Women urged to acquire vocational education
PESHAWAR – Director Women’s Business Development Centre (WBDC) Nabila Farman has called upon the women to equip themselves with vocational skills so at to become enabled to earn livelihoods for their families.
Speaking to the female vocational students and trainers of the Vocational Training Centre, Nowshera, at the WBDC in Peshawar on Sunday, she appreciated the Prime Foundation for setting up vocational training centre for the flood-hit women of Nowshera and said that the measure would go a long way to provide economic liberty to the women.
The visit of the women was facilitated by the Prime Foundation, which in collaboration with the International Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF) had launched vocational centre in Nowshera to help impart skills to the women widowed or orphaned by last year’s flood.
The purpose of the exposure visit was to orientate them about the facilities and services WBDC could offer to them and create linkages between the two development entities for marketing the products of these students as skilled business women of the near future. Nabila Farman said that 52 per cent population of the country comprised women. In order to provide them respectable earning capability and self-employment, WBDC helps the women folk to introduce their products in the market. She said that WBDC through host of strategies including holding of exhibitions and fairs endeavours to establish synergistic relationships and linkages between the successful businesses and the women involved in developing vocational products at home or vocational centres.
She said they encouraged skilled women to get registered with WBDC by subscribing a token registration fee and as a result avail the capacity building and business development services it offers. The centre capacitates them on value adding their products for better sale not only in the local and national markets but also in the international market. She said that the educational level of the female population is very low in this part of the world and they are unable to build contacts and linkages in the market places and WBDC was there to fill that gap for them.
Later, she held a meeting with delegates of the Prime Foundation led by Dr Saeed Anwar, director of the Project Support Unit.
They agreed to keep a track of this visit for signing a formal MoU between the two institutions to enhance capacity building of the flood-affected women as well as facilitate marketing their products and developing their businesses and thus contribute towards economic rehab of their families and empowerment of women.
It was also agreed that they would collaborate to hold an exhibition for marketing the products of the visiting students in the last week of Ramadan.
Source: The Nation
Date:7/18/2011