Project Development and Appraisal
Project appraisal is one of the key functions of P&D Wing that involves assessing and questioning proposals before resources are committed. The section is responsible for identification, evaluation, preparation, approval, and execution of projects for skill development trainings and suggesting policy recommendations for overall TVET sector uplift. The Section works in close liaison with outside organizations including but not limited to the Planning Commission, Finance Division, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training for addressing developmental projects related issues.
Primary functions of the Project Development and Appraisal Section include:
- Identification, evaluation, and appraisal of proposals and schemes
- Preparation of PC-I and PC-II for implementation of TVET schemes and projects
- Overall coordination while presenting, discussing, and defending PC-Is and PC-IIs at the Planning Commission, Finance Division, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, and other fora for approval, etc.
- Coordination with provincial TEVTAs and other public and private TVET entities.
- Coordinating Projects Steering Committee meetings.
- Conducting non-academic research for suggesting ways and means for creating effective linkages with Industry.
- Giving input on Government’s strategic documents like Vision-2025, Economic Surveys, Labour surveys, TVET Policy, and Apprenticeship Act-2018.
- Preparation of financial estimates for ongoing and upcoming PSDP and non-PSDP Projects.
NATIONAL SKILLS STRATEGY
TVET sector of Pakistan has been highly fragmented and unstructured that required overhauling at all levels starting from policy formulation, execution, delivery, and to the impact. Under the reforms which is based on the principles of quality, access, and relevancy a National Skill Strategy (NSS) has been formulated in consultation with all key stakeholders, which is aligned with the 12th Five Year Plan (2019-23), Pakistan Vision-2025, and TVET Policy. The strategy has been developed under the TVET sector uplifting framework aiming to revamp the entire sector by identifying key issues and taking quantitative and quantitative measures to address them. The framework has been manifested in shape of Prime Minister’s Hunarmand Pakistan (Skills for All) Program initiated by the present Government in November 2019 for 20 months. 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.
Recognizing the need for skill development, a Task Force was constituted under Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training to devise a comprehensive strategy for skill development in country. NAVTTC spearheaded the proceedings of this initiative and this taskforce was constituted of all federal and provincial TVET stakeholders. Based on these key requirements, the Task Force has identified eight (08) key areas where interventions are required urgently for Pakistan to have a vibrant, responsive and productive TVET system. These eight areas are mentioned below:
- Improving Governance to remove fragmentation/duplications leading to systemic wastages
- Exploring Multi-source Funding to pursue a broad-based reform agenda
- Capacity Enhancement to create more and more training opportunities
- Quality Assurance to bring quality of skills at par with national-international requirements
- Access and equity for providing equal opportunities to such marginalized segments of society as females, orphans, special people, youth from less developed areas etc.
- Industry ownership to enhance both relevance of training and youth employability
- Skill development for international market for increasing foreign remittances
- TVET communication plan to increase image of skill sector
To implement the above recommendations of taskforce, a comprehensive skill development program is prepared and being implemented by NAVTTC i.e. Prime Minister’s Hunarmand Pakistan (Skills for All) Program under Kamyab Jawan Initiatives with following 14 areas of interventions covered under this program:
- Development & Standardization of 200 TVET Qualifications
- International Accreditation of 50 Pakistani TVET institutes with joint degree programs
- Extension of NAVTTC’s Job Portal into National Employment Exchange Portal
- Establishing 75 Smart Tech Labs for virtual skill development programs
- Establishing 10 country of destination specific facilitation centers
- Establishing 70 vocational labs in Madrassas
- Skill development program for 50,000 youth belonging to less developed areas
- Skill development training of 50,000 Youth in High-End technologies
- Apprenticeship training of 20,000 youth in industry under Apprenticeship Act-2018
- Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) of 50,000 youth
- Establishment of National Accreditation Council – placed at ICT
- Accreditation of 2,000 TVET Institutes all across Pakistan
- Training of 2,500 TVET teachers in international best TVET practices
- Establishment of 50 Business Incubation Centers
Both in terms of scope and outreach, this is the largest intervention in the TEVT sector of the country. The 14 areas of interventions proposed under the Skills for All Strategy will serve as a catalyst for kicking off the transformation of the entire TVET system in the country. It is also expected that with the initiation of this program, the long overdue process of TVET sector reforms and transformation will initiate which increasingly attract other stakeholders- the provincial governments, industry and private sector, and the donors- to contribute their parts in bringing Pakistani TVET sector at par with international standards. A Total number of approximately 170,000 skilled and certified workforce will readily be available after successful implementation of this program.