LAHORE:The Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF), in collaboration with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), has successfully completed its pilot project of ‘Domestic tailoring and fashion designing training course’ aimed at empowering women with underprivileged background and making them financially independent.
The project was part of the PSDF-Aghaaz training programme, and it focused on developing skills of trainees seeking opportunities for self-employment and polishing entrepreneurial skills of young people across Punjab, the PSDF Head (Marketing and Communications) Akbar Hussain stated this at the course certificate distribution ceremony here Monday.
Akbar Hussain said that the pilot project consisted of an initial batch of 26 female trainees from underprivileged backgrounds, who received training and learned new skills in fashion designing. As a mandate, minimum of 40 per cent of all trainings, funded by the PSDF, were focused on polishing skills of women and girls. The PSDF graduates of the training would also receive tool kits to support their business, as well as funds to launch their own setups in sponsorship with GIZ. The scope of this project would soon be extended to districts of Punjab.
He said, “PSDF always on the lookout to collaborate with partners on women’s skills, over the past 10 years. The PSDF has continued to fund training opportunities that targets the growth of women in Punjab across a number of professions. This enabled them to have access to income-generating opportunities wherever possible.”
Manager Partnerships and Business Development, Azka Munir said that the project was a great initiative as it allowed women to be leaders. She said, “This initiative has given the poor women an opportunity to start their own business and even provide employment to other people. The PSDF will be scale up the project so that more women get the chance to develop their skills.”