Pakistan's vocational education and training (TVET) system is facing multiple challenges including access, quality, equity and relevance to industry. Three million young people enter the job market each year but the TVET sector can accommodate less than half a million trainees annually in its more than 3500 institutes across the country. Even the graduates of these institutes find it hard to get jobs because they do not have specific skills valued in the market. If this trend continues, it would further aggravate the unemployment problem and thus affect the economic growth in the long run.
Perhaps the biggest advantages of technical and vocational education training (TVET) to economy are to help fight unemployment and alleviate poverty. In fact, it has also been referred to as a solution to terrorism, crimes and other social problems. The time is ripe for such investment and setting the goals for our future course of action. We need to make policies which are not only relevant but implementable. We have the best policies of the World in every department of the government but we fail to implement it effectively. So along with the policy options we need to look into the issues of implementation as well.
In the field of technical education, Pakistan should learn from developed countries like Japan and Germany. These two countries positively transformed their economies after World War-II through a laser-beam focus on technical and vocational education. Japan became a giant in the field of technology and one of the world's leading economies by developing a skilled and trained workforce. Germany, the fourth largest economy in the world today, prides itself on its Vocational Education and Training (VET) system. More than one-third (33% of all students who graduate from secondary school in Germany enter a vocational training program and about 51 percent of the country's workforce, are skilled workers trained in the VET system.
Question 1: What are some challenges faced by Pakistan's TVET system?
Answer: Challenges include limited access, low quality, inequity, and relevance to industry.
Question 2: How many young people enter the job market annually in Pakistan, and how many can the TVET sector accommodate?
Answer: Three million enter the job market, but the TVET sector can accommodate less than half a million.
Question 3: Why do graduates of TVET institutes struggle to find jobs?
Answer: They lack specific skills valued by the job market.
Question 4: What are the potential benefits of TVET to the economy?
Answer: TVET can help combat unemployment, alleviate poverty, and address social issues like terrorism and crime.
Question 5: What is emphasized as necessary for the successful implementation of TVET policies?
Answer: Alongside relevant policies, effective implementation is crucial.
Question 6: Which countries are cited as models for Pakistan's technical education, and how did they benefit from their focus on TVET?
Answer: Japan and Germany are cited; they developed skilled workforces, leading to economic growth.