Pakistan becomes member of WorldSkills General Assembly

Islamabad: Pakistan has become a member of the WorldSkills General Assembly, an international body working for the promotion of technical and vocational education.

The development came during a meeting of the assembly in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. President of International Skills Foundation Simon Bartley proposed Pakistan’s name as the assembly's member and participants approved it.

The meeting took place ahead of the WorldSkills Competition, the world championships of vocational skills. A total of 1,300 competitors from across the globe will compete to be the very best in their chosen Skills.

There will be competitions in 51 different Skills ranging from floristry to bricklaying; aircraft maintenance to mobile robotics. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, a delegation comprising trained youth and instructors went to the country to attend the event.

While representing Pakistan before the assembly, head of Pakistani delegation and National Vocational and Technical Training Commission executive director Zulfiqar Ahmad Cheema briefed participants about the TVET system in Pakistan.

"Unfortunately, the world media has always been biased towards Pakistan and has unnecessarily highlighted its negative aspects while completely ignored the positive side," he said. He said Pakistan was far beautiful, peaceful, strong, and stable than what was being shown on TV.

"We've been the world champion of hockey, cricket, squash and snooker, while our doctors, engineers and professionals have proved their mettle before the world. We are a democratic state and also an atomic power and have achieved milestones in the field of TVET sector," he added.

Zulfiqar Cheema said Pakistan had formulated a national vocational qualification framework, started competency based training programmes, upgraded curriculum as per the needs of industry, introduced modern method of assessment, and established job placement centres and sector skill councils.

"We organise skills competitions across the country, which have not only increased the capacity of youth but also enhanced quality of training," he said. This, the NAVTTC executive director said, will create tremendous employment opportunities for TVET graduates in the country and ensure participation of locals in the world skills competitions.