KARACHI, April 16: Speakers at a training course held on Friday stressed that human resource development was vital for overall development of the country. They were speaking at the inauguration of the 45th Post-graduate Diploma Course at the National Institute of Labour Administration and Training (NILAT).

NILAT Director-General Syed Hakim Ali Shah Bokhari, besides Syed Ghayoorul Hassan, Noorul Huda, M Anwer Khan, C. L. Nankani, and others spoke on the occasion. They said that education and training were the integral parts of human resource development, without which the country could not make real progress.

They said that a major concern of today's business was to have flexibility in its operations, particularly in the development and utilization of its work force, so that it could respond effectively to the changing circumstances of the market.

They said that the industrial relations system in the country was working with the support of labour laws and consultation of tripartite bodies of workers, employers, and the government.

They said that the 24-week course in labour administration and industrial welfare, being provided by the institute, had not only been recognized by the government and commercial organizations, but also by international organizations, like the International Institute of Labour Studies (IILS) of the International Labour organization (ILO), Geneva.

Some 50 participants belonging to various workers' organizations, different companies, public and private sector organizations, multinational companies, etc are attending the course.

The NILAT, which is a federal government organization, has been organizing various courses in the field of labour administration, industrial relations, collective bargaining, labour legislation, health and safety, besides many other labour-related subjects, to train the workers and officials of various public and private sector organizations.