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NOWSHERA, Dec 05 (APP):As soft rays of the foggy winter sun spill across the modest home of electrician Wisal Khan, nestled on the bank of the River Kabul, the 32-year-old technician readies himself for another long day of hardwork.
With a Fajar prayer and a sip of steaming tea, he steps into his well-used Alto, paddling the engine awake in the chilly morning air before heading to his workshop where, like every day, the real hustle begins.
Inside his small, dimly lit workspace, electric appliances lie scattered like jigsaw pieces waiting to be solved. Water geysers, heaters, ovens and washing machines compete for space.
As the cold wave gripping Peshawar, people have turned the place into a hub of frantic activity, with customers pouring in faster than the machinery can be fixed.
Wisal works with the precision of a surgeon as tester in one hand, pliers in the other by guiding his two assistants through the growing pile of repair orders.
His Seekh Kabab and Qehwa sit long forgotten on a side table as for Wisal, work always comes first.
Fondly known as “Ustad” among customers and colleagues, Wisal is the go-to expert when local technicians encounter faults they cannot trace. His expertise is sought by electronic companies and housing projects alike, where he performs installations and diagnostics with the confidence of someone who has mastered his craft through years of perseverance.
Wisal’s dedication has enabled him not only to stabilize his household income but also to expand his business. Recently, he opened a modern workshop in Tehsil Pabbi equipped with updated tools and staffed by three interns-cum-technicians that is a move turned him from a lone technician into a job provider.
He now prefers working on housing projects where the profit margins are higher. “Wiring a 10-marla house usually earns up to Rs 50,000,” he said, adding that profit varies between rural and urban areas.
Despite receiving lucrative visa offers from foreign construction companies, Wisal never considered leaving Pakistan.
“Vocational education gave me everything that is skills, livelihood, and respect. Why should I abandon my own country?” he said with a smile.
While the federal government has expanded vocational and technical programs in recent years, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa still lags behind—a reality that frustrates both experts and youth.
Professor Dr Muhamnad Naeem, former Chairman, Economics Department at University of Peshawar said that poor investment, outdated policies and lack of KP Govt patronage to vocational education and professional training have largely contributed to an increase in rate of unemployment, illiteracy and poverty.
He claimed that unemployment rate in Pakistan was 6.42% in 2022, a 0.08% increase from 2021 while in 2020 it was 6.55%, showing a 1.72% increase from 2019 besides 4.83% in 2018, a 0.75% increase from 2018.
Referring to 2017 national population census, he said that about 64percent population of our country comprised youth including 40.3pc on young population aged 15 to 29 years and the youth population bulge was likely to double in 2050 for whom thousands of jobs would be required.
He said the demand of skilled labour have increased manifolds in Pakistan in the wake of CPEC’s projects, mushroom growth of housing societies, IT and overseas demands by GULF’s companies’.
He suggested whopping investment in technical and vocational education to promote industrialization, SMEs and capture local and international markets.
“When our youth visit GULF for employment, they spend normally eight months to two years there to get LTV, HTV driving licenses and others operational expertise of different machineries to get recruitment in foreign companies, however, the labour from neighbouring countries get these jobs easily due to prior expertise and experiences,” he said.
More than 11 million Pakistanis have proceeded to over 50 countries across the globe till December 2019 to get employment after fulfilling official procedures, he said, adding 96pc migration prefer to go Gulf states including Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates for employment.
Dr. Naeem said that remittances by overseas Pakistanis had reached to US$21.84 billion during 2019 out of which 60-65 percent were from Arab States, adding that these remittances could be increased if more skilled and required labour was sent abroad.
The economic guru said KP Govt need to give top priority to vocational and technology based education as demands for technical workforce has jacked up due to CPEC’s projects and establishment of special economic zones (SEZ) including the one Rashakai SEZ in Nowshera being a gateway to Central Aisan Republics through Afghanistan that would turned KP a hub of business and industrialization.
“CPEC has the potential to generate 1.2 million direct jobs for youth especially in agriculture, food, tourism, mineral processing, oil and gas and socioeconomic services in Pakistan and “we need to divert financial resources towards strengthening of technical educational institutes to tap this huge potential of youth.”
PMLN Swat leader Wajid Ali Khan said that Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has launched scores of programmes and initiatives for promotion of technical and vocational education and empowerment of youth including provision of 2,000 Internships for young engineers, youth transformation programs for 20 under developed districts Pakistan including KP, innovation fund and 75 National Top Talent Scholarships Programme besides free laptop schemes.
He said that Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has announced provision of 100,000 laptops free of charge to meritorious students nationwide while CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif under Honhaar scholarship program supported over 80,000 young minds with 50,000 started receiving scholarships and 30,000 more in progress.
He added that over 600 students were sent to China for technical education to take full advantage of CPEC’s projects.
Pakistan is developing its first-ever E-Sports policy and establishing an E-Sports Federation, recognizing the sector as a fast growing, multibillion dollar global industry.
He said around sixty million Pakistanis are directly or indirectly involved in E-Sports, and the new policy will also support game developers and digital innovators.
Uzair Ahmed, a young entrepreneur said that Prime Minister Youth Programme enabled him to start his own IT business, transforming his life and securing his future. This opportunity has not only given him financial independence but serve my community for which he was thankful to the prime minister.
Engr Sajjad Khan, former Managing Director Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority KP said that whopping financial resources are required for construction of technical educational institutes and strengthening of existing ones in the newly established districts of Torghar, Kolai Palas and seven districts of merged areas in terms of infrastructure, equipment and training of faculty.
While underscoring the need of special focus on infrastructure development, equipment, furniture, purchase of transport’s buses for facilitation of students and solarization of technical educational institutions in the province, he said TEVTA KP had signed agreements with 32 reputable private organizations including Welfare Relief Committee and National Institute for Health and Management Sciences Peshawar, North West Institute of Health and Management Sciences Peshawar, Premier Institute for Health and Management Sciences Peshawar, Udyana Institute of Medical Sciences Abbotabad and Udyana Institute of Medical Sciences Swat for imparting vocational training to youth.
Engr Sajjad said thousands of students of merged tribal districts and KP were provided two-year professional educational training in nine different paramedical technologies. He said Rs1 billion projects were launched for purchase of equipment and other related schemes of TEVTA projects.
He said KP Government announced establishment of a sub-campus of the National College of Arts (NCA) at Peshawar and with its establishment, the students of KP would not go to Lahore for five years studying architecture, fine arts, ceramic and textile courses and would study their favourite subjects near their homes.