The provincial Directorate of Technical Education and Directorate of Manpower Training were merged to form the Directorate General of Technical Education and Manpower Training under the TEVTA Ordinance in February 2002. It was later declared as the Secretariat of TEVTA and the Technical Education and Vocational Training Agency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was formed.

However, not much was done practically in the following 12 years to improve the training curricula or employability for the persons passing out from vocational training centres in the province due to non-implementation of the ordinance.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took note of the issue and introduced TEVTA Ordinance 2014. However, there were a number of shortcomings, which were eliminated in the TEVTA Act 2015 that recently got passed by the provincial assembly.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Technical and Vocational Training Agency (KP-TEVTA) will soon have a new 26-member board of governors, including four administrative secretaries and representatives from the industry, the chambers, overseas employment promoters, and the assembly’s standing committee on technical education.

Sajjad Ali Shah, Director Operations at the KP-TEVTA tells TNS that the chief minister took special interest in the strengthening of the department. "The chief minister released an initial amount of Rs1.5 billion to strengthen the department. He demanded that our pass-outs shall have enhanced employability in the country and abroad," he says.

Skilled workers and persons with technical education are in demand in the Middle Eastern countries. Each year, thousands of skilled labourers from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Philippines travel to the Gulf in search of better job opportunities.

However, many Pakistani labourers fail to impress the employers as they lack practical experience. "A high percentage of our skilled labourers possess certificates and diplomas without having command over the technical capabilities that employers are looking for," Shah opines.

Industrialist and former chairman KP-TEVTA, Nauman Wazir, who was recently elected Senator on the PTI ticket, informs TNS that the TEVTA Act 2015 ensures availability of more money as the provincial government gave Rs900 million for training to increase funds by 6,000 percent compared to previous allocations. "The act also stresses at the provision of practical training to learners. The training by KP-TEVTA will become more practical-based in the country," he adds.

KP-TEVTA aims at enhancing employability by prioritising relevance of the training in accordance with the needs of the market. "The curricula in practice since 1996 will be replaced by competency-based training designed for meeting the demand of the private sector," Shah informs.

He explains that specialist instructors will train learners according to the skill standards acceptable to the local and foreign employers. "The assessment of the learners would be done in the presence of representatives from the private sector to enhance competency achievements," he adds.

KP-TEVTA also aims to improve access to vocational training for people from rural areas. Only 1.7 per cent of the people enrolled in the provincial education system are registered with TEVT institutes. Shah maintains that "attracting marginalised people and youth in the rural areas to vocational skills will enable them to earn livelihood for their families."

Quality assurance is another point of interest for KP-TEVTA. There was a gap between vocational training centres and private sector due to lack of quality of skills. "Pakistan’s national target is to equip one million persons per year with technical education. Each year roughly 25,000 persons pass TEVT in KP while about 300,000 skilled workers get certification throughout the country. Regrettably, 70 per cent of them fail to get jobs," Shah points out.

He says KP-TEVTA board of governors estimates that 40 per cent skilled workers would be adjusted in KP, 40 per cent in other parts of the country and the remaining 20 per cent in foreign countries.

One murky fact linked to technical and vocational training is the use of zakat money to train the poor candidates. The Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA) scholarships are given by the ministry to deserving students who seek skills training at the centres across the country.

However, the money is not utilised accordingly at least in KP as there is no accountability whether the enrolled persons really receive training and if the training is according to the standards.

Shah informs that many persons eligible for MORA scholarship are enrolled at the TEVT centres across the province. "The ministry of religious affairs pays for such persons. However, there is no check on ensuring the attendance and interest of the students. It is also not known as to how many of them get jobs in the industry," he says.

Although provincial vocational training agencies became autonomous after the 18th amendment, these still follow the training curricula designed by the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC). "All the provinces believe that education is a provincial matter. However, NAVTTC argues that training is a federal subject under the Constitution, hence, the federal government should pass on training regulations to the provincial TEVTAs," he explains.

Senator Nauman Wazir believes efficiency of the system will improve if professionals are appointed executive directors of NAVTTC. "District management group officers are posted on the position for up to six months. The federal government needs to appoint engineers or persons with proper technical education for at least two to three years to implement their ideas," he stresses.

He links the development of a country with the production of technically skilled persons who can improve the industry and strengthen the economy.

He applauds the provincial government’s commitment towards strengthening the TEVT. "The KP government passed the TEVTA Act 2015 in just six months and pledged to provide eight billion rupees in comparison to six billion by the Punjab government, which passed a similar bill in six years," he adds.

Wazir says the country should aim at producing job-creators instead of job-seekers to attract entrepreneurs who can set up industries. "The effectiveness of the new act will be visible after six months. We will follow the same steps in FATA to achieve higher goals," he hopes.