By Farhana Saleem
Pakistan’s maiden participation in the 48th WorldSkills Competition (WorldSkills Shanghai 2026) has put the country on the global skills map, or so one would like to hope. With a strong participation from NAVTTC, development partners and TVET Institutes, a lot of motivation and hope was brought home, which is worth building on. After a couple of decades of focused policy interventions through reforms and formal policy documents, and current policy window, which emphasizes employment pathways and better youth integration, the Competition participation needs to be more than a touch-and-go exercise. Capitalizing on the traction it affords us, the debate on the country’s skills opportunities and challenges must go on.
Nationally, the TVET sector in Pakistan faces a systemic gap between the supply of trained graduates and the demands of the labour market. Other issues including limited connectivity with the industry, less than desirable infrastructure and quality, gender gap have been debated over invariably. Many of the issues that arise in building a thriving Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector in Pakistan that meets the country’s socio-economic needs, exacerbated by its demographic inclusion challenges, can be attributed to fragmented governance between the federal and provincial governments, as well as within the provinces themselves. This challenge has been clearly identified in the new National Skills Development Policy (2025-2030) and intended to be dealt through a cohesive policy approach with due provincial coordination. Provincial plans developed alongside the national policy, and adopting key targets from the five-year National Economic Transformation Plan (Uraan Pakistan), have created a conducive policy environment to uplift the skills sector. Coupled with the heavy traction received by the National Youth Employment Policy, launched this August by the Prime Minister, and the strong ownership its youth engagement and employment imperatives are receiving, the skills sector has sound grounds for a punctuated equilibrium like never before.
One finds it opportune to highlight some unique challenges and opportunities in Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan, which happen to be two of Pakistan’s most geographically and socio-economically distinct regions in terms of TVET. While both regions grapple with the systemic challenges inherent in Pakistan’s broader TVET sector, such as outdated curricula, weak industry linkages, and governance bottlenecks, the specific drivers of these challenges, and the potential pathways for improvement, are markedly different.
Recent introspective sessions with government functionaries from the regions revealed the same recurrent implementation and governance problems at close quarters.
Defined heavily by considerations regarding geographic and security challenges, Balochistan is the country’s largest province by area, and in many respects access has been effectively limited to a single city: Quetta. Security considerations have historically hampered the expansion of infrastructure and the mobilization of trainers to remote areas. The province’s large youth population translates into high rates of unemployment and a critical need for social cohesion through economic opportunities. If properly harnessed, the province sits atop “a gold mine of youth potential, as well as the literal, well-known gold and copper reserves of Reko Diq with huge socio-economic potential to uplift the province before the decade ends.
Labour market assessments in Balochistan emphasize a disconnect between the skills provided by existing TVET centres and the specific needs of the province’s nascent industrial zones and traditional sectors like agriculture, livestock, and mining. A revitalized Balochistan Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority (B-TVETA) under a 2026 amended Act has been afforded a stronger legislative authority over TVET bodies in the province. The new leadership also expresses a growing recognition of the need to revitalize TVET for realizing the “demographic dividend” in the province. Efforts are underway to shift the focus toward demand-driven training that can empower youth and foster local economic activity, including skills related EV, and Mining. A much-needed Apprenticeship Law, now in the pipeline, brightens the outlook further.
With its niche potential, Gilgit-Baltistan’s situation in some ways contrasts with other regions, where weak basic education often hampers skills development in the areas of greatest need. Although GB has the country’s highest literacy rate, its TVET challenges are rooted in its extreme topography and remote location, which, interestingly, are also among its biggest selling points. Unlike the industrial aspirations often linked to Balochistan, the TVET strategy in GB needs to invest heavily in its unique tourism, hospitality, value-added agricultural potential, and its untapped potential for gems and jewelry industry. While Balochistan sits on precious-metal mines, a strengthened value-addition potential in GB’s gems-rich mountains can be tapped through right skills development. Moreover, the economy of GB is heavily reliant on tourism, horticulture (especially fruit processing), and small-scale commerce. Consequently, the demand for vocational training is skewed toward hospitality management, mountain guide services, sustainable farming techniques, and digital skills. These sectors are distinct from those in many other parts of Pakistan.
GB has been a focus for various development interventions, including EU-supported programmes aimed at aligning vocational training with high-demand professions to improve livelihood outcomes in a challenging environment. However, a harsh climate and rugged terrain present profound logistical challenges for maintaining training equipment and ensuring year-round attendance. Physical access to vocational centres is a primary barrier for populations living in far-flung valleys. Evidence arising from the region identifies significant weaknesses in the existing training system with training facilities concentrated in major centres such as Gilgit and Skardu, leaving many remote communities underserved, and, also making it harder to obtain data on implementation status and needs. It has been estimated that existing provision meets only around 32% of annual skilled-workforce demand, with outdated courses, inadequate practical training and low participation by women.
Legislation and policymaking for a region rich in resources, with the highest literacy rate and huge hydropower and solar potential, would have a better chance of translating into implementation and social gains if its constitutional status were resolved, a burden the region still carries from history.
Both Balochistan and GB demonstrate that the effectiveness of TVET policy depends heavily on its ability to integrate with the local realities of the labour market. These realities in these two regions are so far removed from those of the other three regions that relying on generic, top-down models would be counterproductive. In Balochistan, the focus must remain on improving access through decentralized or mobile training units, ensuring secure and stable environments for learning, and aligning curricula with regional industrial and agricultural projects. In Gilgit-Baltistan, the priority lies in developing specialized, flexible training models that can adapt to seasonal and topographical constraints, with a specific emphasis on professionalizing the tourism and value-added agricultural sectors and local SMEs that define its unique economy.
Pakistan, with its great human resource potential and resource-rich regions, has shown in Shanghai that it can compete; the task now is to ensure every region has the skills to turn its advantages into jobs.