ISLAMABAD  -   The country is facing shortage of around two million professionals in technical education sector, while modern methodology and technology is also required to enhance their technical skills, on Monday.

National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) Chairman Syed Javed Hassan said this on the launching ceremony of ‘Training of Master Trainers’ programme.

NAVTTCC and Australian technical education departments have launched the programme to enhance the skill development of 120 professionals in the country.

Chairman said on this occasion that skill development of technical professionals is a critical area and country is facing shortage of manpower in this field.

He said that currently the manpower on technical professional sector is half a million, while the requirement of the industry is around two million.

He said that skill development is the vital part of government’s agenda as it will give a boost country’s industry and economy.

Chairman also said that around 4,000 professionals will be trained in total who further train the professionals in the country.

Chairman Syed Javed Hassan also said that National Vocational and Technical Training Commission is determined to meet the challenges in TVET sector and is committed to substantially improve the quality of training delivery to meet local and international industry’s demand of skilled workforce.

Under this special training programme, a national pool of master trainers from various trades will be trained and certified according to the globally recognised International Training and Assessment Courses (ITAC).

The training will be delivered by the Melbourne Polytechnic Institute, Australia and Institute of Tourism, Hospitality Management, Pakistan with the collaboration of National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and TVET SSP.

The structure of these courses has been specifically designed by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training, as per the identified international TVET sectors training needs and requirements. It is also in line with international best practice for competency-based training.

As many as 120 master trainers will be given certificates as per the Australian Competency Based Training and Assessment (CBT&A) framework. This will help in building the national capacity to further support the Pakistan’s National Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQF).

The Master Trainers (MT), completing this internationally recognized training, will be from various demand-oriented trades. These MTs will then further disseminate training to TVET trainers under a cascading model approach.

Federal minister for education Shafqat Mehmood said that skill development is at the top on the current government’s agenda and we are focused to take special measures to mobilize our youth and provide them with a conducive learning environment so that they are in a better position to explore their abilities and skills.

Teaching pedagogy and creating conducive training environment is highly imperative for better learning outcomes, the minister said.

Minister emphasized that skill development is the most effective tool to help the country progress and prosper speedily.

He congratulated the chairman and Executive Director of National Vocational and Technical Training Commission to launch this special programme for training of highly skilled chief master trainers as part of the ongoing reform in technical education and vocational training (TVET) sector of Pakistan.

He also mentioned that it is quite unfortunate that in the past our education system was not adequately linked with employability.

 “If we want to move forward as a nation it is essential to promote public-private partnership and to work in close collaboration with industry and provincial governments to become a catalyst for vocational training”, he said. We are focused on pushing up the level of literacy which currently stands at 58% only, he emphasized.

Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson, Ambassador of European Union Jean Francois Cautian, Ambassador of Germany Martin Kobler and Ambassador of Norway Kjell-Gunnar Eriksenalso spoke on the occasion and said that these trained trainers will help in improving quality of the training, as the learners will get better perspective of the training in various trades. They extended their full support and cooperation to ensure skill development of Pakistan.

In the end, Executive Director NAVTTC Dr Nasir Khan expressed his gratitude to the ambassadors of EU, Germany, Norway and High Commissioner Australia for their long-standing support to bring reforms in the TVET sector. We are dedicated to make skill sector an instrument of providing highly skilled workforce to increase industrial productivity and competitiveness and it is only through equipping our youth with skills that our country will soon be on the path to economic growth and sustainable development, he added.

The training programme has been launched with the collaboration of TVET Sector Support Programme, which is funded by the European Union and the governments of Germany and Norway through their implementing agency, the GIZ.