Situation Analysis to Support the Programme Design Process for National Skills Strategy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

This paper has the following objectives: • To provide information on Pakistan’s economy, labour and demography, education, and present situation in the TVET system and employment sectors; • To provide information about knowledge gaps and to make recommendations for further analysis and studies; and • To act as a Stimulus for discussion with development partners on how best to support the implementation of the National Skills Strategy for Pakistan. The Paper briefly covers areas and issues in Pakistan’s TVET system – its governance and provision, labour market context, state of education and information on students. It also highlights a number of issues for further discussion. The paper is written under the assumption that readers are familiar with the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to improve the TVET system in Pakistan, the NAVTEC and its Vision for skilling Pakistan. Consolidated, accurate, and up-to-date information on TVET is not easily available. The information for this Background Paper has been collected from various sources and the authors acknowledge that significant gaps remain. The paper is organized in seven sections. Section one provides introduction and overview of Pakistan’s economy; section two discuss the general education and TVET system; section three covers governance of TVET system in Pakistan while sections four, five, and six discuss skill formation in and outside the formal system, financing of TVET, and major TVET initiatives. The section seven presents conclusion.