Skill training must to counter unemployment among youth

LAHORE: The market in Pakistan has the potential to absorb two million skilled workers, while its technical and vocational institutes are hardly producing 300,000 skilled workers, 1/7th of the actual demand which is adversely impacting productivity.
This was stated by Muhammad Ali Khan the representative of GIZ while addressing a media sensitisation workshop in Lahore on Wednesday. The workshop was jointly organised by GIZ and Punjab Vocational Training Council. He pointed out that currently the certificates issued by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes are not recognised internationally. He said this is the reason that a Pakistani certified skilled worker is paid less than an Indian or Filipino worker having similar skills. He said efforts are being made to ensure global recognition of Pakistani skilled certificate under the TVET Reforms Programme initiated by the government of Pakistan with the donors’ assistance.
Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC) Managing Director Sajjid Nisar Khan said skills are the most important tools in alleviation of poverty. Through skills the deprived segment of the society could be brought in the economic mainstream. He said poor families with no skilled hand among them are forced to do menial jobs along with their children and continue living in poverty. He said one skilled worker can bring better days for them. He said PVTC provides skill training from Zakat and is perhaps the only organisation in the Islamic world that uses Zakat for skill training.
He said due to low or no skills, overseas Pakistani workers remit the lowest per capita amount per year. Pakistani workers on average remit $2,500 per year to their families in Pakistan.
He said average remittance is $3,700 for Indian worker, $5,000 for Bangladeshi worker and $7,000 for workers from Philippines.
Elaborating the extent of poverty prevailing in the country, he revealed that a polio affected orphan girl of 20 years from a poverty stricken village joined PVTC institute in her area not to get skill training but because she wanted Rs500 stipend per month that is provided to each student.
However, she learnt the skills as well and after graduating was provided with two stitching machines. With her better skills, she started earning more than the average monthly income of males in the area. He said the girl remained single at the age of 20 when girls in the area got married at 15-17 years. Once she started earning there were several suitors who wanted to marry the ‘old maid’.
However, he added now the mother of the girl was reluctant to marry her because her income ensured that her sons started going to school.
Citing another case Khan said when he visited an institute in a hilly area, he asked each student the distance they travelled to attend the training sessions daily.
He said some students were coming from 10 and some from 15 kilometres. One boy said he travels 40 kilometres daily to come to the institute and then goes back the same distance. “How is it possible, I asked?” Khan said the student asked have you ever starved sir.
On hearing a negative, the boy told that he and his family went without a meal several days in a week. He said he leaves house daily at 4 am and returns back at 8 pm.
He said he was attaining skills for motorcycle repairs. The boy pointed out that there were numerous tricycle motor rickshaws in his village. The drivers took these machines to a nearby town since there was motorcycle mechanic in his village.
He said when these rickshaws need repair they hand them over to his mother. He said when he goes back from the institute; he repairs these machines and tells the repair bill to his mother. She takes the amount while handing back the tricycle motor rickshaws to the owners. “I and my family do not starve and my younger brothers go to school,” the trainee added.
Khan said such is the state of poverty in Pakistan and we should make all efforts to arm our youth with skills. He said unemployment rate in Pakistan was already very high. He said 30 percent of the population was aged 25-30, and the highest rate of unemployment was among them.
There is a dire need to engage them in productive economic activities.
Providing them competence in skills demanded by the industries, he added is the only solution to this problem.