Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently said that the future of Pakistan was linked with technical education. He said that equipping the young generation with modern knowledge and technical education would not only solve the problem of unemployment to a large extent but also put the country on the road to progress.

However, the ground realities don’t paint a bright picture of the technical education sector in the country. According to a World Bank (WB) report, not even 4 per cent of the total population of Pakistan enters into higher education, and less than 1 per cent of the population has ever received technical education and vocational training. “Less than 1 per cent students in the country, against 16 per cent around the world, get technical training in Pakistan due to shortage of technical and vocational schools,” said the report.

People attached with the sector say the country is facing three major challenges: limited access to technical education and vocational training; low quality of education and training; and a shortage of skilled labour for the country’s future growth. Access to education and training is still limited. There is a wide disparity between male-female, rural-urban, and different regions. Even for students who have access to education and training, quality can be uneven.

The WB report said that more than three-fourths of the graduates have some foundational skills, but no marketable skills for employment. This evidence indicates that the training programmes are not relevant to the skills demanded. The poor training quality can be attributed to inefficient public administration of training programmes, lack of interaction with the industry, and outdated infrastructure of public institutions.

The International Development Association financially supported some projects in the Sindh province through a Specific Investment Loan (SIL) to provide assistance to the provincial government to tackle the problem of an insufficiently skilled workforce for the country’s future economic growth. The Sindh Skills Development Project was signed to better equip 50,000 youths in the province with relevant skills to increase the employability of trainees some years back.

The Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Programme (BBSYDP) and Sindh Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (STEVTA) were provided with financial help to strengthen their training programmes and measure the impact of training on employment. The project was supposed to establish market-driven institutions through upgrading current programmes or creating 70 new programmes at STEVTA-administered institutions. However, its impact was almost negligible, as the industrial sector in the region still faces the shortage of skilled manpower.

In Punjab, the previous two governments of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf claimed to have taken special initiatives for launching technical education and vocational training programmes. The authorities concerned were directed to take steps for speedy promotion of technical education engaging public-private partnership in this regard. The PML-N government ordered a practicable and transparent policy and incentives for the private sector. However, the programmes failed to take off, mainly because of lack of funds.

Punjab TEVTA Chief Executive Officer Akhtar Abbas Bharwana, however, appreciates the provincial government’s initiatives and cooperation from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Sector Support Programme (TVET SSP). In a talk with Cutting Edge, he said that Technical Education & Vocational Training Authorities (TEVTAs) at district level were equipping young people with competency-based training and preparing them for employment opportunities for skilled workers.

He claimed that the Punjab government was pursuing a comprehensive strategy for promotion of technical education in the province. TEVTA and the Punjab Vocational Training Council have been made vibrant and dynamic institutions and given the target of preparing skilled manpower, keeping in view the demand of the market, he added. He was confident that the country could make progress rapidly if technical education was emphasised and special funds were allocated for it. Pakistan is one of the countries where a majority of the population consists of youths and the dream of rapid development could be materialised by providing modern education, information technology and imparting training in various trades according to the needs of the market. A special training programme has also been chalked out for providing 148,500 youths skills in six months. Technical training would be imparted to youths throughout the province, he claimed.

An official at the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission claimed that NAVTEC had provided training to over two lakh women and men across the country in various priority trades to enable them to meet modern job requirements. The training has been imparted under the Prime Minister’s Special Initiative (PMSI) “Hunarmand Pakistan Programme” with a monthly stipend of Rs. 2,000 to each trainee. Trainees from FATA were provided with a stipend of Rs 3,000 as well as accommodation and transportation where required, he told Cutting Edge. NAVTEC is developing a Centre of Excellence in Advanced Trades in Engineering in Peshawar to cater for the region, especially in the earthquake and conflict-affected areas and ex-FATA.

Giving details of more current projects, he said skill development for less developed areas targets equipping 50,000 youths of Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and districts of all provinces with hands-on skills in conventional sectors like construction, hospitality, manufacturing, textile and domestic skills for women etc.

Also, 50,000 youths are being provided with training in high-tech/ end technologies like advanced electronics, 3D printing, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, block-chain, intelligent vehicles, robotics and mechatronics, added the official.

NAVTTC is initiating business incubation centres, in support of the Prime Minister’s Startup Pakistan movement. BIC by National Vocational Technical Training Commission is based on the Higher Education Commission’s programme of Blended Incubation along similar lines. In accordance with the government’s vision of maximising employment opportunities for Pakistani skilled manpower, NAVTTC would establish specific TVET institutes across Pakistan.

However, youths are not much impressed by the government programmes. Ahsan Amir, who got a three-year Diploma of Associate Engineering a year back, is not convinced of the utility of technical education. “I have dropped my CV in response to almost every advertisement appearing in newspapers during the past one year. But I am still unable to get a job,” complains the young man. Giving away degrees and diplomas to students is not sufficient, he adds. The job market has shrunk due to the energy crisis in the country. Then what is the use of these degrees and diplomas, he asks. “My family had to face almost starvation due to the meagre income of my father and the very high cost of my education,” the jobless youth relates. “They hoped as soon as I passed the diploma programme, I would get a good job to help my father in feeding my five siblings. But nothing happened and I am still a burden on my family,” the helpless diploma-holder adds.