Model Town Women Development Centre to be expanded

LAHORE: The Punjab government has approved Rs145.617 million for the expansion of the Women Development Centre at Model Town, so that a greater number of women are able to receive vocational training there.

The Women Development Centre works under the Social Welfare Department (SWD). It aims at providing skills that will enable them to be financially independent. A senior SWD official told The Express Tribune that the expansion project would help in accommodating a larger number of women for vocational training. He said that women from across the province would learn to produce handicrafts and that a display center would also be established on the premises to showcase some of these handicrafts.

He said that t a large part of the work would be completed within the current financial year.

Currently, the SWD runs 780 industrial homes in various cities of Punjab. At an industrial home, 25-30 women can receive training at a given time. Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) provide assistance in running these centres. Nearly 25,000 women receive training every year.Once the expansion project is completed, the Model Town Centre will be able to accommodate 200 women.

Vacant Posts:

The official said that 25 district officer social welfare (BS-18) posts are currently vacant across the province. He said that eight of these posts were to be filled through direct recruitment, and the remaining 17 through promotion. “These officials will undergo a Management and Professional Development Department (MPDD) training course. The training fee has already been paid and the training schedule will be issued soon. Once the training is complete, a meeting of the departmental promotion committee will be called to grant the promotions,” he explained.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2010.