PESHAWAR, Aug 30: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar has called for strengthening Women Skill Development Programme (SKDP) in Fata with special focus on value addition and making the products attractive from demand and marketing point of view.

Presiding over a presentation on working of the programme at Governor’s House here on Thursday, he desired that qualified instructors should be hired for the programme, while the existing trainers should be offered refresher courses.

Fata Development Authority chief executive Sahib Shah and project director of the SKDP briefed the governor about working and future goals of the programme. Senior officials of Fata Secretariat were also present on the occasion.

The governor noted with satisfaction that 42 Women Skill Development Centres were functional in Federally Administered Tribal Areas and establishment of 30 more similar centres was in progress. However, he called for efficient monitoring of working of these centres.

Referring to the importance of introduction of non-traditional trades such as marble mosaic, designing, fruit and vegetable processing and preservation, bee keeping, kitchen gardening, embroidery, sewing etc, the governor took keen interest in display of the products and desired that extra efforts were needed to make the products attractive from marketing point of view.

Conceding to a proposal to develop one of the centres as a model institution in each tribal agency, the governor said that this was the best way to promote cottage industry in Fata.

He hoped that the programme would make the womenfolk effective contributors to socio-economic wellbeing of their respective families.

Meanwhile, the governor was told that a display centre existed in Peshawar and efforts were under way to establish similar centres in other cities, including one in Islamabad, to ensure proper marketing of the products.