ISLAMABAD - National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) for the first time in Pakistan, has introduced National Job Portal to link skilled workers with employers under which more than 550,000 youth have uploaded their skill profiles on the Portal for employment.

Additionally, NAVTTC has also established more than Job Placement Centres (JPCs) at Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore and more than 100 Job  Placement and Vocational Counseling Centres  (JP&VCCs) across the country for the benefit of youth, said an official of the NAVTTC.

In an exclsuive talk with APP hes aid that so far, he said, 200,000 youth have been trained in the most demanded trade to bridge the demand­ supply gap of skilled workforce in the country and enhance employability of Pakistani youth.

He said that a large number of Pakistani youth acquire training through informal sector, known as the “Ustad-Shagird” system.

To enhance employment prospects for such youth, the system Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) has been launched as a tool to recognize/certify the skills acquired through informal/unregulated means, he added.

Training and capacity building of TVET trainers and managers has also been given its due importance. Both incountry and foreign training programmes  have been arranged for training and capacity building of TVET trainers and managers.

To collect latest market data on skills demands in the national and international job markets and create real time linkages with prospective employers, National Skills Information System (NSIS) has also been established with state of the art technologies, he informed.

National Vocational Qualification Framework (NVQF), the official informed, has devised and implemented for the standardization of skill qualifications across the country.

As quality assurance mechanism in the TVET sector, NAVTTC has introduced a comprehensive accreditation regime in Pakistan, he added.

More than 200 TVET institutes and 1400 training programmes have already been accredited  under the programme, he said.

In curriculum development and its standardization at the national level, he said, NAVTTC has developed curriculum for more than 100 trades, in accordance with latest technological requirements of the national and international job markets.