ISLAMABAD, Nov 17: The National Vocational and Technical Educational Commission (Navtec) chairman, Adnan A. Khawaja, on Monday said 25,000 youth in Punjab would be imparted training in different trades during 2008-09. He said Navtec, in collaboration with Technical and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) Punjab and other departments including the universities had evolved a comprehensive strategy to this effect.

He was talking to the executive director, College of Tourism and Hotel Management (COTHM), Lahore, Ahmed Shafiq. Senior faculty members of the college were also present during the meeting.

Mr Khawaja said services sector was one of the top priority sectors of the federal government as it had the potential of becoming great source of earning foreign exchange.

The chairman said it was the considered opinion of the government that export of trained workforce in services and hospitality sector could be helpful for meeting the economic and financial challenges currently facing the country.

He said being an engine of growth the private sector had to come forward to share the vision of the government of providing skills to Pakistan. Public-private sector partnership was highly essential to produce skilled workforce in accordance with the current demands of the industrial sector at home and abroad.

The chairman said under the directives of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Navtec had shifted its focus from supply-driven training to demand-driven training of the manpower. There was no use of imparting training to the youth in those trades or disciplines which had no good demand at local and international level.

Keeping this in view, Navtec was focusing its attention on four priority sectors which include construction, services/hospitality, agriculture and livestock and information technology and telecommunication, he added. Adnan Khawaja was confident that the highly skilled workforce in these four sectors would yield the desired results.

Earlier, the college’s executive director briefed the Navtec chairman on short courses being conducted in COTHM.

He has also given the details of the courses run in recent past with the collaboration of Navtec.