Third Party Development Ask British Council Report March 28 2012

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Skills
for Employability: South Asia
Evaluation
Monitoring & Evaluation Report
Pakistan and Bangladesh
March 15, 2012
Submitted to
British Council
Submitted by
ASK Development (Pvt.) Limited
Contents
Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... 1
List of Acronyms .......................................................................................................................................... 2
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Background ............................................................................................................................................... 3
Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 3
Findings and conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 4
Recommendations ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Chapter I ....................................................................................................................................................... 7
PROJECT BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................ 7
1.1 Background to British Council and Skills for Employability ............................................................. 7
1.2 Skills for Employability in South Asia ............................................................................................... 7
1.2.1 History.......................................................................................................................................... 7
1.2.2 Prospects ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 2 ..................................................................................................................................................... 10
METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Sample selection ............................................................................................................................... 10
2.2 Sample collection techniques ............................................................................................................ 11
2.3 Data analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 3 ..................................................................................................................................................... 12
EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTAN................................................................................................................ 12
3.1 Policy Dialogue ................................................................................................................................. 12
3.1.1 Perspective of IAG Representatives........................................................................................... 13
3.1.2 Perspective of Link Coordinators .............................................................................................. 14
3.2 Social Entrepreneurship .................................................................................................................... 17
3.2.1 Perspective of Winning Teams .................................................................................................. 18
3.2.2 Perspective of Participating Teams ............................................................................................ 24
3.2.3 Perspective of Participant Students not Shortlisted ................................................................... 31
3.2.4 Perspective of Master Trainers .................................................................................................. 36
3.2.5 Perspective of Principal and Teachers ....................................................................................... 42
3.2.6 Perspectives from Community Members ................................................................................... 47
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Chapter 4 ..................................................................................................................................................... 51
EVIDENCE FROM BANGLADESH ........................................................................................................ 51
4.1 Policy Dialogue ................................................................................................................................. 51
4.1.1 Workshop Participants ............................................................................................................... 51
4.1.2 Radio Programme Members ...................................................................................................... 52
4.2 College Partnerships ......................................................................................................................... 52
4.3 Social Entrepreneurship Competition ............................................................................................... 53
4.3.1 Results from the Winning Team ................................................................................................ 53
4.3.2 Results of Participating Teams .................................................................................................. 58
4.3.3 Results from Students who Participated but not Shortlisted ...................................................... 62
4.3.4 Results from the Master Trainers ............................................................................................... 66
4.3.5 Results from Teachers and Principals ........................................................................................ 69
Chapter 5 ..................................................................................................................................................... 75
COMPARISON OF PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH; AT GLANCE ................................................. 75
Chapter 6 ..................................................................................................................................................... 85
SUCCESS STORIES .................................................................................................................................. 85
6.1 Pre- Fabricated Houses ..................................................................................................................... 85
6.2 Solid Waste Management ................................................................................................................. 86
6.3 Paper Recycling ................................................................................................................................ 87
6.4 Ladies Shop....................................................................................................................................... 88
6.5 Hepatitis ............................................................................................................................................ 88
6.6 Honey Production ............................................................................................................................. 89
6.7 Tourism ............................................................................................................................................. 90
6.8 Skills Training Center ....................................................................................................................... 91
6.9 UPS Unit ........................................................................................................................................... 92
6.10 Skills Coaching ............................................................................................................................... 92
