Punjab to set up its first modern wood working centre of excellence

Punjab has decided to set up its first modern wood working centre of excellence. The decision was taken at a meeting on skill development chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in Lahore, where a detailed briefing on skill development projects was given.

The meeting set a target of skilling a total of 1 million youth over the next three years.

Technical training will move towards digital systems, with an online registration portal, digital question papers and QR codes for exams. The digital examination system will allow between 200,000 and 600,000 candidates to sit exams.

The meeting approved an agriculture and heavy machinery operator certification programme. It also approved Punjab's first cleaning and cleaner academy, with training in cleaning support, healthcare, hospitality and domestic help under PCCA. Centres of excellence will also be set up for electrical, vehicle and digital marketing fields.

For the first time, courses in 13 languages will be offered under the CM language learning programme.

The briefing gave figures on past results. About 400,000 youth in Punjab have completed skill training, and over 45 percent of them are employed. About 175,000 youth under the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department have found decent jobs, and over 38,000 have found jobs abroad. A electrician trained at a Punjab technical college won fourth position at the World Skills Shanghai competitions.

By sector, 113,333 students completed training in manufacturing and over 50,000 got immediate jobs. In IT, 111,607 were trained and 49,588 are earning. In construction, 27,069 were trained and 12,026 are employed. In energy, 35,227 were trained and 15,651 found jobs.

Of those trained, 90,029 found jobs in local industry, 53,509 became self-employed and 39,325 chose to continue education. Under the Empowering Women through IT programme, 3,000 women in villages are earning from home. The Maahir programme aims to train 25,000 youth in industrial clusters, Global Rozgar 25,000 for the BPO sector, and Advance Tech will give 7,500 youth international certification.