The Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) is implementing a revolutionary program to overcome the shortage of skilled workers through empowerment of the industrial sector and by establishing sector skills councils, Ali Salman Siddique, TEVTA chairman, said at the introductory meeting of the first Sector Skills Council for Textile and Garments, established by the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI).
He said that TEVTA will transfer most of the training related issues to the industrial sector enabling them to prioritize, fabricate and implement its demand driven courses in TEVTA institutes. He said that the private sector must work hard to make the programme successful as it is meant to facilitate them. “This programme could be replicated at the national level if it proved successful,” he opined. He added that Competency Based Training & Assessment (CBTA) system will be introduced in all 403 TEVTA institutes across the province. “It will help our students to get jobs in 130 countries where this system is recognized and implemented,” he said, and added that it will also help our industrialists to get skilled manpower for their hi-tech units. The chairman said that we have sufficient funding lines to purchase new and latest machinery for the TEVTA institutes for the training of students.
He said that newly created skills councils will decide to purchase the relevant machinery according to their needs. He said that a center of excellence in textile and garment will also be established in Faisalabad. “Its final approval is expected very soon and concerned stakeholders must give their recommendations to make it more efficient, active and productive”, he added. He said that TEVTA was working like other Government departments during the last 20 years but now we want to take it to corporate level so that it could fulfill the needs of skilled manpower for the industrial sector in an entirely changed environment. About Faisalabad he said that it has 39 institutes and maximum textile courses are being offered. However we could increase the number of these courses according to the principle of “Supply and Demand”. He further said that TEVTA needs reliable and credible data of demand and supply so that maximum market driven courses could be offered for two, five and ten years. Responding to a question, Mr. Ali Salman said that GIZ has prepared technical training courses from level one to ten which could be opted in according to the needs of the local industrial units. He said that a technical university could also be established in Faisalabad, if it was deemed necessary.