Promoting TVET & Skills Landscape

In order to strengthen the skills sector which will in turn help for better absorption of the skilled individuals in the job market Industries, Commerce Investment & Skills Development Department has undertaken various reforms. These include; Unifying PVTC, PSDF and P-TEVTA under the administrative control of Industries, Commerce Investment & Skills Development Department to streamline TVET sector in Punjab; Punjab Skills Development Authority has also been established; Skills Advisory Forum is being reconstituted and activated; PKR 50 million have been allocated for provision of curriculum compliant labs in TEVTA and PKR 1500 million for Hunarmand Nojawan initiative for provision of teachers, equipment and revised curriculum in existing TVET institutions. Additionally 3 new Technical Universities have been established;

  • Punjab Tianjin University of Technology (PTUT) Lahore
  • Punjab University of Technology Rasul, Mandi Bahauddin
  • Mir Chakar Khan Rind University, DG Khan

The Skills space in the Punjab on the supply side comprise over 350 technical institutes run by TEVTA, institutes under PVTC and private sector training institutes. On the assessment and certification side, Punjab has well established Trade Testing Board (TTB) and Punjab Board of Technical Education (PBTE). To manage skills delivery, engage in innovative partnerships and address public sector TVET failings, Punjab Government has established the Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF). Under the previous growth strategy, a target of producing 2 million skilled graduates over four years was set. The target was met by the Punjab government. However, there were certain issues identified during implementation of this target. The main issue highlighted was lack of specificity on trades that were to be covered.

Training

Enlisted below are the total number of people provided with Skills Training in Punjab between 2014 - 18:

Entity

Number Trained

TEVTA

590,433

PVTC

505,872

PSDF

222,166

Private providers

135,406

Social Welfare

120,917

Health (All Sectors)

129,620

Local Government & Community Devt.

60,478

Agriculture

36,421

Higher Education

26,957

Other sectoral & capacity enhancements

191,588

Total

2,019,858

Source: PSDA, Punjab Skills Development Authority, December 2018

TEVTA and PVTC to produce a larger number of trained individuals relied on offering courses of shorter duration. The trainings offered by departments also included short courses with some being just a week long. Moreover, PVTC and TEVTA report more than 60 percent employment absorption of the trained, however, this is self-reported data and has not been externally verified. Nevertheless, as a result of previous growth strategy, the sector benefitted from significant public sector investments which helped building institutional capacity for skills training.

However, some of the structural issues in the provision of the skills sector still remain. The supply of skills is predominantly skewed in favour of skills more suited for self-employment rather than for employment in growing sectors. For example, Punjab produces a large number of electricians, welders, masons, dress makers, beauticians and general machinists. These skills are more relevant for self-employment rather than industrial or sectoral employment, however, ironically, the training content pays no attention to teaching entrepreneurship.