6.11 Plant Nursery .................................................................................................................................. 93
6.12 Blind Master Trainer ....................................................................................................................... 94
Chapter 7 ..................................................................................................................................................... 95
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................... 95
7.1 Policy Dialogue ................................................................................................................................. 95
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7.2 College Partnerships ......................................................................................................................... 96
7.3 Entrepreneurship Award Strand ........................................................................................................ 96
7.3.1 Legacy ............................................................................................................................................ 96
7.3.2 Impact ............................................................................................................................................ 97
7.4 Overall conclusions and recommendations....................................................................................... 97
Annexure ..................................................................................................................................................... 98
ANNEXURE A: List of Participants ...................................................................................................... 98
ANNEXURE B: References ................................................................................................................. 101
ANNEXURE C: Additional Results from Pakistani Respondents ....................................................... 102
ANNEXURE D: Focus Group Discussions with Pakistani Participants .............................................. 104
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
List of Tables
Table2. 1: Sample Selection for Evaluation of Policy Dialogue Event ...................................................... 10
Table2. 2: Sample Selection for Social Entrepreneurship Award Competition .......................................... 10
Table3. 1: Perception of Link Coordinators about overall programme ...................................................... 14
Table3. 2: Perception of Link Coordinators about training ........................................................................ 15
Table3. 3: Perception of Winning teams about different indicators of Project Benefits ............................ 20
Table3. 4: Perception of Winning teams about different indicators of the Competition ............................ 21
Table3. 5: Perception of Winning teams regarding extent of problems they faced .................................... 22
Table3. 6: Perception of Winning teams regarding projects' successfulness .............................................. 23
Table3. 7: Location of respondents from Participating Teams ................................................................... 24
Table3. 8: Perception of Participating Teams about project benefits ......................................................... 26
Table3. 9: Perception of participating teams about different indicators of Competition ............................ 27
Table3. 10: Perception of Participating teams regarding extent of problems they faced ............................ 29
Table3. 11: Perception of Participating teams regarding projects' successfulness ..................................... 30
Table3. 12: Location of students who participated but not shortlisted ....................................................... 31
Table3. 13: Perception of participants about Competition indicators ......................................................... 33
Table3. 14: Perception of participants regarding extent of problems they faced ........................................ 33
Table3. 15: Perception of participants regarding competition's successfulness.......................................... 34
Table3. 16: Location of master trainers ...................................................................................................... 36
Table3. 17: Training perception of master trainers ..................................................................................... 38
Table3. 18: Perception of master trainers about training assessment indicators ......................................... 39
Table3. 19: Changes observed by master trainers ....................................................................................... 40
Table3. 20: Perception of Principals and Teachers about training assessment indicators .......................... 44
Table3. 21: Perception of Principals and Teachers about training assessment ........................................... 45
Table3. 22: Perception of principals and teachers about training benefits for students .............................. 46
Table3. 23: Location of Community Members ........................................................................................... 47
Table3. 24: Perception of community members regarding purpose of community involvement ............... 48
Table3. 25: Perception of community members regarding project benefits ............................................... 48
Table3. 26: Perception of community members regarding impact of project on community..................... 49
Table3. 27: Perception of community members regarding project benefits for students............................ 50
Table4. 1: Perception of Winning teams about indicators of project benefits ............................................ 55
Table4. 2: Perception of Winning teams about different Indicators of Competition .................................. 55
Table4. 3: Perception of Winning teams regarding the Extent of Problems they Faced ............................ 57
Table4. 4: Perception of winning teams regarding Project’s Successfulness ............................................. 57
Table4. 5: Perception of Participating teams about different Indicators of Project Benefits ...................... 59
Table4. 6: Perception of participating teams about different Indicators of the Competition ...................... 60
Table4. 7: Perception of Participating teams regarding the Extent of Problems they Faced ...................... 60
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Table4. 8: Perception of Participating teams regarding Project’s Successfulness ...................................... 61
Table4. 9: Perception of students who participated but not shortlisted about competition indicators ........ 63
Table4. 10: Perception of students who participated but not shortlisted about extent of problems they faced ........ 63
Table4. 11: Perception of not shortlisted students about competition's successfulness .............................. 64
Table4. 12: Training perception of master trainers ..................................................................................... 66
Table4. 13: Training assessment indicators of master trainers ................................................................... 67
Table4. 14: Perception about changes observed by master trainers............................................................ 68
Table4. 15: Perception of Principals and teachers about training assessment indicators ........................... 71
Table4. 16: Perception of principals and teachers about training benefits.................................................. 72
