CM Usman Buzdar opens Hunarmand Jawan programme

LAHORE :Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Saturday formally inaugurated the “Hunarmand Jawan” programme for the youths of Punjab under the auspices of Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta), Punjab, at Expo Centre.

He said Hunarmand Jawan was not a political project for showing off but a real game changer to bring about economic revolution for the people. A substantial amount of Rs1.5 billion has been allocated for the programme. Initially this programme will offer 56 latest and modern courses according to market needs to 150,000 youths.

The chief minister also inaugurated the exhibition organised under Hunarmand Jawan at Expo Centre.

While visiting different stalls, Usman Buzdar asked from youths about their interest in technical skills. He also took keen interest in the items, including robots and other equipment, displayed on the stalls. Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the CM said that initially the programme would benefit more than 150,000 youths and its scope would be enhanced gradually in four years by including 875,000 more youths in the programme.

He said that approximately 60 per cent of national target of provision of employment would be completed under Punjab Growth Strategy 2023.

He said Hunarmand Jawan scheme was a reflective of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision for the youths and an important step towards fulfillment of the promise made with the people by the PTI regarding creating job opportunities.

He said that by the grace of Allah Almighty the economic policies of the government gave positive results and the international rating agencies also validated this fact.

He said that joint venture of public private partnership was a proof of successful economic policies of the government. The venture could not become possible in the past as there was no transparency and merit. He stated that CPEC projects were being speedily completed with the cooperation of China. More than 11 projects of Punjab are included in the nine sectors of CPEC, he added.

In the context of CPEC, Hunarmand Jawan is of great significance and need of skilled workers in Punjab for CPEC could only be fulfilled by this programme, the CM said. He said that skilled youths were an asset to any state and their role in the development and progress of a country was of great importance.

He said that importance of Tevta would increase with the passage of time. He said no attention was given in the past to enhance the capability of Tevta. He said that Tevta was struggling to provide new skills to the youths according to the latest technology and need of the time. He said that Punjab government would ensure provision of resources required for the mission.

He also said the PTI government believed in empowerment of women and it was struggling to create economic opportunities for them. A number of courses are being offered especially for women by Tevta. Usman Buzdar said the Punjab government was determined and focused to achieve the economic targets. The skilled youths would contribute to increase in national produce and exports. He said that Punjab government was working for setting up four technical universities in Punjab. Punjab Tianjin University Lahore and Punjab University of Technology Rasool are providing modern technical training to students. University of Technology and Mir Chakar Khan Rind University of Technology will be set up in Rawalpindi and DG Khan, respectively.

BS programmes are being offered to the students in the institutions supported by Tevta. Syllabus of technical institutes run under Tevta is being designed according to the modern needs.

Tevta is being set on modern lines and is being digitalised. Short term, midterm and long-term planning has been made for improvement in Tevta. Special attention is being paid to make the youths economically independent. The role of Tevta Chairperson Ali Salman, CEO and their team in this regard is commendable.

The chief minister also thanked the donors and private industrial organisations.

Provincial Minister for Industry Mian Aslam Iqbal, Tevta Chairperson Ali Salman also addressed the ceremony. Provincial ministers Hashim Jawan Bakhat, Sardar Husnain Bahadur Dreshak, Mohsin Leghari, PTI Central Punjab President Ijaz Chaudhary and members of Punjab Assembly were also present.