MANILA: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million loan for Pakistan to help improve technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Punjab province. The skills training will possibly meet the demand for jobs in the country’s priority economic sectors.
The project will help to enhance the quality and relevance of TVET to boost graduates’ employability, upgrade workers’ skills, ensure more reasonable access to training for women and deprived groups, and advance management and strategic planning in TVET institutions.
Commenting on the project, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov said that Punjab makes up over half the national income and is expected to make a noteworthy contribution to Pakistan’s post-flood recovery.
He added that the project would fund demand-driven and gender-focused training to increase livelihoods and assist industries that are key to Pakistan’s recovery and future development.
Skill Centers
ADB’s project will finance the formation of 19 TVET centers of excellence in eight key economic sectors, comprising automobile assembly parts and repairs, construction, food processing, health, information and communication technology, light engineering, textiles and garments, and tourism and hospitality. Moreover, they will provide programs with linkages to the industry and organize best practices.
The program will include the development of skills training initiatives using technology in response to evolving trends in the fourth industrial revolution.
Pakistan, being highly vulnerable to climate change, disaster resilience will be added into the design of TVET centers of excellence while training on preparing and responding to disasters will be provided.
ADB Director for Social Sectors Rie Hiraoka said that workers having improved skills in major areas such as construction and agriculture would be essential to apply stronger safety standards and to help the country prepare for future natural threats.
He added that the program also focused on assisting women and disadvantaged groups in improving their chances of finding quality jobs and boosting their living standards.
The project also includes a technical assistance grant of $2 million from the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific, supporting the strengthening of the TVET institutional framework and strategy in Punjab.
