NAVTTC, SIEMENS Unveil Shana Bashana Initiative To Empower Women

The ceremony to distribute Shana Bashana certificates to the third group of young women from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was attended by 150 people.

NAVTTC, SIEMENS Unveil Shana Bashana Initiative To Empower Women

The German-funded and GIZ-implemented Global Project Education (Build4Skills), SIEMENS Pakistan, and NAVTTC presented their joint initiative “Shana Bashana” to national and international TVET experts, decision-makers, and private sector representatives at an event in Karachi.

This initiative supports the cause of empowering young women by giving them employment opportunities in technical trades.

After successfully completing their 6 months of institute-based training at the Hunar Foundation and their 6 weeks of work-based training (WBT) at SIEMENS Pakistan in Karachi, as many as 44 young women were awarded Competency Based Training & Assessment (CBT&A) certificates in Logistics & Supply Chain and AutoCAD. At the event, Siemens also gave them experience certificates.

The ceremony to distribute Shana Bashana certificates to the third group of young women from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was attended by 150 people.

The National Vocational & Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) also presented the trainees with acknowledgment certificates, which will improve their chances of finding employment with their newly acquired skills. Mr Andreas Wegner, Consul / Deputy Head of Mission German Consulate General Karachi, stressed during his opening remarks that “only by setting promising examples do we de-construct stereotypes or false assumptions about someone’s gender and abilities.”

The initiative’s supporters were thanked for their efforts by Mr. Muhammad Daniyal, Managing Director of Siemens Pakistan, who also urged the female participants to pursue their goals and work alongside men in all fields.

“You are the enablers, who challenge systemic limitations and institutionalised discrimination so that alleged choices become actual choices,” Ms. Romina Kochius, Coordinator Sustainable Economic Development, Training, and Employment, GIZ, and overseer of the Global Project Education (Buils4Skills) in Pakistan, said in her address to the young women.

Women’s involvement in unusual trades was discussed by Ms. Momina Dar, CEO of BTIL Academy. A panel discussion on empowering young girls while promoting workplace-based training was sparked by her speech.

The Shana Bashana initiative has begun to challenge the perception that women cannot succeed in technical trades in the infrastructure and construction sectors. Germany is committed to empowering women seeking employment opportunities in industries with a male preponderance. Partners concur that systemic barriers must be removed while highlighting the potential of a female workforce.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has provided funding for the GIZ Global Project Education (Buils4Skills), a project that operates on a global scale.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and GIZ have partnered strategically on this project because they both believe that infrastructure improvements have the potential to improve workplace training (WBT). Small-scale interventions are being carried out by the project in Pakistan, Kenya, South Africa, Senegal, and Mongolia.