ISLAMABAD, July 12: President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday called for adopting a countrywide coordinated approach to achieve the objectives of rapid industrial development of the country.

“We need an efficient implementation of a strategy to meet the rising demands of rapid industrial development both at national and local levels,” he said.

He was speaking at a presentation on objectives set forth by the National Vocational and Technical Education Commission (NAVTEC), the current status and requirements for training of manpower on modern lines and in accordance with local economic potential.

It was agreed at the meeting that the scope of training be diversified to the most promising sectors, including dairy, retail business and sub-sectors of oil and gas.

It was agreed that vocational training facilities be put in place in all tehsils across the country with a view to start off the training to be commenced at available government buildings. The NAVTEC will assist the provinces with additional funding.

President Musharraf said a combination of new initiatives and improvement in the existing infrastructure should lead to visible results in terms of raising the quality of the workforce and expanding it.

“We have to keep up the momentum of economic growth and focus on several booming sectors like infrastructure building, housing information technology, tourism services, commercial support, livestock, transport, medical transcription workers — and at the same time strive for value addition in the traditional agriculture sector,” he emphasized.

The NAVTEC has prepared a roadmap to maximize the number of skilled labour annually. Since its inaugural meeting on May 18, 2006, the NAVTEC has evolved an elaborate demand-driven strategy for skill development of workers through optimal use of existing capacity, realignment of courses, establishment of local relevance of courses, new initiatives, coverage of all areas, and setting up of centres of excellence.

He particularly highlighted the importance of adding value to agrarian products for bringing about a white revolution in the country, especially by training farmers where dairy products were concerned.

Currently, the number of skilled workers produced at various institutions falls short of the requirement of the industry, which has been growing rapidly in recent years in several sectors.

President Musharraf said: “We must harmonise skills of our younger generation in accordance with their local economic potential and at the same time be conscious of the need to meet the demand of international investors who see Pakistan as a favourable destination for using it as a base for exporting to regional countries.”