We have to build inter-institutional nexus and incubate investment to develop human capital in the country, said Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Department Zulfikar Bukhari on Thursday.
He was addressing the industry leaders, associations, representatives of chambers of commerce, policy makers, national and international donors and experts on skill education in the international seminar “Enabling Employment”,
Bukhari said that previous governments focused only on infrastructure development but the incumbent government is focusing on developing skills in workforce.
The Seminar was organized by National Logistics Cell (NLC) in collaboration with Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development at Aiwan-e-Sadar here on Thursday.
In his opening remarks, Director General NLC Maj Gen Muhammad Asim Iqbal highlighted the role of NLC in promoting skill and vocational education. He said that NLC was running five technical institutes in the country and had so far trained 56,000 youth from across the country. He said that due to disconnect between academia and industry even skilled workers were finding it hard to get employment. On the other hand, industry is faced with a severe shortfall of suitable tradesmen.
Bukhari said that the youth of Pakistan is dynamic but all it needs is a direction and the specific skillset. Unemployment is causing stress in the youth and we will have to take immediate steps to overcome this menace that is engulfing the society.
He emphasized the need to channel investment and establish vocational training institutions to help youth acquire skills that are needed in the market. Additionally, he said that the link between academia and industry is the most important step towards the development of an efficient workforce that is also familiar with technological advancements. The foreign investment in technology is expected. The government is in talks with Microsoft to invest in information technology in Pakistan. If we seek economic growth, we will have to channel our energy and investment in the right direction and that requires coordination between institutions to not only train young blood but also give them a sense of direction, he emphasized. Bukhari said that a defined career path was important for country’s youth and that there was a need for academia to develop a career-oriented curriculum that caters to the needs of the market. The speakers stressed the need for improved liaison between the industry and academia, revision of skill education curriculum with special focus on job placement and creation of a platform to assist the government in policy formulation for creation of job opportunities for the youth.