PM constitutes committee to restructure federal vocational, technical training institutions       
ISLAMABAD, Feb 4 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has constituted a Committee, to be headed by Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, to restructure and re-define the role of the Federal Vocational and Technical Training Institutions in light of the 19th Constitutional Amendment.The Committee will consist of Ms Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Federal Secretary for Labour and Manpower, Secretary Overseas Pakistanis and Executive Director, National Vocational and Technical Education Commission (NAVTEC).
The Committee will propose a well-defined plan for training and skills development of the labour force in the country. It will also address the issues of capacity of the federal institutions and propose measures to develop national skills standards which are accepted internationally.
The Prime Minister was chairing a Special Meeting on Vocational and Technical Training Programmes here at the Prime Minister House on Friday.
The Prime Minister while elaborating his vision to reduce unemployment in the country said that 60% of young population is our asset and need to be utilized for the benefit of the country.
This human resource, he said, when properly trained and equipped with requisite skills can greatly help to increase production of both the agriculture and industrial sectors.
Similarly, he added trained manpower when exported can immensely add to the foreign remittances.
While expressing his concern for increasing percentage of unemployment, the Prime Minister said that he is seriously considering to form a separate Ministry for Human Resource Development. This envisioned Ministry, he said, could have an over-arching role to ensure proper consumption of trained human resource both within the country as well as abroad.
The Prime Minister said that while Pakistan is annually sending over 300,000 workers abroad, most of them are unskilled or semi-skilled. The same manpower, he added, when trained and equipped with skills could increase the remittances by three times.
As regards the terms of reference for the proposed National Committee, the Prime Minister said that it should explore the international labour market to find opportunities for the unemployed youth of the country.
He said that the Committee should also suggest opportunities for overseas Pakistanis to be able to invest in Pakistan to help create jobs for the unemployed persons inside the country.
The Prime Minister directed that the Committee should meet frequently and work on war footings.
The Prime Minister lauded the contribution of overseas Pakistanis for their remittances in the last three years which are consistently increasing. Their contribution, he said, had greatly helped to supplement the national economy.
Earlier Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Sector, Ms Shahnaz Wazir Ali and the  federal secretaries concerned briefed the Prime Minister about the vocational and technical training programmes of the Federal Government. They also apprised him of the rising unemployment level and possibilities of absorption for trained manpower within and outside the country.