PSDF, Pakistan’s largest skills fund, and PARCO, the largest fully integrated energy company in Pakistan’s corporate sector have signed an MOU under which they will collaborate to provide high-end technical trainings to the local communities residing near PARCO’s Mid Country Refinery in Muzzafargarh under PARCO’s CSR program.

PSDF will provide specific skills training to unskilled youth – including customized programs for women and non muslim youth – to help them get prepared for income generation, self-employment & entrepreneurship through both onsite skills delivery mechanisms as well as through Hybrid and Digital delivery models. The skills trainings trades range from Agriculture and Livestock to Information Technology and are designed on the latest approved curricula.

PARCO has been a front-runner of Corporate Social Responsibility in local communities, supporting self-reliance capabilities amongst the Pakistani youth. PARCO and its subsidiaries have been helping many well-known institutions working in the area of vocational trainings during the past several years.

At the signing ceremony, the COO PSDF said “We are delighted to be partnering with PARCO, one of the Nation’s biggest suppliers of energy requirements as it is a testament to their trust in PSDF to help uplift the lives and financial independence of communities”.  Nadeem Chishti, GM PARCO said “the skilling partnership is all about helping communities near our facilities in DG Khan develop economically. We are steadfast in our commitment to our CSR agendas”

PSDF and LSE launched a pilot Digital Skilling Program to train female students at Government Colleges.

PSDF and LSE have created an innovative pilot Digital Skilling Program that aims to understand how Pakistan’s female citizens can be best encouraged to participate in the workforce. In this pilot training program students from select government colleges will be given access to digital courses on Coursera (the world’s largest e-learning platform) to learn in demand professional skills in the current job market.

This pilot program is different from others of its kind because it will engage both the female students and their parents to understand some of the barriers to why parents may choose not to invest in daughter’s education and identify relevant issues that prevent girls from taking up skills training programs.

The pilot program is part of PSDF’s program areas Uraan and e-tayyar which aim to implement crucial digital skills that increase women’s confidence, access to skills that increase their employability. The partnership with Lahore School of Economic (LSE) is to conduct research and create evidence-based development programs that will accelerate the socio-economic abilities of female citizens and encourage female labor force participation (FLFP)

One of the biggest issues facing Pakistan is the low level of female participation in the job market. Even though many women want to work, studies have shown that lack of encouragement, family support and lack of adequate skills prevents women from entering the labor force and accessing income-generating opportunities.

For the nation’s progress and given the economic crisis that has gripped the country, women need to be consistently encouraged on both a family and national level to pursue their careers and given the right skills so they can enter the job market.

The pilot program is expected to complete in March 2023 and will train 300 female trainees in digital skills. Students will also receive a stipend upon completion of their training. Based on the success and evidence generated by the pilot – this training program will be launched on a bigger scale.

PSDF (Punjab Skills Development Fund) has signed an agreement of PKR 150 million with Koh e Suleman Improvement Project (KISP) to lead the skill trainings for residents of Tehsil Koh e Suleman, DG Khan, and De-excluded area of Rajanpur. These areas comprise of tribal communities with low literacy levels and until now have had limited opportunities for personal and economic development. During the first phase of the project, 2000 residents will receive training which will include at least 20 percent female trainees across four key sectors; Light Engineering, Construction, Services, and Textiles. These trainings will be the first of their kind in these districts and PSDF will use its skill expertise to equip residents with market-relevant professional knowledge to commence their skill development and open career opportunities for them.

To mobilize this project, training centers will also be established in the tribal areas to execute the training and create ease of access for the residents. A stipend of Rs 3500 monthly will also be provided to the trainees to facilitate their learning journey.

The on-ground trainings are scheduled to commence in July of this year.  During the contract signing ceremony Maqbool Ahmed (Project Director, KISP) remarked, “We look forward to working with PSDF on this project, PSDF’s expertise in executing quality skills trainings will bring a lot of value for these communities and prepare them to access income-generating opportunities”.  PSDF COO Ali Akbar Bosan also reiterated this sentiment, “These trainings are aimed at developing the local resident’s skillsets in professional fields that are growing and employers are actively seeking to hire workers in. PSDF will utilize its expertise to ensure that trainees receive the right technical knowledge so they can confidently pursue employment opportunities throughout the country”.

PSDF is the country’s largest skill development fund and has established itself as a skills expert by training more than 500,000 women and men in 250 plus trades.  It has also successfully implemented trainings on behalf of FCDO, World Bank and the Government of Punjab.

LAHORE: In its perseverance to promote quality vocational skills development, PSDF has launched its new scheme, Skills for Job 2015, to train more than 11,000 individuals in various employment-oriented trades. Contracts of worth eight hundred million were awarded to fifty two training service providers in a launching ceremony here at a local hotel. The scheme would target individuals belonging to the districts of Khanewal, Vehari, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh and Rahim Yar Khan, in order to equip them with various need-based skills.

While addressing the media, CEO PSDF, Mr. Ali Sarfraz said that PSDF successfully trained more than 55,000 individuals since its inception. The scheme is another round of one of PSDF’s major training schemes, Skills for Job, under which individuals are imparted with technical and vocational skills that are demanded by the job market. He expressed his gratitude for the Government of the Punjab and Department for International Development UK (DFID) for patronizing the promotion of quality skills development in the province. He further said that the Fund is rigorously pursuing to enhance the role of local industry in the development of relevant skilled manpower for the country.

According to company spokesperson, under Skills for Job 2015, trainings will be imparted in diverse trade groups ranging from construction, automobile, electrical, mechanical, energy, garments, and hospitality and service sector. Through the launch of its upcoming training schemes, the Fund is going to train another pool of 80,000 individuals from the fourteen districts of Punjab.

Punjab Skills development Fund (PSDF) is a section 42 company, established by the Government of the Punjab in collaboration with the Department for International Development (DFID), UK. PSDF funds vocational training organizations for providing vocational and skills training to the poor and the vulnerable populations of fourteen districts of South Punjab – Bahawalpur, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalnagar, Vehari, Khaewal, Rahim Yar Khan, Lahore, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Chiniot, Narowal and Sheikhupura. Until now, PSDF has funded trainings of 80,000 men and women from its target districts of the Punjab under its various schemes for skill development. In future, PSDF plans to launch specialized schemes for labor-intensive sectors: Light Engineering, Footwear, Food Processing, Construction, Garments and Hospitality.

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