No attention given to technical education in past: minister

LAHORE : Minister for Industries and Commerce Aslam has said that efforts are being made to overcome poverty and unemployment through promotion of quality technical education.

The PTI government is spending billions of rupees on programmes to equip the youth with modern technologies but no attention was paid to the promotion of technical education in the past.

The minister was talking to Tevta Chairman Ali Salman Siddique at Tevta Secretariat. The Tevta chairman briefed the minister on the proposed Skill Policy, steps taken to promote Technical Education and Future Programmes.

Aslam Iqbal said Hunarmand Nojawan Programme worth Rs1.5 billion skill is successfully under way. In collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, a skilled workforce preparation programme is being launched at a cost of Rs17 billion and under this programme 40,000 students will be imparted vocational training.

Similarly, the Skilling Youth for Income Generation programme is also being started at a cost of Rs9 billion. He said that the capacity of Tevta has been enhanced and 233,000 youths are being trained in 403 Tevta institutions every year. Along with teaching skills to the youth, arrangements will also be made for their job placement in the country and abroad.

The minister observed that courses are being developed as per the needs of the industry in consultation with the stakeholders. He said Tevta is playing an active role in the promotion of quality technical education and the capacity of Tevta will be further enhanced.