The project will fund demand-driven and gender-focused training expected to boost livelihoods and support industries that are key to Pakistan’s recovery and future growth.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 100 million loan to help improve technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Pakistan’s Punjab province, a statement from the Bank’s Manila headquarters Tuesday said.
The Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project aims to ensure skills training meets the demand for jobs in the country’s priority economic sectors.
It will help enhance the quality and relevance of TVET to increasing graduates’ employability, upgrading workers’ skills, ensuring more equitable access to training for women and disadvantaged groups, and improving management and strategic planning in TVET institutions.
Pakistan’s most populous province, “Punjab makes up over half the national income and is expected to make a significant contribution to Pakistan’s post-flood recovery,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov.
“ADB’s project will fund demand-driven and gender-focused training to boost livelihoods and support industries that are key to Pakistan’s recovery and future growth.”
The statement said the project will finance the establishment of 19 TVET centres of excellence in eight priority economic sectors, viz., automobile assembly parts and repairs, construction, food processing, health, information and communication technology, light engineering, textiles and garments, and tourism and hospitality.
The new TVET centres will provide programs with linkages to industry and deploy best practices. The project will include the development of skills training programs using technology in response to emerging trends in the fourth industrial revolution.
Given Pakistan’s high vulnerability to climate change, disaster resilience will be incorporated into the design of TVET centres of excellence where training on how to prepare for and respond to disasters will be provided.
“Workers with improved skills in key areas such as construction and agriculture will be essential to implementing stronger safety standards, build back better, and to help the country prepare for future natural hazards,” said ADB Director for Social Sectors Rie Hiraoka.
“ADB’s program also seeks to support women and will prioritize disadvantaged groups to improve their chances of finding quality jobs and boosting their incomes.”
The project includes a USD 2 million technical assistance grant from the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific, which will help to strengthen the TVET institutional framework and strategy in Punjab.
The statement said ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
