LAHORE: Punjab has become the first province to pass the “Apprenticeship Act 2021” to provide skilled youth with better economic opportunities to the industry according to its specifications.

The government has replaced the 60-year old Apprenticeship Ordinance of 1962 by bringing fundamental changes from being applicable only to the manufacturing sector to now covering all sectors of the economy.

The new law has also done away with time-consuming procedures for approvals related to apprenticeship program registration while it has also empowered provincial TVET Assessment bodies such as PBTE for examination on the footprint of CBT&A, an internationally recognized teaching and assessment system.

Apprenticeship is a dual system for training a new generation of practitioners of trade or profession coupled with on-the-job training at industry/companies & technical education in institutes.

This system is widely used by developed countries and the apprenticeship act 2021 will follow the European dual-track training system to bridge the gap between industry and Tevta. The act will provide youth with approximately 100,000 employment opportunities every year.

Tevta Chairperson Ali Salman Siddique said the Apprenticeship Act was acritical step towards the realization of the vision 2023 which focuses on quality demand-driven skills with economic opportunities for the trainees.

He said the trainee would not only be given technical and vocational education in their institutes but also on the job training in the industry.

He said in the past apprenticeship law was used as a tool against the industry but Tevta through its new skill the ecosystem created a direct linkage with the industry through sector skill councils and public-private partnerships to empower its decision making process.

He said this new industry and Tevta nexus would further, strengthen by empowering the private sector skill councils to regulate the Apprenticeship Act.

He stressed the need for a major awareness drive to make businesses and organizations in Punjab aware of the benefits of apprenticeships for employers.

He vowed to constantly expand and convert all their 350 plus vocational institutes onto the apprenticeship model on the footprint of German and British Apprenticeship Models.

A renowned industrialist Rehan Barera said apprenticeship would be a fundamental step for the provision of jobs.

He said the Act would also resolve the problem of the industry for the requirement of customized skilled manpower. “If we get customized skilled manpower and can govern the process through the sector skill council it will resolve our issues and greatly help in the economic growth of the country,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2021