ISLAMABAD - A number of public and private sector organisations displayed their success stories and contribution towards promoting the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and its ongoing reform in Pakistan at an event held Friday.

The event - Showcasing TVET Reform in Pakistan - featured the participation of a number of diplomats, senior government officials, employers and representatives of various donor agencies and the TVET agencies as well as a large number of young people, enrolled in various TVET programmes across Pakistan.

The event also featured a small exhibition, where a number of organisations both from public and private sectors displayed the success stories as well as quality training courses, which they are offering to the youth.

Executive Director NAVTTC Zulfiqar Ahmad Cheema inaugurated the event. Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan Jean-François Cautain, Ambassador of Germany Ms Ina Lepel, Ambassador of Netherlands Mrs Jeannette Seppen and Ambassador of Norway Tore Nedrebo were the guests of honour.

The event was supported by the TVET Reform Support Programme, a five-year initiative launched in 2011 to support the government of Pakistan in improving access, relevance, equity and quality of the TVET sector. This programme is funded by the European Union and the governments of the Netherlands, Germany and Norway. The Programme is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in close collaboration with the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC).

The first phase of the ongoing TVET sector reform is coming to an end in December 2016, while the second phase will commence from Jan 2017 onwards for another five years.

During the first phase, the NAVTTC, which is spearheading the reform in partnership with various TVET sector organisations at federal and provincial levels, has achieved a number of milestones, set under the National Skill Strategy (NSS). The NSS provides basis for the TVET sector reform in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Cheema highlighted the importance of TVET, saying: “Equipping the youth with employable skills is the only solution to alleviate poverty and unemployment in Pakistan.” He underlined the fact that Pakistan is blessed with the youth bulge, as almost 60 percent of its population consists of young people. To exploit this demographic dividend, he explained, the government is committed to utilize all its resources to reform the TVET sector.