Daily Times

In order to maximize returns from the opportunities arising out of the implementation of CPEC projects, Pakistan would have to take serious notice of its human capital deficiency, said State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The government needs to devise a framework focusing on skill-development of the workforce and adequate provision of associated services in order to stand on an equal footing with the rest of the regional economies, who are intently focusing on re-skilling, digitization and technological advancements to gain a competitive advantage, added the Central Bank.

A significant overhaul of the education system of the country is required to address the dearth of adequately skilled graduates entering the labor force. As the findings from the Human Capital Index reveal, the effectiveness of the primary education needs to be enhanced significantly in order to improve the level of knowledge-absorption and increasing the level of enrollment in schools. Of equal importance is the need for revising the curriculum of academic institutions to better reflect the needs of current and future occupations, it added.

Secondly, focus on vocational and skills training of the work force is critical in ensuring that the employability levels of the domestic workers remain intact, or ideally increase, during the transitional stage of job transformation and technical advancement. A welcome development in this regard is that the Chinese firms are already involved in technical skill building of the Pakistani youth to enable them to be prepared for work under the CPEC programs. This includes emphasis on vocational training (such as the construction of Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute at Gwadar), scholarships and exchange programs for university and college students as mentioned in the Joint-Statement, and collaborative efforts with Pakistani technological platforms (such as the AliBaba eFounders Fellowship program with NIC Karachi).

However, as stressed in previous reports, there needs to be an overarching policy to govern the skill-building process from the public domain to keep the progress aligned with the national objectives. The devolution of labor administration to provinces under the 18th Amendment, though, means that provinces must also facilitate the center in this regard. Recently, Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, all have launched labor policies with the objective of increasing jobs, providing a safe and healthy work environment, ensuring gender parity in employment, and training their respective labor force according to the needs of a transitioning economy, the SBP’s State of Pakistan Economy – Second Quarterly Report 2018-19 reads.

Another encouragement development is that the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTCC) of Pakistan is in the process of introducing officially defined skill-set categorizations to help improve the placement and skill matching in the domestic labor market. Under the revised National Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQF), an assessment criterion is being developed to classify workers according to skill-sets and to facilitate their gradual promotion to higher levels.

On parallel terms, the TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) sector institutions would also be assessed based on indicators such as affiliation/accreditation with relevant bodies; adequacy of training facilities; teaching staff quality; type of trades being offered; employability of graduates; alignment with NVQF; and health and safety requirements, etc. The objective is to foster a sense of healthy competition amongst the training institutes to bring overall improvement in the sector.

The report further added that emphasis on digital and financial literacy and inclusion would be vital to enable both individuals and businesses to take advantage of the ICT in e-commerce, Fintech and BPO segments of the market. Finally, a strong focus on higher-level education pertaining to the complementary services sector (such as accountancy, consultancy, legal, etc.) would be needed so that the domestic labor force can fulfill the associated requirements of new industries enacted under the proposed SEZs.