2.6 Existing Training Programs for Women

The economic pressures in Pakistan which continue to push women into the national labour force are increasing day by day. Government therefore is giving due consideration to female skill training and technical education programs. New courses are being introduced in polytechnics and in vocational institutes. Similarly there are plans to introduce biotechnology in the Women Polytechnic Karachi and courses on dental hygiene and hair cutting under the Board of Technical Education Punjab.

The Government provides skill training to women through numerous line departments; Provincial Departments of Education, Labour and Manpower, Social Welfare, Rural Development and Local Government, and the Small Industries Corporations. Women's training which leads to a certificate or diploma is conducted by Departments of Education and Department of Labour and Manpower. Informal training programs, which are generally unstructured in organisation, use non-standardised curriculum, have no admission criteria and are flexible in scheduling, are conducted by such agencies as the Departments of Social Welfare, the Small Industries Corporations and Rural Development and Local Government. The Population Welfare Departments in line with their integrated approach to family planning, often provide non-formalised skill training to women at their Family Welfare Centres. Outside government provision, non-government organisations (NGOs) provide informal training to women in urban and rural areas. Leading NGOs like Behbood, Family Planning Association of Pakistan, Family Welfare Cooperation Society, Sindh rural Workers Cooperation Organisation etc. mainly conduct skill training courses in tailoring, embroidery work, handicrafts, food processing etc. Some have branched out to provide training in areas like shoe making, candle making, mushroom growing, etc. Training provided by the NGO sector caters mainly to the labour requirements of the informal home-based manufacturing sector.