ISLAMABAD: The European Union announced on Friday that it would provide 45 million euros to support ongoing reforms in the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector focusing on equipping young people with employable skills in Pakistan.

After successful implementation of the first and second phases of TVET programme over the past five years, the new support from the European Union will be used to implement the third phase of the project which is likely to start in January and would continue for five years.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für InternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH will continue to implement the reform programme as the main technical agency in close collaboration with the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and other public and private sector organisations across the country.

The EU support for the third phase of the TVET programme was announced at the signing ceremony for implementation of the agreement between the European Union and GIZ. The ceremony was organised by the European Union Delegation Of fice here.

EU Ambassador Jean-François Cautain, German Ambassador Ina Lepel, a number of senior government officials, leading employers and representatives of various donors and interna-tional technical agencies attended the ceremony.

Ambassador Cautain and Country Director GIZ Pakistan Dr Julie Reviere signed the implementation agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

In his remarks, the EU ambassador termed TVET a flagship sector for EU`s support to Pakistan. Highlighting the importance of the sector for Pakistan, Ambassador Cautain said: `Our support to the TVET sector goes in hand with the advancement in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Pakistan would need skilled labour in various sectors in upcoming years to meet the demand with the expected economic progression.

The two ongoing EU-funded TVET projects will end this month.