KARACHI: It is early afternoon. The vast lawns in the spacious compound of The Hunar Foundation (THF) in Korangi are lined with a succession of brick buildings without plaster except a splash of light green, pink or lime colour coating one facing wall of each. From somewhere the sound of a drilling machine bounces off the brick walls to reach the ears, from another the sound of a sewing machine produces a similar effect.

In the Emerge section of the not-for-profit organisation, Babu Mal has his thinking cap on. In 2022, the young man, who hails from Umerkot, enrolled in THF’s Mechatronics programme. Today, his Internet of Things (IoT) based fish farm monitoring system has helped create positive change within his community. It is also a testament to his resilience and the transformative power of education and mentorship.

THF is the next stop after schooling for several persons like Babu Mal, who wish to do something worthwhile with their lives.

There are many more success stories emerging from this place offering many job-ready skills. A young woman who got married early and found herself divorced, too, picked up the pieces of her life at THF to make something of herself when nothing else was going her way. Another young man, who came to become an electrician, also learned English and set up his own workshop before gaining employment as an electrician in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Hunar Foundation offers certified courses to combat joblessness

It is ideal thinking in a country such as ours to expect students to join a college after school and then head to university. But everyone is not cut out for higher education. And that’s where vocational training comes in. The founders of THF, who are also behind the founding of The Citizens Foundation’s (TCF) chain of schools now spread all over the country, knew that all students who attend school would not be going for white-collar jobs. Therefore, they also wanted to prepare a blue-collar workforce by providing them the proper skills for the kind of work which they carried an aptitude for.

From non-digital courses that produce technicians, electricians, mechanics, machinists, dress designing and making and offering beautifying services to digital and advanced technology courses which include web designing, graphic designing and video editing, 3D animation, e-commerce, digital marketing and robotics, there’s a lot to offer in vocational training. And these are not mere apprenticeships but certified courses.

According to Hafiz Mansoor Ahmed, the Emerge Incubation Centre of the THF is the country’s first incubation centre in the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector. Also, all the courses offered at THF, whether non-digital or digital and advanced technology courses span only six months with one month on-job training made possible through their industry linkages.

“We have more than 700 industrial partners for on-job trainings. It’s a close loop that doesn’t leave any loopholes,” he said.

THF Sustainability CEO Ghufran Khan said that the foundation was established in 2008 with the motto of working against hunger and joblessness. “Poverty is a big problem in our country. We attack poverty by teaching the poor ways to earn a living by giving them skills. Skills are magical,” he said.

“We have to be a part of the solution to their problems of our youth. Otherwise, you will only see crime flourish,” he pointed out.

“There is a dearth for vocational training centres in the country. Even Aman Tech, which had gained so much popularity among the youth, wrapped up three years ago.

“Around 160 million population of Pakistan aged between 15 and 30 years — 64 per cent of the country’s population — has a manpower advantage that can pay dividends if given the right skill set. If not, it can also turn into a burden,” Mr Khan concluded.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2025