BY

The Employers’ Federation of Pakistan was formed in 1950 by enlightened employers who felt that they needed a platform from where they could play their designated role in the development of the country. Today, the EFP has become a viable organization with over 500 members, both industrial and commercial, including 15 trade bodies, such as KCCI, LCCI, OICCI, and the SITE Association of Industry. It is affiliated with the ILO thru its membership in the Geneva-based International Organization of Employers. The President of EFP is the avuncular Mr Ashraf W. Tabani, a past Sindh Governor and Minister, and a leading industrialist of the country. It is also worth mentioning that he is also a titular member on the Governing Body of ILO.

The EFP has for long felt the need for an effective system to enhance the vocational skills of the school leavers and also those who are at presently working in various factories all over the country. There are government sponsored training programs including apprenticeship programs. However, being government-run, there is misuse and a lot of hassle, with the result that the employers tend to keep away from these schemes. Take for example the Apprenticeship Ordinance 1962 under which employers must have an apprenticeship program of 2 to 4 years in their units. Employers generally tend to shy away from coming into the net of this Ordinance because they have to bear the total expenses of the program and there is a lot of rigidity, bureaucratic interference, and paperwork.

In this environment, the EFP boldly took upon itself the mantle to initiate a project to impart training and to enhance vocational training development thru flexible, demand oriented, and cost effective means with the maximum participation of employers. Thus the SKILL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL was formed, which is primarily a tri-partite organization but totally under the management of employers. It is a contracted autonomous body and is a joint project of the EFP, the World Bank, the ILO, and the Government of Pakistan.

The Vice President of EFP, Mr Ahsanullah Khan, is the Chairman of SDC and its offices are situated in the SITE Karachi industrial area. Talking about SDC, he said that its functions are five-fold. The first and foremost is to be the liaison between the employers and those who will provide the training. The second function is to identify and institute training needs specific to the geographical area where the training is to be provided. The next function is to scientifically analyze and then prioritize the training requirements and then use the available expertise to meet these priority needs. This can be effected thru contractual agreements with a wide array of both the government and the private sector training institutions and establishments, and also thru in-plant training programs. He also said that the fourth function is to document, conform, and ascertain the essentially obligatory training standards and to set up the curricular contents which are targeted to the domestic requirements. Finally, it is to design, evolve, and execute newer and more practical programs to promote the universal adaptability and accessibility of vocational, apprenticeship, and other training for the exclusive benefit of the local industry.

To a question of what the SDC can do for an individual organization, Khan Sahib enumerated five ways in which the Council can "help". Firstly, to address skill deficiencies by arranging quality programs, preferably in the factory premises, specifically targeting to the needs of that particular unit. Another way is to develop and assist in the implementation of training programs that are ideal for that unit. This includes apprenticeships too. SDC will also assist in developing linkage between the unit and the trainers. It will help in identifying the training needs and setting up of training packages for skill upgrading and also for the re-training of workers with the intention of improving their productivity. More importantly, SDC can provide financial incentives by sharing from 25-50 %, or more, of the total training cost.

Coming to the issue of being employer-friendly as compared to the harsh provisions of the present labor department-sponsored apprenticeship programs, Khan Sahib allayed the fears and replied that there is a need to be positive about this aspect because as employers, the EFP members also know the difficulties faced by them in this respect. He said that the Apprenticeship Ordinance, 1962 should be repealed as it is not effective. If the government still wants it on the statute books, it is proposed that it be held in abeyance for those industrialists who utilize the services of the SDC or who have their own individual apprenticeship programs. He said that the SDC will go a stage further and not only help the employers with planning and implementing training programs but also will assist in meeting the skilled manpower requirements by arranging training to school leavers in accordance with the requirements of the particular employer. Moreover, expert professional services can be mobilized to develop comprehensive in-house training and development programs tailor-made for that unit. He further added that the existing curricula of these trades are being revised with the help of technical committees having representatives of the relevant industries and technical institutions to adapt them to the present needs of the industries. These committees will also be responsible to recommend and develop vocational qualification standards.

Khan Sahib further added that the trained worker is in both the short and long term a source of higher profits to the industry. The chances of superior quality products is more evident with a better skilled worker. That worker is more motivated, more attuned to discipline, understands the need for increased output, and strives to achieve the laid down targets. An unskilled worker may be cheaper to employ, but at the end of the day, he is always lagging in the attainment of the targets, is more prone to accidents, is responsible for breakdowns in machinery and equipment, and on top of it he is a major factor in low output, increased rejection and wastage, and low morale. All these culminate in red ink in the balance sheet.

Giving an example of the steps taken by SDC, Ahsanullah Khan disclosed that recently they advertised for young people who desire training, as per the needs of industry, in electronics, computer maintenance, secretarial training, bio-medical technics, industrial instrumentation, etc. A huge inflow of over 2500 applications poured in, and more are still coming in. The SDC will place about 500 of them in institutions such as Petroman, Jamia Millia, Karachi Shipyards, Technoman, etc. Furthermore, there will be placements in the Modern Institute of Secretarial Science, a non-profit project of the EFP. They will be selected exclusively on merit and merit alone and the ubiquitous "parchi" will actually disqualify the applicant. The SDC will bear 100 % expenses of this particular training program. The funds have been made available thru the Prime Minister’s Special Fund.

The day to day running of the SDC is in the capable hands of the Chief Executive Officer, Syed Nazar Ali, a young man who is on deputation from the Labor Dept., and has an experience of more than 16 years. He will be coordinating the programs under the able guidance of Ahsanullah Khan and the Council members.

The SDC will be established all over Pakistan on a regional basis and will be linked with the National Training Bureau in Islamabad. The World Bank has also advised the Pakistan government to do away with the mandatory provisions of forcing the employers to initiate training programs and instead opt for an "advisory" role. The onus of training should be left to the employers or thru organizations such as the SDC. Ahsanullah Khan says that the EFP is proud of its involvement in SDC and he is very bullish on this program. He terms it the harbinger of superior training of young people and he sees a bright future for the domestic industrialists who require trained personnel. More importantly, he added, the foreign investors will then not have to bring trained staff from outside, because they will find an excellent and skilled cadre right here in Pakistan. Inshallah.