LAHORE, June 24: Skill development was declared prerequisite for proper establishment and successful operation of enterprises by experts and entrepreneurs at a workshop here on Thursday.

Prof Dr Khwaja Amjad Saeed said at the workshop organized by the Skill Development Council at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry new enterprises were not developing the country because of discriminatory credit policies meant for making the rich richer.

The poor were offered credit at more than 10 per cent markup whereas the rich could get it for 3 to 4 per cent, he added. He said the country required poverty elimination and not poverty alleviation through proliferation of micro-enterprises and large scale skill development.

He said vocational training and skill development should be started in schools after primary. Demand-driven skills should be promoted and unemployment problem should be solved by promoting self-employment.

SPEL Group chief executive Almas Haider said 47 per cent population of the country engaged in agriculture was contributing only 25 per cent to the GDP while other sectors contributed 75 per cent by using 53 per cent of the labour force.

He said entrepreneurship could not develop without stable monetary policies and minimum regulatory restraints. He said SMEs comprised 90 per cent of the business enterprises in the country but contributed only 40 per cent to the GDP due to lack of entrepreneurial skills among the managers.

Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority business development manager Sultan Tiwana said 3.67 million companies in the country were being run by only 3 per cent population against 6 to 10 per cent in developing countries due to dearth of entrepreneurial skills.

He said entrepreneurial skills had not flourished in the country due to socio-cultural norms and government policies. The education system was not geared to develop entrepreneurial skills either. Every student looked for a job and started a business after failing to get an employment.