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Fund for Innovative Training

The Fund for Innovative Training (FIT) was set up in 2012 until 2016 in Phase-I of TVET Reform Support Programme as an instrument to assist the TVET reform in Pakistan through stimulating and supporting innovative approaches to skills development. Designed as a funding facility providing support to organizations in Pakistan, the FIT aimed to develop, introduce, expand or pilot skills development initiatives in line with National Skills Strategy priorities, and thus potentially generated new experience about how best to address access, equity, quality and relevance challenges in the Pakistani TVET system.

FIT was designed to generate innovation in the skills development landscape of Pakistan. FIT-funded projects therefore brought new solutions to identified quality, relevance, access and cost challenges. This included new avenues to training delivery, new partnership models between training providers and stakeholders, new curricular concepts or new approaches to include neglected target groups.

Details:

The Four Windows of FIT

Objectives of the FIT were translated into the following four funding “windows”, through which 34 projects were supported, benefitting around 124,000 men and women across Pakistan.

Window 1: 'Green Skills'

Window 1: 'Green Skills'

The objective of this window was to stimulate TVET initiatives that assisted the development of sustainable agriculture, efficient use of natural resources, energy efficiency and use of renewable energies in Pakistan and create related employment opportunities. The window was designed to promote skills development initiatives that support the ongoing efforts of the Government of Pakistan and its development partners to exploit the country’s potentials in agricultural and energy sectors.

Window 2: 'Access for Marginalized Groups'

Window 2: 'Access for Marginalized Groups'

Window 2 supported in enhancing the access to employment-oriented training for women (especially marginalized women such as single mothers and female household heads who have a particularly high poverty incidence), youth from poor households, conflict- and disaster-affected areas, internally displaced people (IDPs), people with disabilities, and transgender. These target groups are particularly underserved in terms of skills development opportunities, either because they cannot afford training, their level of education does not allow them to participate in formal training programmes, there is a general shortage of training facilities in certain areas or because cultural barriers prevent participation.

Window 3: 'Get Enterprises on Board'

Window 3: 'Get Enterprises on Board'

The objective of Window 3 was to improve the quality and relevance of skills development through involvement of the world of work. The rationale of this window is that skills development is getting better and more relevant if and when participation of enterprises and industry representative in course design and training delivery is increasing and linkages between TVET institutions and enterprises are getting deeper. In Pakistan such linkages are often not developed.

The window supported initiatives that build and enhanced the relationship between training providers and enterprises and developed models to engage enterprises in training delivery. A special emphasis was given for the improvement in quality of the Ustad-Shagird system.

Window 4: 'Self-employment Promotion'

Window 4: 'Self-employment Promotion'

The objective of the fourth window is to promote self-employment and entrepreneurship development – including social entrepreneurship – through innovative approaches to integrate skills development with business and market development. The rationale of the window is that while self-employment constitutes an important target labour market for TVET graduates, skills development (both technical and entrepreneurship/business development skills) alone is usually not sufficient to enable graduates to successfully start an own enterprise. Other complementary business development services need to be accessible as well, for example access to finance, access to markets, input supplies, or business mentorship. The window therefore tried to stimulate new approaches to self-employment promotion that aims at linking skills development with more comprehensive approaches to business services development, and to develop systematic skills development programmes within the framework of broader market and value chain development programmes.