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ISLAMABAD, Nov 30 (APP): The Punjab Women Development Department has selected around 2,500 rural women for hands-on training in various textile-related fields, with the government committed to ensuring employment opportunities for the trained women within their own cities.
Briefing members of the Punjab Assembly, Additional Secretary of the Women Development Department (WDD) Faiza Ahsan said that under the ‘She Threads’ program, women will be linked with different textile industries where they will receive practical, on-site training, said a press release issued here on Sunday.
She said that once training is completed, immediate efforts will be made to secure their employment in the same locations. She further noted that the Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) is the executing partner for the initiative.
According to information available with Wealth Pakistan, WDD Secretary Dr Usman Ali told the participants that the most important outcome—described as the program’s core “punch line”—is to ensure the employability of the 2,500 women. The program focuses on developing textile-sector skills, and the selected women will receive on-premises training in around 29 textile trades.
Parliamentary Secretary for Women Development Salma Saadia said that Punjab chief minister wanted women to acquire diverse skills and contribute to the province’s key export industry.
She emphasized that She Threads differs from the Garment City program of the Industry Department, which focused mainly on training machine operators. The WDD program teaches more than 24 trades, including dyeing, stitching, quality control, and floor management. It targets low- and middle-income women who might otherwise rely on domestic labor. To help them participate, the program offers pick-and-drop services and financial incentives to support household expenses during the training period, she explained. She said that job security at the training locations would be ensured immediately upon completion of training.
Dr. Ali noted that the project was at the past conceptual stage and all agreements had been finalized. Five locations; Faisalabad, Multan, Sheikhupura, Sialkot and Lahore have been selected for contract signing, and classes are scheduled to begin on December 10, he said and added that contracts were awarded through a competitive bidding process, with major industry players such as Interloop, Kohinoor, Asgard Lahore, Shahkam and Master among the winners.
He also noted that the financial outlay for She Threads program for the current fiscal year (FY 2025–26) was Rs150 million. Due to the limited allocation and strong industry demand, each industry requesting 600 trained women, the department plans to conduct a third-party evaluation by the end of the fiscal year, he said and added that the WDD intended to seek a higher allocation for the program in the next Annual Development Program (ADP).