ISLAMABAD: National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) has finalised a programme under which as many as 25,000 lesser educated and unemployed youth will receive free technical education.

NAVTTC has been mandated to complete this task through the prime minister’s youth skills development programme.

The media coordinator of NAVTTC, Mohammad Akram Burq, said priority would be given to the applicants from rural areas, as they have fewer job opportunities and resources

“The total cost of the project is Rs800 million, and as per the plan, 200 jobless youth from Islamabad will be trained, 500 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), 300 from Gilgit-Baltistan, 400 from Fata, 3,000 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 2,000 from Balochistan, 5,850 from Sindh and 12,750 from Punjab,” he said.

Out of the 25,000 trainees, 8,524 will be female; 40 from AJK, 110 from Gilgit-Baltistan, 825 from KP, 547 from Balochistan, 2,699 from Sindh, and 4,303 from Punjab.

As many as 350 technical education and vocational training institutes have been selected from all over the country to train the students.

“The admissions in these institutions will be free and the students will not even have to pay the monthly fee of these courses. Moreover, the toolkits in the 27 selected trades will also be provided free of cost to the trainees, after the completion of their course.

The duration of these courses will be from four to six months, including one month on-job training,” he added.

All 350 institutes will remain open on Sunday, April 20, to receive applications. The interview process will take place soon after that, and the finalized lists of the selected trainees will be displayed on May 9 at all institutes. Classes will begin on May 12, he said.