country’s youth population was either under 17 years or matriculation drop-outs. “There is a need to narrow the gap between the skilled and unskilled labour by providing the latter with marketable skills.”
Quoting Quaid-i-Azam, Randhawa said that progress of any country was dependent on skilled manpower.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2012.
As many as six million families in Pakistan are living below poverty line that can only be redressed by providing technical skills to the people, Jahangir Alam Chohan, director general of the Benazir Income Support Programme (Special Initiative) said on Thursday.
Chohan was addressing the inaugural session of Skill Development Project under the Waseela-i-Rozqar Programme jointly launched by the University of Agriculture’s (UAF) Department of Continuing Education.
Chohan said that in the first phase of the project, 249 people living below the poverty line would be equipped with technical skills through nine short courses. He said the trainees also be paid a monthly stipend of Rs6,000.
He said Pakistan’s skilled labour, living abroad, were contributing 12 billion dollars to the GDP. This, he said, must be enhanced by producing more trained manpower.
Chohan said that the vocational training sector led to the development of a certificate-based skill and a non-recognised training such as in-house or product-based training under the BISP framework. The population of the BISP was the poorest of the people, he added.
UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that around 80 million of the country’s population was youth.
“It is a matter of concern that only six per cent of them can get higher education,” he said.
Prof Khan said that the UAF continuing education had trained 134,000 students in technical education through short courses since its inception.
He stressed the need to promote vocational education among people who cannot attend regular schools.
Shahid Aslam, the BISP director general (Punjab Chapter) said that under the Waseela-i-Rozqar Programme, BISP will provide loans up to Rs300,000 among randomly selected beneficiary families currently receiving subsistence cash transfers.
He said under the same initiative, the BISP has also been providing health insurance of Rs25,000 per year per family.
“The scheme is aimed at providing opportunities to people to get services from any of the hospitals on the panel. It also provided life insurance of Rs100,000 each to these people.”
UAF’s Prof Mahmood A Randhawa said that 60 million of the country’s youth population was either under 17 years or matriculation drop-outs. “There is a need to narrow the gap between the skilled and unskilled labour by providing the latter with marketable skills.”
Quoting Quaid-i-Azam, Randhawa said that progress of any country was dependent on skilled manpower.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2012.