Islamabad - Federal Minister for Education and Technical Training Engr. Muhammad Baligh ur Rehman on Monday said that efficient collaboration between skill institutions and industry is vital for enhancing productivity and rapid economic growth of the country.

The minister said this during an inaugural ceremony of four-day International Conference on Regional Programme on Skills for Youth Employability through Industrial Linkages here.

National Vocational & Technical Training Commission of Pakistan (NAVTTC) and Colombo Staff Plan College (CPSC) are jointly organising the Conference. Delegates from 12 countries are participating in the conference.

“Practical, purposeful and efficient collaboration between TVET institutions and industry is vital for enhancing productivity and firm competitiveness which ultimately leads to rapid economic growth and national prosperity,” the minister added.

The minister said in this global village and rapidly changing technologies, our youth and workforce should be equipped with excellent skills and they should have expertise for success.

He said that the present government has passed Apprenticeship Act in which role of industry is made participatory especially in view of harmony between TVET institutions and Industry for enhancing productivity and economic growth.

He noted that the new paradigm of TVET Sector in the region needs to be conceived in such a way that training systems can respond to demands of the industry. Industry should also play its due role in skill modernisation, setting skills standards and provide direction to TEVT Sector for ensuring maximum employability.

He also said that Higher Education Commission (HEC) has started new kind of research for employability through industrial linkages. He added that the government is moving in right direction and seeing good economic growth besides expecting 6 pc GDP growth this year.

The minister hoped that the regional programme will go a long way in exploring a viable solution for the issues hampering close collaboration between the TVET institutions and industry. Earlier, Executive Director (ED) NAVTTC Zulfiqar Cheema, while addressing the conference, said there is an urgent need for conceptualising and implementing new sustainable industry-institute partnership architecture, instruments and mechanisms to mobilize additional resources (from both public and private sector) to appropriately fund any planned TVET expansion and quality improvement.

It’s unfortunate that we lost more than half century without focusing on the most important sector of the skill development, he added.

“It is important to build a demand driven, flexible, integrated and high quality assured system for creating a skilled workforce that is vital for our economic growth and development,” he added.  He said partnership with the industries in TVET sector would help us to increase access to TVET, improve on the quality and relevance which would ultimately reduce the existing skill gaps and address the rampant unemployment problems especially among the youth, he stressed. Director General (DG) CPS, Ram Hari Lamichanne said this conference would be beneficial for not only Pakistan but all the countries of the region as through its platform several workable strategies would be developed to reform the TVET sector.

This region is blessed with young demographic dividend and it’s important for us to turn them into a skilled workforce which will ultimately bring prosperity to all countries, he said.