Vocational training institutes face an uncertain future due to budget strains

Dearth of funds leads to their closure in last four months every year.

FAISALABAD:

Vocational training institutes, which work under the Punjab Vocational Training Council, a project of the Punjab government, are on the verge of collapse 15 years after the council’s establishment in 1998, primarily because of a stagnant budget.

So far, the institutes have launched many programmes to impart vocational training to the youth, particularly those coming from the poor sections of society, to fight increasing scarcity of skilled workforce in the country.

The Punjab government is providing a monthly stipend of Rs2,500 to each student including a fee of Rs2,000, but the amount is the same since the beginning and has not been enhanced.

At that time, Rs500, excluding the fee, was enough for students, but now it is a very small amount not enough to meet the expenditures considering inflation over the years and falling value of the rupee, says the management of an institute.



Every year, they have no funds to meet expenses in the last four months of the year and are forced to shut down for the period. To make their voice heard, employees of these institutes have staged sit-ins across Punjab to highlight their plight, but their calls have gone unheeded.

The vocational training institutes, established by the government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in 1998, train students in specific professional fields and provide them an opportunity to find jobs in the market. In the beginning, five institutes were established and they have now grown to 163.

Managements of the institutes are seeking an increase in the budget from the next fiscal year as a dearth of funds has disturbed many courses.

“We are awarding a 14-month diploma in many fields to produce skilled workers to meet the demand of industries in Faisalabad,” said Sajjad Habeeb, principal of Vocational Training Institute Faisalabad while talking to The Express Tribune.

The diploma is offered in fields like web browsing, designing, mechanical fitters, general fitters, textile fitters and designers. “We are training the people keeping in view the demand from the industrialists and other sectors,” he said.

According to Habeeb, the overall ratio of job openings for the trained youth is about 64%, but it is higher for Faisalabad at 78%, thanks to the presence of a large number of industrial units there.

Students of the Faisalabad institute are working in the Sitara Group of Industries, Ashfaq Textile Mills, BB Jaan Group of Industries, MA Textile Industries, Pasban IT Group, JK Group of Industries, Best Exports and many other businesses.

“In an effort to have a skilled workforce, the industrialists are funding many activities of the Faisalabad institute,” said Rizwan Ashraf, president of the district board of the Management Vocational Training Institute committee and CEO of MA Textile Industries.

According to Ashraf, trainees of the institute are receiving Rs3,000 per month and after the end of training they earn more than unskilled workers.

“The trained workforce was the need of the industries that strive to step up efficiency, improve quality of products and rein in production losses.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2013.

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