ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom plans to set up 280 skill centers in Pakistan focusing on technical and vocational training, reported state-owned media on Saturday, adding the project will be carried out in collaboration with Middle Eastern institutions to train individuals aspiring for jobs in places like the Gulf region.
Workforce export has long been a significant contributor to Pakistan’s economy, with the country heavily reliant on remittances sent by workers employed abroad, particularly in the Middle East. However, in recent years, Pakistani workers have faced challenges due to more exacting requirements of international job markets, making the training and upskilling of nationals a government priority.
The establishment of the skill centers became a focal point of discussions as a British delegation arrived in the country on a two-day visit and met with Pakistani officials working in the field of conventional and technical education.
“The delegation representatives said that around 280 skills centers will be established in Pakistan,” said the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency. “The candidates who successfully complete the training in these centers, they will be given a joint certificate by Pakistani, UK and Gulf universities.”
The report added that 80,000 jobs will be given to the successful candidates graduating from these skill centers in the first phase.
“These jobs would be offered in different Gulf countries, including [places like] Dubai, in the security, hospitality, construction, veterinary, nursing and police,” it said.
Pakistan’s Federal Secretary Education Mohiyuddin Wani and Chairperson of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission Gulmina Bilal highlighted the government’s priority to provide quality training to its nationals to give their best on any job around the world.
The delegation, which includes members of Britain’s House of Lords, said they were committed to promoting educational cooperation with Pakistan to empower its youth.
It will also visit Karachi to hold a meeting with Federal Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.
UK to establish 280 skill centers to help Pakistanis find jobs in Middle East
https://arab.news/49h89
UK to establish 280 skill centers to help Pakistanis find jobs in Middle East
- Workforce export has long been a significant contributor to Pakistan’s economy, with its reliance on remittances
- The visiting British delegation says it wants to promote education cooperation with Pakistan to empower youth
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
