A new skills training program – ‘training of master trainers’- has been launched to provide training to 120 professionals in the country.

The aim of the project,  in collaboration with the governments of Germany, Norway, Pakistan, and Australia, is to build training capacity in the skill development areas focusing on vocational and technical expertise.

The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and Technical Education and vocational training – (TVET) in Pakistan will be working with Australia’s technical training institute – Melbourne Polytechnic, a tertiary education provider.

    “Our project is to skill up a number of teachers [in Pakistan] who will become a pool of Master trainers to roll it out to a larger group of teachers.”

Greg Madigan, Executive Director for Marketing and International Partnerships at Melbourne Polytechnic told SBS Urdu that in the middle of 2018, the Pakistani government introduced the TVET policy to improve the skillset of teachers in learning institutes via competency-based training, similar to the system in Australia.

“The project is funded by the European countries to focus on building the capability of the education system in Pakistan, supported by the Australian and Pakistani governments.

“Initially we will train 120 professionals in Pakistan who will provide training to over 3,000 teachers,” Mr Madigan said.

Young population and new skills

Pakistan currently has a very young population with over two-thirds of the country's population under the age of 30. However, the literacy rate is low compared to the region.

To develop this "youth bulge" through quality education, the Pakistani government is striving to boost the skill set of the teachers through new vocational programs based on international partnerships.

    “We are working in partnership with the Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management in Islamabad to develop skills based on the industry requirement,” Mr Madigan added.

Mr Madigan said that Melbourne Polytechnic is also looking to establish centres of excellence based on industry sectors in Pakistan.

Staff members of Melbourne Polytechnic will visit Pakistan to train teachers over a period of 6 – 8 weeks.

"The Pakistani policy is currently looking at various areas where the teachers and the students will have employment opportunities in the future. So we will be working towards skill specific teaching later on to target the youth.
 

Youth Facts - Pakistan National Human Development Report - UNDP
 

Melbourne Polytechnic

Melbourne Polytechnic has been delivering vocational training since 1912, offering TAFE (technical and further education) - VET and Higher Education (Degree) programs.

The institute will be training Pakistani teachers on how to make a curriculum, how it goes to assessment, and how to build the best assessment tools to ensure the curriculum being taught has been absorbed by the students.

Talking about the participants and representatives from the education sector, Dino Bettiol, Vice President for International Development, Melbourne Polytechnic said that the passion for education and learning new things was really inspirational.

“The trainees were really involved and passionate about what they were doing.”

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