LAHORE: Punjab has decided to establish its first modern Woodworking Centre of Excellence as part of a wider skills development programme aimed at training one million young people over the next three years.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in Lahore, where officials reviewed ongoing technical training programmes and plans to expand vocational education across the province.
The meeting was informed that a digital examination system would be introduced for technical training tests. It will include an online registration portal, digital question papers and QR codes. The system will have the capacity to conduct examinations for between 200,000 and 600,000 candidates.
The meeting also approved the launch of agriculture and heavy machinery operator certification programmes to help young people acquire skills for employment in different sectors.
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Officials said Centres of Excellence would also be established for electrical work, vehicle-related skills and digital marketing. For the first time, the Chief Minister’s Language Learning Programme will offer courses in 13 languages.
The meeting was also informed that a Punjab-trained electrician had secured fourth position at the WorldSkills competition in Shanghai, highlighting the performance of the province’s vocational training programme.
Officials said skills training had been completed for 400,000 young people in Punjab, with more than 45 per cent securing employment. A number of trained participants had also opted to continue their education, while more than 38,000 had found jobs abroad after completing their training.
