Our National Role: How NAVTTC is shaping the TVET Sector?
Pakistan has youth population of over 120 million to whom technical and vocational education and training (TVET) offers the shortest pathway and alternate solution for their productive engagement especially to out-of-school youth. Presently, student retention ratio at the secondary level in Pakistan is as low as 6 percent. This means that a huge number of young people needs a system which imparts them skills to enable them to earn their livelihood through employment and self-employment. Imparting demand-driven skills to Pakistani youth provides the quickest solution to confront the challenge of productive and gainful youth engagement. Likewise, technical and vocational training also provides enhanced employment opportunities to students of formal education stream to equip them with skills that are highly demanded in the domestic and/or international job market.
Pillar-II of Pakistan Vision-2025 envisages achievement of sustainable indigenous and inclusive growth through reduction of poverty level by half. Pillar-VI emphasizes the development of competitive, knowledge-based economy through value addition and Pillar-VII emphasizes modernizing the transportation infrastructure and greater regional connectivity (encompassing roads, infrastructure, energy and human capital through CPEC flagship projects). Commitment to the TVET sector is made in the following words:
“The Government is providing young people with skill-training and access to finance for setting up businesses to further promote youth entrepreneurship. Skill development institutes will be setup to improve youth employability.”
As the apex national level TVET sector policy making, standardization, regulation, and coordination organization, National Vocation and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) is making all out efforts for the development and uplift of the TVET sector in Pakistan. In accordance with the Pakistan Vision-2025 objective to attain socio-economic development of youth through technical and vocational trainings, setting-up of skill development facilities for local and international job market is of paramount importance to positively engage youth and channelize their latent energies in the right direction.
Aligned with the 12th Five Year Plan (2019-23), the Pakistan Vision 2025, and National TVET Policy under the National Skill Strategy, NAVTTC and Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training have developed TVET sector uplifting framework to revamp the entire sector by identifying key issues and taking quantitative and quantitative measures to address them in the shape of national SKILLS FOR ALL STRATEGY. In accordance with this strategy, the largest ever skill development initiative in the history of country is currently implemented by NAVTTC in the in the shape of Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Program. The program provides a comprehensive roadmap for TVET sector to enhancing infra-structure capacity, enlarging skill development opportunities for youth, and bringing their technical capacities at par with international standards both in conventional as well as high-tech and high-end technologies. It also targets quality assurance including accreditation of TVET institutes, standardization of curricula under National Vocational Qualification Framework (NVQF), implementation of competency-based training and assessment (CBT&A) system. Other key targeted interventions of the programme include extending outreach and access with specific focus on gender mainstreaming, introduction of TVET in Madrassas, introduction of latest technology in TVET through establishment of Smart Labs for distance/e-learning and development of National Employment Exchange Tool (NEXT).
NAVTTC under its strategic roadmap also emphasize effective public-private partnership towards a substantially enhanced role of the private sector in governance of TVET sector and creation of strong linkage with informal sector through recognition of prior learning (RPL). Pursuant to SDG(s) Goal#4.4 that pertains to promoting quality education, NAVTTC is determined to streamline TVET sector and produce skilled, competent, motivated, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and creative workforce acceptable to the local and international job market.