A five-member team under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar, Vice Chancellor of National Skills University Islamabad, participated in the scholarship distribution ceremony of the Pakistan Foreign Office Women’s Association (PFOWA). In this ceremony, Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, distributed PFOWA scholarship cheques among meritorious students. This program supports sons and daughters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees in grades 1 – 15. Other initiatives of the PFOWA are in supporting healthcare programs, including widows’ welfare.
Addressing scholarship winners and their parents, the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan stressed the need for learning employable skills. According to him, there is a need that our academic institutions must train youth with quality education relevant to the job market. Globalization and the mobility of talents urge skills and technology education to be highly competitive.
The National Skills University Vice Chancellor discussed his university’s unique educational initiatives in his keynote address. He particularly emphasized engaging industry leaders in the advisory council who regularly advise the university in designing and developing curricula based on market demands. According to Prof. Mukhtar, Pakistani youth is smart and innovative. You show them a stair, and they climb on the top. Quoting an example of Mobile Repairing Technicians graduating from his university successfully do mobile marketing by employing E-commerce methodologies. According to him, 29.5 million Not in Education, Employment and Training (NEET) in Pakistan is a treasure trove for Pakistani academia. Their proper training in various skills will bring peace and prosperity to the country.