PESHAWAR: Industrialists, experts and government officials on Tuesday underlined the importance of technical and vocational education and training (TVET), saying the rampant unemployment and poverty in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could be reduced by equipping the growing young population with employable skills.

This was the crux of the speeches delivered at a one-day seminar, TVET Reform a need of the hour, here.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Technical Education and Vocational Training Agency (KP-TEVTA) organised the event here, said a news release.

The seminar was supported by the TVET Reform Support Programme, which is funded by the European Union, the governments of Netherlands, Germany and Norway, and is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in collaboration with the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and TEVTAs across Pakistan.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was the chief guest on this occasion, where KP-TEVTA chairman Nauman Wazir, industries secretary Sajid Khan Jadoon, GIZ Pakistan programme director (education) Dr Julie Reviere and people from different walks of life were in attendance.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said his government was committed to bringing drastic changes in every sector, including TVET.

He said the government had set up the KP-TEVTA, which was led by the private sector as without the involvement of industry, demand-driven workforce couldn`t be produced.

Khattak said the government making efforts to make TEVTA effectively operational as an autonomous body and training organisations as the Directorate General of Technical Education and Manpower Training (DGTE and MT) had been brought under the umbrella of T EVTA.

He expressed the hope that the TEVTA would help create a TVET system, which was relevant to market demand as well as every young boy and girl had access to the TVET so that they could earn decent livelihood.

Earlier, KP-TEVTA chairman Nauman Wazir highlighted the efforts made by his organisation for making the TVET delivery in line with market demands.

He said after the creation of the KP-T EVTA, the budget for technical education in the province had gone up from Rs15 million to Rs970 million only for training and material, while the overall budget for the sector had seen an increase from Rs3.8 billion to Rs8 billion, showing the government`s commitment to the development of TVET sector.

Nauman Wazir said steps had been taken to create strong linkages between TVET organisations and the industry so that trainees were equipped with skills required by job market. Other speakers highlighted the importance of TVE T and measures needed to reform it in the country.