Table4. 17: Perception of principals and teachers about training benefits for students .............................. 72
Table5. 1: Gender of Respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh ............................................................ 75
Table5. 2: Educational Level of respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh ............................................ 75
Table5. 3: Employment Status of respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh .......................................... 76
Table5. 4: employment Type of respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh ............................................ 77
Table5. 5: Working experience of respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh ......................................... 77
Table5. 6: Perception of participants from Pakistan and Bangladesh about different indicators of Project Benefits 78
Table5. 7: Perception of participants from Pakistan and Bangladesh about different indicators of Competition .... 79
Table5. 8: Contribution of British Council in knowledge acquisition in Pakistan and Bangladesh ........... 79
Table5. 9: Problems faced by respondents from Pakistan and Bangladseh ................................................ 80
Table5. 10: Perception about extent of problems faced by participants from Pakistan and Bangladesh .... 80
Table5. 11: Perception of participants regarding projects' successfulness in Pakistan and Bangladesh..... 81
Table5. 12: Participants who would recommend British Council in future ................................................ 84
TableA 1: List of Participants ..................................................................................................................... 98
TableD 1: Brief description of Projects of participating teams ................................................................. 104
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List of Figures
Figure3. 1: Gender of Link Coordinators.................................................................................................... 14
Figure3. 2: Education of Link coordinators ................................................................................................ 14
Figure3. 4: Changes observed in practices by Link coordinators ............................................................... 16
Figure3. 3: Percentage of Link coordinators who visited UK .................................................................... 16
Figure3. 5: Practices shared with trainees ................................................................................................... 16
Figure3. 6: Location of participants from winning teams ........................................................................... 18
Figure3. 7: Gender of participants from Winning teams ............................................................................ 18
Figure3. 8: Education level of participants from Winning teams ............................................................... 19
Figure3. 9: Employment status of winning teams ....................................................................................... 19
Figure3. 10: Employment type of winning teams ....................................................................................... 19
Figure3. 11: Working duration of winning teams ....................................................................................... 20
Figure3. 12: Number of people working with winning teams .................................................................... 21
Figure3. 13: Key role of stakeholders in projects success .......................................................................... 21
Figure3. 14: Contribution of British Council in knowledge acquisition of winning teams ........................ 22
Figure3. 15: Participants of winning teams who started their own business .............................................. 23
Figure3. 16: Participants of winning teams who would like to recommend British Council ..................... 24
Figure3. 17: Gender of participating teams ................................................................................................ 25
Figure3. 18: Education level of participating teams ................................................................................... 25
Figure3. 20: Employment type of participating teams ................................................................................ 26
Figure3. 21: Working duration of participating teams ................................................................................ 26
Figure3. 19: Employment status of participating teams.............................................................................. 26
Figure3. 22: Participants who are still running their projects ..................................................................... 27
Figure3. 23: Number of people working with participating teams ............................................................. 28
Figure3. 24: Plan of respondents to convert project into business .............................................................. 28
Figure3. 25: Key role of stakeholders in project success ............................................................................ 29
Figure3. 26: Contribution of British Council in knowledge acquisition of participating teams ................. 29
Figure3. 28: Participating teams who would like to recommend British Council ...................................... 31
Figure3. 27: Participating teams who started their own business ............................................................... 31
Figure3. 29: Gender of participants who were not shortlisted .................................................................... 32
Figure3. 30: Education level of students who participated but not shortlisted ........................................... 32
Figure3. 31: Employment status of students who participated but not shortlisted .................................. 33
Figure3. 32: Employment type of students who participated but not shortlisted ........................................ 33
Figure3. 33: Percentage of respondents who attended training before competition ................................... 34
Figure3. 34: Key role of stakeholders in competition success .................................................................... 35
Figure3. 35: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of students who participated but not shortlisted .......... 35
Figure3. 36: Improved general employability skills of students who participated but not shortlisted ....... 36
Figure3. 37: Gender of master trainers ....................................................................................................... 36
Figure3. 39: Employment type of master trainers....................................................................................... 37
Figure3. 38: Education level of master trainers .......................................................................................... 37
Figure3. 40: Working experience of master trainers ................................................................................... 38
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Figure3. 41: Trainings attended by master trainers before SfE Program .................................................... 38
Figure3. 42: Contribution of stakeholders .................................................................................................. 39
Figure3. 43: British Council's contribution in knowledge acquisition of master trainers ........................... 39
Figure3. 44: number of students trained through SfE ................................................................................. 41
