Provincial Minister for Labour & Human Resource Raja Ashfaq Sarwar has said that Punjab government is considering to establish a new, single and independent “Punjab Skill Agency” for the improvement of technical and vocational training provided by TEVTA, PVTC and other skill training institutes of the provinces. Punjab government will undertake a functional review of Punjab Board of Technical Education (PBTE) and Trade Testing Board (TTB) as agencies responsible for accreditation and assessment, reviewing and revising the legal regulatory framework in which they operate.
He stated this while presiding over a meeting of Punjab Skill Development Steering Committee at Planning & Development Auditorium. Punjab Minister for Industries & Commerce Ch. Muhammad Shafiq, Chairman P&D Jehanzeb Khan, Chairman TEVTA Irfan Qaisar Sheikh, Project Director PIU Ameer Khatak, Secretaries of concerned departments along with representatives of Punjab Skills Development Fund and Punjab Vocational Counsel also attended the meeting. Project Director Ameer Khatak while briefing the meeting said that to achieve two million target of skill training under Punjab Growth Strategy 2018 a total of 548000 youth will be trained annually in different sectors. While giving details, he said that TEVTA will train 140000, PVTC 133000, PSDF 60000, government departments 81000, TEVTA affiliated private institutes will train 41000 while other private sector independent institutes will give skill training to 93000 per year this target. He said that to achieve this target, system capacity by demand driven skill training will be increased with sector focused approach to build capacity, flexible training will be ensured, tailored to employer’s needs and partnership of private sector for capacity expansion will also be enhanced. He further told that training quality and relevance will be increased, getting industry input about skill training curriculum, instructions and employment. Every graduate will get on the job and in the class training as well, he added. Minister Labour Raja Ashfaq Sarwar said that Punjab government will ensure perform based funding for the training institution and improve governance, independent quality assurance by testing and accreditation with regular monitoring to ensure progress in provincial skill training sector.