KARACHI: The present government has initiated programmes across the country for youth development. As per the directives of the Prime Minister, NAVTEC is entrusted to execute PMYSDP.
According to new economic survey of Pakistan, this programme envisages the provision of hands-on skill to unemployed and less educated youth and also ensures the provision of equal opportunities for skill development to the inhabitants of underdeveloped areas at their door steps. PMYSDP is a nation-wide programme which circumferences the whole country including far flung areas of Balochistan, Rural Sindh, Southern Punjab, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and FATA.
Training is being imparted in the developed as well as in less developed areas of the country by giving the special priority to the less developed areas from Sui to Astore and from Bajur to Bahawalnagar. The programme is being implemented in collaboration with Provincial TEVTAs, Provincial Labour and Manpower Departments, Social Welfare Departments, Private Technical and Vocational Training Providers, Armed Forces Institutes and private industry. All the training expenses are being borne by the Government of Pakistan and the trainees are being paid monthly stipend @ Rs 3,000 per trainee (in case of FATA Rs 4,000).
The seats under the programme are distributed keeping in view the province-wise population; however, the disadvantaged areas like Balochistan, FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and Rural Sindh have been given high share. Since the inception of the programme, 100,000 youth has been benefited from the programme, primarily for middle, lower middle class and deprived segments of society. NAVTTC has allocated a special quota of minimum 30% for female enrolment for skill development courses. The programme is focused to prepare skilled manpower for National Mega Projects like CPEC and other energy related projects as CPEC is expected to generate approximately 2 million jobs for skilled manpower. In continuation to above, Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Programme (PhaseIV) has targeted imparting hands-on skills training to 100,000 individuals in 02 batches.
It has already been approved by ECNEC with a project cost of Rs 6,196.5 million and under process. The training classes of 1st Batch comprising of 50,000 youth have commenced from 1st of November, 2017 to 30th of April, 2018 and the training classes of 50,000 in second batch under the same phase will progressively commence in May, 2018. In addition to skill development of 100,000 trainees, formal certification of 25,000 informally skilled individuals under NAVTTC’s Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL) programme is also being undertaken to expand the pool of skilled manpower in the country. Under the PMYSDP, NAVTTC is providing the facility of boarding and lodging to 10,000 individuals belonging to far flung and under developed areas of the country for their skill development at appropriate places where state of the art skill development facilities are available.
Other features of this programme include: implementation of Competency Based Training (CBT) aligned with International standards for skill development, job fairs/Skill competitors to encourage Employer-Trainee Interaction and enhancing employment chances of skilled individuals and up-gradation of workshops/labs of public sector institutes located in deprived and under developed areas of the country. Further, NAVTTC has framed a comprehensive mechanism for the assessment of the trainees after completing their training courses through employer (industry) and academia to ensure the utmost compliance of acquired skills of trainees in line with the demands of local and international job markets.