Figure3. 45: Number of teachers trained through SfE ................................................................................ 41
Figure3. 46: Need of improvement in training program ............................................................................. 41
Figure3. 47: Recommendation of BC by master trainers ............................................................................ 42
Figure3. 48: Age of principals and teachers ............................................................................................... 42
Figure3. 49: Gender of principals and teachers .......................................................................................... 43
Figure3. 50: education level of principals and teachers .............................................................................. 43
Figure3. 51: Employment type of participants............................................................................................ 43
Figure3. 52: Work experience of principals and teachers ........................................................................... 44
Figure3. 53: Training need of principals and teachers ................................................................................ 44
Figure3. 54: Key role of stakeholders ......................................................................................................... 45
Figure3. 55: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of principals and teachers .............................. 45
Figure3. 56: Perception about training program by principals and teachers ............................................... 47
Figure3. 57: Principals and teachers who would recommend BC in future ................................................ 47
Figure3. 58: Ways of communication with project team ............................................................................ 48
Figure3. 59: Respondents heard about BC.................................................................................................. 49
Figure3. 60: Source from where respondents heard about BC ................................................................... 49
Figure3. 61: Community members who would recommend BC ................................................................ 50
Figure4. 1: Location of participants from winning teams ........................................................................... 54
Figure4. 2: Gender of participants from winning teams ............................................................................. 54
Figure4. 3: Educational level of winning teams ......................................................................................... 54
Figure4. 4: Respondents still running the project ....................................................................................... 56
Figure4. 5: Respondents' plan to take project as business .......................................................................... 56
Figure4. 6: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of winning teams ............................................. 56
Figure4. 7: Percentage of respondents who faced problems during competition ....................................... 57
Figure4. 8: Percentage of respondents from winning teams who started their own business ..................... 58
Figure4. 9: Gender of respondents from participating teams ...................................................................... 58
Figure4. 10: Educational attainment of respondents from participating teams ........................................... 59
Figure4. 11: Employment status of respondents from participating teams ................................................. 59
Figure4. 12: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of participating teams .................................... 60
Figure4. 13: Respondents from participating teams who started their own business ................................. 62
Figure4. 14: Respondents from participating teams who would recommend BC ...................................... 62
Figure4. 15: Education level of students who participated but not shortlisted ........................................... 62
Figure4. 16: Employment status of participants who were not shortlisted ................................................. 63
Figure4. 17: Percentage of respondents who attended training before competition ................................... 64
Figure4. 18: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of students who were not shortlisted ............. 65
Figure4. 19: Percentage of students who started their own business after training .................................... 65
Figure4. 20: Percentage of Respondents who would recommend BC ........................................................ 65
Figure4. 21: Education level of master trainers .......................................................................................... 66
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure4. 22: Employment type of master trainers....................................................................................... 66
Figure4. 23: Working experience of master trainers ................................................................................... 66
Figure4. 24: Master trainers who attended trainings before SfE program .................................................. 67
Figure4. 25: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of master trainers ........................................... 67
Figure4. 26: Number of students and teachers trained by master trainers .................................................. 69
Figure4. 27: Need of improvement in training program ............................................................................. 69
Figure4. 28: Age of principals and teachers ............................................................................................... 69
Figure4. 29: Gender of principals and teachers .......................................................................................... 70
Figure4. 30: Educational level of principal and teachers ............................................................................ 70
Figure4. 31: Employment type of principals and teachers .......................................................................... 70
Figure4. 32: Experience of principals and teachers .................................................................................... 71
Figure4. 33: Training needs of principals and teachers .............................................................................. 71
Figure4. 34: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of principals and teachers .............................. 72
Figure4. 35: Perception of principals and teachers about training program ............................................... 73
Figure4. 36: Principals and teachers who would recommend BC .............................................................. 74
Figure5. 1: Improvement in employability skills of participants from Pakistan and Bangladesh .............. 82
Figure5. 2: Enhancement of entrepreneurship skills in participants of Pakistan and Bangladesh .............. 82
Figure5. 3: Respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh who started their own business after training .... 83
Figure5. 4: Respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh who would participate in future activities ......... 83
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Acknowledgements
ASK Development is pleased to present this monitoring and evaluation report of the Programme “Skills
for Employability” implemented by British Council. Our aim is to highlight the skills enhancement
among youth and changed practices of stakeholders and partners involved in it since its launch in 2008.
