| Project Detail |
The proposed Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project (IWRPP) is estimated to cost $110 million, of which the ADB will finance $100 million from ordinary capital resources (regular loan). The Government of Punjab will contribute in-kind assistance of $10 million. The IWRP Project will strengthen the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sectors ability to support economic growth and job creation in priority economic sectors, including export-oriented sectors. The IWRP Project will expand use of competency-based training and assessment (CBTA), reform the TVET institutional framework, and develop TVET centers of excellence (COEs) and sector skills councils. It will also expand work-based training, strengthen of industry-TVET linkages, address the lack of female participation in TVET, expand entrepreneurship programs for TVET graduates, and introduce the private management of public TVET institutes.
Project Name Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project
Project Number 52069-001
Country / Economy Pakistan
Project Status Approved
Project Type / Modality of Assistance Loan
Technical Assistance
Source of Funding / Amount
Loan 4278-PAK: Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab
Concessional ordinary capital resources lending US$ 100.00 million
TA 10035-PAK: Strengthening the Capacity of the Government of Punjab to Deliver Quality and Inclusive Technical and Vocational Education and Training
Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific US$ 2.00 million
Strategic Agendas Environmentally sustainable growth
Inclusive economic growth
Drivers of Change Gender Equity and Mainstreaming
Governance and capacity development
Knowledge solutions
Partnerships
Private sector development
Sector / Subsector
Education / Technical and vocational education and training
Gender Equity and Mainstreaming Gender equity
Description The proposed Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project (IWRPP) is estimated to cost $110 million, of which the ADB will finance $100 million from ordinary capital resources (regular loan). The Government of Punjab will contribute in-kind assistance of $10 million. The IWRP Project will strengthen the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sectors ability to support economic growth and job creation in priority economic sectors, including export-oriented sectors. The IWRP Project will expand use of competency-based training and assessment (CBTA), reform the TVET institutional framework, and develop TVET centers of excellence (COEs) and sector skills councils. It will also expand work-based training, strengthen of industry-TVET linkages, address the lack of female participation in TVET, expand entrepreneurship programs for TVET graduates, and introduce the private management of public TVET institutes.
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy
The Government of Pakistan (the Government) has set itself an ambitious target of creating 10 million jobs over five years, with a special focus on skill-building through technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in its first term. Achieving this target will require much better performance from the TVET sector. The scale of improvement required can be seen from the Global Competitiveness Report 2018, which showed that Pakistan ranked 125th overall for skills with individual rankings of 90th for the quality of vocational training, 51st for the skillset of graduates, and 63rd for ease of finding skilled employees._
Since the passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010, provincial governments in Pakistan are responsible for delivering, funding and regulating TVET. In Punjab, the Industries, Commerce and Investment Department (ICID) has overall responsibility for the TVET sector, although many departments and agencies are involved in the sector. There are two principal public TVET providers in Punjab. The largest is the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA), with around 400 institutes, while the Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC), which serves the poor and needy, has some 270 institutes. TEVTA and PVTC rely mostly on provincial government funding. TEVTA is financed through ICID, while PVTC is funded through the Zakat and Ushr Department and the Planning and Development Department. Other TVET institutes include public providers operated by other governments departments and agencies, and a large private sector. TEVTA and PVTC also operate TVET teacher training centers. The structure of the TVET sector in Punjab is set out in Appendix 4.
The size of the TVET sector in Punjab dwarfs that in other provinces. In 2017, there were some 1,600 TVET institutes and 238,000 TVET enrolments in Punjab, representing 46.0% of all TVET institutes and 56.8% of all TVET enrolments in Pakistan. By comparison, Sindh had only 17.0% of TVET institutes and 18.1% of TVET enrolments in Pakistan in 2017._The labor market in Punjab is characterized by low levels of skills, low female participation and high levels of informality. Women who access TVET are often relegated to traditional female courses such as dressmaking and beauty salon, with little institutional support to encourage them to enter male-dominated programs such as solar-panel repair and maintenance. Womens labor force participation is only 40% that of men. There is substantial gender-segregation in the labor force, with women are concentrated in a few industries such as agriculture, forestry and fishing, and education. In contrast, the number of women in wholesale and retail trade, vehicle repair, and construction is very low._Over 60% of the Pakistan population is under 25. The large and growing youth workforce has low levels of education and has little exposure to TVET. The unemployment rate for youth is high._Labor market outcomes are particularly bad in southern Punjab. The TVET sectors challenges limit its ability to support competitiveness and inclusive economic growth through the supply of skilled workers.
Impact
Access to quality employment for workers in Punjab increased (Punjab Skills Development Sector Plan 2018) |
