National Skills Passport initiative will prove to be a gateway to obtain recognition of Pakistani migrants, their skills and ensure decent employment opportunities for returnees. The National Skills Passport provides a comprehensive catalogue of an individual’s skills, obtained through formal and informal channels, and provides a migrant worker with documentation of gained qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience in a systematic manner.
The National Skills Passport is linked with the Recognition of Prior Learning platform, which formally assesses, certifies, and recognizes the competencies acquired through informal and unregulated processes.
The Consultation event was jointly organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) here in collaboration with the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources Development (MOPHRD) and was attended by representatives from government departments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and development partners, said a press release.
The National Skills Passport initiative has been supported by the ILO project governance of Labour Migration in South and Southeast Asia (GOALS), which is generously supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Majyd Aziz, Former President of the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan in his keynote address, stated that the National Skills Passport is not just a card, but it is the digital portfolio of an individual to find a decent work opportunity locally and internationally. “We are thankful to the ILO’s technical support for piloting innovative approaches in Pakistan including National Skills Passport and South Asia Regional Qualifications Frameworks,” he added.
Country Director of ILO Geir Tonstol said “We are pleased to acknowledge that the Government of Pakistan has taken commendable steps to protect the rights of migrant workers through digital registration, licensing of overseas employment promoters, authentication of foreign employment, grievance redressal mechanisms and welfare programmes for migrant workers and their families.
“Skilled labour is in increasing demand, including in the countries that received the largest share of Pakistan’s migrant workers. It is important to equip aspiring migrant workers with the right skill sets to meet the demands of the international labour market,” he added.
Hasnain Mazhar, EFP Director, and Syed Nazar Ali, EFP Secretary General, gave a detailed multimedia presentation on how NSP would function so that it would be user-friendly for workers. They added that this is a unique project for Pakistan and thanked ILO, NAVTTC, MOPHRD and NADRA for their total support.
Senator Rukhsana Zuberi and experts from Pakistan and other countries participated in panel discussion on various aspects of providing skilling, re-skilling, and up-skilling of potential and returning migrant workers.