Lost opportunity

Pakistan currently faces multiple crises, ranging from its tattered economy and political instability to a challenging law and order situation and a huge demographic change. The country is at the crossroads of history where numerous opportunities are knocking on its door to reshape its fate.

However, there is no Aladdin’s lamp to cure all the problems of the country in one go. Still, taking proper steps can take the country on the road of development. One of the most significant opportunities which can alter the destiny of the country is its young population.

According to a UN report, 64 per cent of Pakistan’s population is below the age of 30, which makes it one of the world’s youngest populations. This young population can prove a phoenix of change if equipped properly with modern skills through education and training.

The technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector plays a pivotal role in the development of any country, by enhancing human capital and fostering economic growth. A well-trained and skilled workforce is the key to industrialization and economic prosperity. Developed and industrialized countries like Germany, Japan, the UK, and Finland, etc have paid special attention to technical and vocational education and are reaping its benefits.

Unfortunately, Pakistan is one of the worst performers in technical and vocational education and training. Consequently, the country ranks 161 out of 192 on the Human Development Index (HDI) and has a distressingly low score of only 0.41 on the Human Capital Index, which is lowest in South Asia. To improve such a worsened situation of human capital the only answer is to enhance the TVET sector.

Unfortunately, the TEVT sector is not getting its due attention in a country where 23 million children are out of school, constituting 44 per cent of school-age children. The existing TEVT institutes can only accommodate 0.45 million students, leaving 22.6 million to enter the labour force as uneducated and unskilled workers, triggering further productivity loss, unemployment and poverty.

Apart from its low capacity, the existing TEVT sector is in a state of complete shambles, failing to align with the demands of the modern world. The curricula are completely outdated and do not fulfil the needs of the industry. There is also an extreme shortage of proper trainers and modern equipment in labs which undermines the practical aspects, integral to technical and vocational education. Moreover, the weak TEVT-industry linkage leads to a double loss: as the graduates struggle to find employment opportunities while industries are deprived of skilled workers.

The current TEVT sector is also not inclusive in nature – female participation is at a dismally low level. How can one expect prosperity and growth when 49.2 per cent of the country’s population is not properly included in technical education and vocational training?

The TEVT sector needs a complete revamp since the current system is not giving the desired results and only wasting the scarce and precious resources of the national exchequer. A modern outcome-based and more inclusive TEVT sector should be developed in line with that of Germany, Japan, and China.

In Germany, for example, 51 per cent of the workforce are graduates of the vocational and education training (VET) system, showing its effectiveness. Japan’s turning into a technology giant is also attributed to its heavy investment in a trained and skilled workforce. Likewise, China has turned to an economic Czar after investing in its human capital.

Pakistan must learn from the success stories of these countries and turn its burgeoning population into a skilled force instead of an army of the unemployed. The key to addressing the country’s myriad problems lies in harnessing and developing its human capital. It can surely stir the economy in the right direction and can pull out the country from the multiple problems. The country needs to turn its potential youth into an engine of growth instead of becoming a liability.

Technically sound people are more precious than diamonds and oil reserves because the latter diminishes with time while the former improves with each passing day. The country needs to work on the mining of human capital. This will help it to not only fulfil its domestic needs but also attract huge foreign investments. It can also increase remittances manifold as currently a majority of our expatriates are unskilled workers.

Imparting technical education is a win-win situation for the country and needs immediate attention. It will put the country on the path of prosperity and progress and will bring a brighter future for the whole nation.

The writer is a lecturer of economics at KP-TEVTA, and tweets/posts @wajidislam01