Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday ordered the establishment the Pakistan Skill Company and Pakistan Skill Development Fund to unify technical and vocational education countrywide and provide better employment to the country’s workers abroad.

The prime minister, chairing a high-level meeting reviewing the matters of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development and National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), decided to introduce reforms within both organisations.

Shehbaz also ordered the immediate establishment of the Pakistan Skill Development Fund, according to a federal government post on X.

The premier said NAVTTC should be further enhanced to provide world-class technical and vocational training to the young workforce abroad. He added that “globally renowned and international certifications should be ensured in all fields”.

The prime minister emphasised the importance of greater cooperation between the federal institutions, adding that the “technical training plan should be implemented in line with international standards”.

Similarly, he stressed collaboration between the centre and provinces to elevate the quality of Pakistan’s technical manpower and human resource development.

He also called for a coordinated and organised database of Pakistani workers in collaboration with Nadra, NAVTTC and provincial institutions, and the establishment of an integrated system to regulate manpower equipped with world-class professional technical skills.

Stressing the need for implementing the technical and vocational training plans, the prime minister also ordered reforms to the licensing regime of companies employing skilled Pakistanis abroad.

PM Shehbaz said individuals and companies involved in defrauding the people and inflicting financial losses should be identified.

He instructed authorities to ensure meritocracy and transparency in the posting of community welfare attaches in Pakistani missions abroad.

The prime minister was briefed about the steps taken by NAVTTC regarding the vocational and technical training of the workforce in Pakistan.

He was told that NAVTTC would provide vocational and technical training to 60,000 people in 2024, while the figure would rise to 0.6 million in the next three years following the reforms.

The meeting’s participants were told that the exchange of information about employment opportunities and required skills from foreign countries was being ensured and that data on manpower consumption was also being obtained from local industries.

They were also told that NAVTTC had made the certification of male and female students from internationally renowned institutes mandatory to maintain international vocational and technical training standards.