Naheed Nasir, principal of the Technical Training Centre for Women in Karachi, is one dynamic lady. A qualified civil engineer, Naheed started her career at a civil engineering firm dealing with big government projects in 1989.

Looking back over the years, she reflects “I feel that my life was never planned to be what it is now. But it also comes as a surprise to me that the more I get involved in my work, the more I feel content over my choice.”

She further shares “I was selected as principal for the Technical Training College for Women by the Public Service Commission in 1992. I started this job as a civil servant in the Labour Department as we come under the Directorate of Manpower and Training, a provincial department of Sindh. Inaugurated in 1983, our institute was the first of its kind for women here.”

This was when she realised that she has to keep the technical side of engineering to one side and focus on her administration and management skills in order to run an organisation.

She explains “At that time, my college was busy in a national vocational training project which also involved the Federal Ministry of Labour and Overseas Pakistanis and the donor agencies such as the World Bank, the Canadian International Development Agency, the GTZ and European Union.

“The project was taken up to increase the standards of vocational training all over Pakistan in order to improve employment opportunities for the youth. We were directly linked with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) at that time that focused on the women centres only. I feel proud to have contributed to a large extent in that project.”

Initially, there were only three major areas of vocational learning — civil architecture drafting, domestic appliance repair and radio/TV repair.

One year after joining college, Naheed was nominated for foreign training in Business Management in organisational practices. She did her postgraduate diploma from Canada, being attached to Sanshawe College, Ontario.

She says “It was a different experience, because in 1994 Sanshawe College was restructuring itself, moving from public domain to public-private partnership. This element is now being considered by our government that vocational training cannot be dealt alone by the government but has to be a public-private partnership so that the training offered is demand-driven, and not supply-driven.”

Returning in 1995, Naheed became active in the formation of a private-public body called the Central Management Committee. This formation was already announced by the World Bank in 1993. She proudly reflects “Our centre was the pioneer in actively mobilising the Central Management Committees and it was put up as a model institute for the rest of the provinces.”

The Central Management Committee is not just an advisory service but also a management body. It's objective was to form a tripartite combination, involving the employer, the government people and labour.

“I took up the responsibility of a civil servant after experiencing

the private sector which brushed up my skills and spared me from the typical government attitude,” she says.

Naheed recently visited Japan for a course on Enhancement of Vocational Training in Yokohama, which was arranged by the Japanese International Corporation Agency.

About her experience, she says “I am very lucky to have a good team that also realises that together we can make a difference. My team members are not just limited to working on their own portfolios. They are exposed to the different work areas of the college and for that we are grateful for the support extended to us by our Chairperson, Central Management Committee, Parveen A. Sheikh.

Talking about the students at her centre, Naheed comments “Not all of the women coming to vocational training are deprived from higher education. Many times they are not comfortable with their formal education as suited to their mindsets so they want technical training too to enter the job market. A strange fact is that university graduates come for vocational training because they feel that their graduation alone does not make them skilled enough to get employed.

“The girls coming to our institute are offered courses according to their aptitude. The courses introduced in the vocational centres are designed after careful assessment of the type of training needed in order to inform which vocations are required in the industry or for self-employment,” she explains.

“Our college is attended mostly by middle and lower-middle class women. We are yet to reach the poor class. I would like to reach the women who did not get a chance to attend any school and were forced to work at factories for low wages. I want to design courses for them so that they are able to work for better wages,” she hopes.

“We have a life skills coaching programme for women to learn how to cope with daily life issues,” she informs.

Naheed also accepts that there is an absence of counselors. “But we have groomed our instructors to provide possible counseling to new entrants in order to guide them to sign up for courses that would really benefit them. There is one teacher for a class of 20 students. The ratio enables a very positive relationship among them. I personally encourage the women to express themselves.”

She elaborates “In our garments course, we provide them with dual training while enabling them to go to a garments factory as a supervisor in the quality check department, etc. Others start business at their homes or open boutiques. Information technology too these days has provided new dimensions to the girls, who are turning into successful entrepreneurs by researching and doing business through the internet.”

Explaining categorically, Naheed reveals “For the university graduates, we have a year's diploma in Office Administration as they often face rejection in the industry because of no work experience. This diploma of 1,440 hours, out of which 80 per cent is practical and 20 per cent theory, helps the students overcome difficulty in appearing for interviews and tests while hunting for jobs.

“We are going through a transition phase right now. The Sindh Technical Education Vocational Training Authority (STEVTA) has been formed, which is a new setup in which the technical schools of the Labour Department, vocational and poly technique institutes of the Education Department plus some of the institutes of the Social Welfare Department have been brought under the single umbrella of STEVTA,” she informs.

“It gives me immense pleasure to see our graduates working in different areas of the industry. I think women should utilise their skills by engaging themselves in proper training and jobs, while taking care of family considerations and values.”

She further adds “We have taken measures to also keep track of our graduates and get their feedback to be able to ensure their welfare in the job market. They should be provided incentives with no discrimination in salaries when compared with their male colleagues.”

Looking towards the future, Naheed speaks about her expectations “International organisations are giving more attention to women's training here and we have a number of institutes in the pipeline. I trust things will improve, if the stakeholders are involved in each and every step of planning.”