MULTAN, March 19,Punjab Vocational Training Institute, Khanewal Road, Multan, & Government Technical Training Institute for Boys, Khanewal Road, Multan held an event today, the U.S. Consul General Colleen Crenwelge inaugurated a 42kw solar power system funded, installed and operationalized by the USAID’s Punjab Youth Workforce Development (PYWD) Project at the Vocational Training Institute (VTI), Khanewal Road, Multan. The purpose of this event was to highlight the role, USAID’s PYWD Project is playing to develop non-conventional solutions to meet the country’s energy requirements. This solar power system is efficient to power the entire institute and help save 32kw energy for minimum 8 hours a day. This initiative will benefit more than 7,500 vocational and technical students over the period of 25 years.
Furthermore, this solar system will help provide uninterrupted energy supply, thus enabling the students continue their technical training without any hindrance and ultimately become a part of national and global workforce. In addition to this, this solar system will also reduce the operational and administrative expenses, which can be further invested in technical and vocational education of the youth. Finally, an important feature of this solar system is its capacity to not only power itself but also to feed excess electricity into the national electricity grid. This will open the avenue for placing Pakistan in the list of countries having implemented the possibility for feeding cleaner electricity into the grid through net metering.
Present at the event were Amjad Ali, Managing Director Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC), Khawaja Muhammad Usman, President District Board of Management, TEVTA, Qaisar Nadeem, Chief of Party USAID-PYWD Project, Aamir Aziz, General Manager TEVTA,
Shumaila Jamil: Communications & Outreach Specialist USAID-PYWD Project: representatives from chamber of commerce & industry Multan, Civil Society, PYWD Project’s beneficiaries, and local media.
The event also showcased the U.S. government’s efforts to help the skilled, but unemployed Pakistani youth benefit from career counseling services resulting in improved access, equity and employability. The USAID-PYWD Project addresses the unemployment concerns among youth including 35% women, through its result-oriented career counseling services to improve access, equity and employability. It has supported the establishment of 8 career counseling centres (4 for males, 4 for females) at TEVTA institutes in the focus districts of Southern Punjab, including Multan, Bahawalpur, Lodhran and Muzaffargarh.
The event further provided an opportunity to underscore USAID-PYWD Project’s contribution to provide employment and entrepreneurship opportunities to Pakistan’s youth, and celebrate the success and achievements of the USAID-PYWD Project beneficiaries, who have completed their six-month training in in six technical and vocational trades Fashion Designing, Beautician, Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning Repair (HVACR), Auto Electrician, Blue Pottery, and Welding, in collaboration with Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA). Supporting Government of Punjab in developing human and social capital development, the project engages training providers to provide market-driven skills to10,000 youth (including 35% females), aged 16 to 29 that lead to gainful employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for youth and skilled workforce direly needed for the industry.
At the end, the U.S. Consul General Colleen Crenwelge distributed tool-kits among the graduating PYWD Project’s beneficiaries. The young graduates impressed the visiting dignitaries with their inspiring stories and shared the change the project interventions brought in their lives.
