The Planning Commission of Pakistan has cleared the concept proposal for the Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project (IWRPP).
The project’s estimated cost is $110 million, which includes a $100 million Foreign Exchange Component and a $10 million local component, as per the documents available with ProPakistani.
The concept clearance proposal for the IWRPP is sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Planning and Development Department (P&D) Board of the Government of Punjab. The proposal has been tabled for consideration by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) at a total cost of $110.0 million ($100.00 million is a 90.9 percent loan from the ADB, and $10.00 million is 9.1 percent that will be shared by the Government of Punjab).
The project is aimed at strengthening the Industry-TVET linkage by establishing Centers of Excellence pertaining to seven priority sectors in 20 TVET institutes of Punjab. Its key activities are:
- Establishing a Center of Excellence in 20 TVET institutes in Punjab
- Establishing four new and strengthening four existing Sector Skills Councils (SSCs)
- Training programs in priority and forward-looking skills areas with a focus on entrepreneurship and work-based training
- Improving TVET Sector Institutional Framework through the Punjab Skills Development Authority (PSDA) and the Punjab Skills Testing Agency (PSTA) for TVET policy research and TVET Management Information System (MIS) and Labor Market Information System (LMIS).
Of the 20 Centers of Excellencies, 11 will be established in central Punjab, four in northern Punjab, and five in southern Punjab.
The goal of the project is to provide the youth with demand-driven skills to incorporate them into the priority economic sectors as outlined in the concept clearance proposal.
Pakistan’s ranking in skills as per the Global Competitiveness Report 2018 is very low (125 of 140 countries surveyed). However, in terms of Innovation Capability, Pakistan ranked 75th among the 140 countries, which is relatively better but not encouraging and needs to be improved through the provision of the skills that are demanded in the market.
