GPATI opens a window of opportunity: TEVTA Punjab

LAHORE May 24, 2014: A delegation from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on Saturday visited the Government Technical Training Institute (GTTI), a training facility of the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) Punjab which delivers vocational training to young people under the Germany Pakistan Training Initiative (GPATI).

GPATI is a new training approach towards creating a demand-driven technical and vocational education and training system in Pakistan, which is based on the German Dual Training System. The German system has been modified and developed into an appropriate model of cooperative training to match Pakistan’s needs for a highly skilled workforce.

The delegation, led by Dr. Stafen Oswald, Regional Head of the BMZ for Afghanistan and Pakistan, visited different workshops and met with the trainers and trainees enrolled in different training courses that are offered under GPATI. The pilot phase of GPATI is carried out in Karachi and Lahore and funded by the BMZ, while its implementation is managed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

TEVTA Punjab, in December last year, has introduced GPATI in Lahore after it had started in Karachi with active participation of national and multinational companies.

The Chief Operating Officer TEVTA Punjab, Mr. Jawad Ahmed Qureshi lauded the support from the German and other European countries for the overall reforms in the technical and vocational education and training. He said poor linkages between industry and training delivery organizations is one of the major challenges in the TVET system of Pakistan, adding the GPATI programme has opened a window of opportunity to meet this challenge.

In Lahore, over 56 national and multinational companies are participating in the GPATI programme run by TVET Punjab. At the moment, 500 trainees are enrolled for different training programmes at three of the TEVTA Punjab training institutes. Half of the training of these trainees will take place in the companies at real time workplace.