The stress is on the need for having marketable graduates in the various professions, for making training certificates and diplomas credible, and for ensuring that recruitment of new people in trade and industry is made easier and workable.

There is an imperative need in Pakistan for developing curricula, which is in tune with the nation’s requirements. At the same time, it is now a must to put into practice a functional quality assurance system because the products that are in global demand are those that conform to international standards. Muriel Dunbar, Head of Policy Planning & Research, Scottish Vocational Education Council, (SCOTVEC) said that there is a need to develop the personnel of an organization on standards that are in each country’s national context. The need for vocational education and training rose due to the long-term decline of major manufacturing enterprises such as steel, ship-building, etc, after World War II, which led to a more diverse individual base, like agriculture, tourism, service industries, etc. There was a constant development of small companies, along with the concentration of population into urban areas. The emphasis was on retaining young people in education sectors so they could learn more. Along with this, the plan encouraged adults to re-enter the education field. The courses were rationalized keeping in view the changing scenario, especially the technological changes, and the idea of "life long learning" was inspired. The program also called for recognizing specific skills and instilling confidence of employers. The vocational trainers in Pakistan are advised to set up programs which are relevant to the needs of employers in Pakistan, which are flexible so as to respond to the required changes, and which can be recognized not only in the country but also in the international fields. The study of the Scottish system is advised which is based on competence of the trainee, is very modular, has a curriculum which is based on output rather than inputs, and which has a high level of employer involvement in design of the qualifications. The involvement of employers in training programs is imperative and the employers should identify the standards of vocational training and education, they should develop the curricula, provide and deliver the training, assess the quality assurance system and more importantly, endorse the certificates that are awarded to the trainees. It is pertinent to stress here that meaningful and remunerative employment is a priority for the government and at the same time, access to dignified employment is a fundamental human right. It has been sorrowfully observed over the past many years, that the root cause of urban unrest has been the deficiency in our system and the lack of capacity to absorb the energetic youth in productive endeavors. The present generation commits to the motherland and to the future, that there is a solid base of employment opportunities coupled with provision for a world class work-force so that the industrial units can strive towards attainment of highest quality, comparable consistency, and preferred output. The SDC has a yeoman role to play in this respect. One should be impressed with the SDC approach that is dynamic in nature and is geared towards utilizing the capacity of the industry to make immense contributions towards the development of the country. At the same time, the role of Employers’ Federation of Pakistan in this effort will ensure that the gap between the skills of the passing out graduates and the practical needs of the industry are narrowed so that the money wasted on imparting traditional unemployable vocational skills to the youth is initially reduced and then gradually eliminated.

The globalization of world trade and the advent of the new world trade order has placed demands that have to be considered very vigilantly. This trend demands that business systems and training programs have the flexibility to adjust to the changing technological innovations, developments, and ideas. The repeated emphasis on uniformity of products and assurance of quality is imperative for our sustainability and economic survival. One would venture to propose here that it is essential that the training institutions in the public sector are adjusted to cater to the needs of industry, are flexible in their approach, and are pragmatic in their curriculum. It has been invariably seen that there is a marked scarcity of preferred graduates who are attuned towards the new world scenario. One should consider surveying the technical institutes in the province of Sindh, look into the deficient aspects, make suggestions for improvement, and assist these in achieving the desired objectives. The SITE Association of Industry has been calling for the reorganization of the GCT SITE. This can become the test case for the private sector. The Hon’ble Governor has assured us his complete and total cooperation and support. We are ready to take this challenge and give the results. One should be sanguine that the private sector thru SDC will demonstrate that it has the strength and the capacity to successively take over the responsibility of imparting the required vocational skills to the incoming workforce. One should be aware that there have been obvious disagreements in the past on many issues among the training providers and the ultimate consumers and users of the graduates or passouts. The government efforts, too, have been criticized for not responding to the changing needs of industry. It should be the desire and expectation that both the involved partners will support and complement each other in order to provide premium Vocational Training. One can be sure that the present resources can be systematically mobilized to deliver revised programs that are basically need-oriented. The diversity of government and industry cultures must be synthesized to benefit the country and also the concerned and involved stakes-holder. It is imperative that this forum is not applied to prove each other inaccurate.

It is really a sad fact that the GCT SITE has fallen into bad times and there is so much neglect. The country is on the path of massive industrialization because it is an accepted fact that the prosperity of the citizens rests largely on an well-entrenched industrial base. The present government has announced pragmatic inducements to attain the planned objectives and usher Pakistan into the ranks of developed countries and become the next Asian Tiger. The industrialization process can move smoothly if state-of-art equipment and machinery is introduced into the country. The successful and profitable operation of this equipment inevitably requires a skilled and trained labor force and personnel. It is in this field that Pakistan has been alarmingly deficient. The present scenario is that the Vocational Technical Training is primarily in the domain of the public sector where heavy investment of billions of rupees has been financed mainly thru the World Bank and other international donor agencies under the National Vocational Training Project. In the early 90s, these lenders concluded that the funding of this project has not yielded the desired results and a fundamental change based on the modular system and found successful in many countries be introduced by involving the employers at the policy making level as well as the implementation stage to ensure that the training programs are flexible, cost-effective, and need-oriented. One should advocate to the view that the employers should be directly involved. We need pragmatic ideas about this Institute to decide on the best way to make this an effective organization.