Pakistan TVET REFORM Support Programme Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Reform support Programme
LAHORE May 23, 2014: The Punjab Vocational Training Council has introduced a new training programme to produce certified halal butchers in order to meet the growing domestic and international demand of skilled workers in this profession.
The-Halal butchery training targets landless rural families and is being supported under a Fund for Innovative Training (FIT). FIT has been created under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Reform Support Programme, is co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
“Halal butchery is an emerging profession, which has massive prospects for employability, not only in Pakistan, but also in many European countries’, said FasialIjaz Khan, chairman PVTC, while briefing a high level delegation from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The German delegation, led by BMZ Regional Head for Afghanistan and Pakistan Dr. Stefan Oswald, visited a number of German-assisted projects in Lahore to get a first-hand impression of the realities on the ground.
PVTC has been one of the major recipients of funds under the FIT projects, which have been set up under the TVET Reform Support Programme to train 100,000 trainees through innovative training projects. PVTC has set up 07 state of the art labs and class rooms of Welder / Fabricator and Industrial Garments Stitching trades in central and southern Punjab through 07 FIT projects, which have already been completed. These completed projects directly benefited 492 people, while the number of indirect beneficiaries is 3590.
Under the Halal butchery training project, the PVTC will train 240 men and women to become Halal butchers, while 600 traditional butchers will also be given training on hygiene and safe health practices by May 2015.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Khan lauded the support from Germany, European Union and the Netherlands for supporting the TVET sector of Pakistan. He said Pakistan has a huge potential with its young population, which needs to be equipped with employable skills, and underlined that this challenge cannot be met without active external support.
He mentioned that the FIT training initiatives had helped PVTC to start some new and innovative training approaches in Pakistan, which not only transformed the lives of thousands of Pakistanis, but it also helped institutions like PVTC to fostersustainable training delivery in the future.
