Call for TVET to cater to industry needs

Islamabad : Only if technical and vocational education and training considers industry needs and is responsive to national, regional and global dynamics, it will generate a competitive workforce, said Chairman of National Vocational and Technical Training Commission Syed Hasan Javed on Thursday.

"The national certificates lose their value if the certified competencies do not match the actual skills of the graduates," he told the launching ceremony of the advocacy paper on 'Return on investment or an investment without return? A cost benefit-ratio analysis of in-company training in Pakistan' edited by GIZ’s global project “Build4Skills” and the bilateral “TVET Sector Support Programme (TSSP)” Pakistan.

The paper advocates the consistent private sector engagement in TVET and the provision of in-company training. It does so by illustrating a range of monetary and non-monetary benefits for companies.

The NAVTTC chairman said TVET was much more than mere acquisition of skills and that it was a tool to empowerment.

"This mutual belief has been the foundation of Germany’s and Pakistan’s cooperation in TVET and unites them in a joint vision: A country’s most valuable resources is its human resources. An investment in people and their skills are not only imperative for a nation’s economy but a social responsibility not limited to the government only," he said. Dr. Jürgen Zoll, Counselor Economic Cooperation and Development at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Islamabad, said skilled workers were skilled citizens.

Nearly 60 participants of the international and national “TVET scene” attended the event. NAVTTC executive director Dr. Nasir Khan, Michael Härtel of the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, and representatives of Pakistan’s national TVET apex body and private sector were also in attendance.