ADB loans $100m to improve skills training in Punjab

• Project to enhance quality and relevance of TVET.
• ADB's regional DG says project will also support industries.
• Project to incorporate disaster resilience into design of TVET centres.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Tuesday approved a $100 million loan to help improve technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Punjab and ensure skills training meets the demand for jobs in the country’s priority economic sectors.

The regional development bank's 'Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project' will help enhance the quality and relevance of TVET to increase graduates’ employability, upgrade workers’ skills, ensure more equitable access to training for women and disadvantaged groups, and improve management and strategic planning in TVET institutions.

“Punjab makes up over half the national income and is expected to make a significant contribution to Pakistan’s post-flood recovery,” said Yevgeniy Zhukov, ADB's Director General for Central and West Asia.

Zhukov added that the project will fund "demand-driven and gender-focused training" to boost livelihoods and support industries that are key to Pakistan’s recovery and future growth.

It will finance the establishment of 19 TVET centres of excellence in eight priority economic sectors: automobile assembly parts and repairs, construction, food processing, health, information and communication technology, light engineering, textiles and garments, and tourism and hospitality.

They will provide programmes with linkages to industry and deploy best practices. The project will include the development of skills training programmes using technology in response to emerging trends in the fourth industrial revolution.

Given Pakistan’s high vulnerability to climate change, disaster resilience will be incorporated into the design of TVET centres of excellence while training on how to prepare for and respond to disasters will be provided.

“Workers with improved skills in key areas such as construction and agriculture will be essential to implementing stronger safety standards, building back better, and helping the country prepare for future natural hazards,” said Rie Hiraoka, ADB's Director for Social Sectors.

“The ADB’s programme also seeks to support women and will prioritise disadvantaged groups to improve their chances of finding quality jobs and boosting their incomes," she added.

The project includes a $2 million technical assistance grant from the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific, which will help strengthen the TVET institutional framework and strategy in Punjab.