The objective of this assignment was to focus on the impact of the project from the perspective of its
participants and organizations (partners) involved. In accordance with the assignment objectives, a
comprehensive review of how the project has met its purpose − to share experience on the ways in which
creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation can help to improve employment opportunities across
Pakistan and Bangladesh is presented in this report. In addition, we have focused on what has worked as
well as on lessons learned.
As a result, the findings and subsequent recommendations are mainly based on the feedback received
from participants. The methodology adopted for this evaluation was based on primary and secondary data
collection techniques. Statistical record is mentioned in the report. This contains information on numbers
of participants as well as on the impact of SfE Program.
ASK Development would like to thank for the efforts, inputs, and commitment made by our Monitoring
and Evaluation Team. Especial thanks are extended to Mr. Uris Umrani and Ms. Madiha Ikram who
worked with their constant and tireless efforts. We appreciate their commitment and participation in all
the management activities and overall assignment.
Sincere appreciation is also extended to Mr. Abdul Sattar Nahyoun for data entry, data analysis and
cleaning. Further, we wish to pay indebtedness and gratitude and thanks to Dr. Sarah Tirmazi who have
contributed and helped to shape this report by providing technical knowledge, experience and perspective
which have significant impact on the report.
We should particularly like to acknowledge the important contributions made by YES Network Pakistan,
NAVTTC, TEVTA, Industry Advisory Groups, and British Council Project Team. We are also indebted
to the community members, principals, teachers, master trainers, and students who participated in
interviews. The data and experiences revealed by all the participants have provided important information
about SfE Program.
Heartiest gratitude to our technology partner “NexSource International” and their team including Salman
Khan and Naseer Randhawa for assisting us in data collection through VMB
Arshad Akif
CEO- ASK Development
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
List of Acronyms
BC
British Council
BNNRC
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication
BPI
Barisal Polytechnic Institute
BTED
Bangladesh Technical Education Board
CTEVT
Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training
DTE
Directorate of Technical Education
EFA
Education for All
FDGs
Focus Discussion Groups
IAG
Industry Advisory Groups
KPK
Kadam Pa Kadam
ILO
International Labour Organization
IVR
Interactive Voice Response
LMI
Labour Market Intelligence
MDGs
Millennium Development Goals
NAVTTC
National Vocational and Technical Training Commission
NHTTI
National Hotel & Tourism Training Institute
NQF
National Quality Framework
SfE
Skills for Employability
SSC
Sector Skills Council
TVET
Technical and Vocational Education Training
UNESCO
United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization
VET
Vocational Educational Training
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Executive Summary
Background
The Skills for Employability project is fundamentally a cultural relations programme which positions the
UK as a key partner in projects that are aimed towards enhancing the competitive skills that the labour
force has access to in the South Asian Region. The project is divided into four components: policy
dialogue, partnerships for skill development, enterprise and professional networks.
The British Council’s Skills for Employability (SfE) programme was successfully launched in 2008.
Since its inception the programme in Pakistan has contributed to the development of five partnerships
between Pakistani and UK Technical Vocational Education Teaching (TVET) institutes. Additionally
the British Council worked with the National Vocational and Technical Education Commission
(NAVTTC) to establish industry-driven minimum skill standards, or competency standards in technical
and vocational education across 23 different trades. In Bangladesh the programme has successfully
enlisted partnerships with two colleges. As part of the programme, a policy dialogue event was held
with participation from 70 key position holders in the TVET sector. Moreover, to promote policy
dialogue, a Skills for Employability Radio Project was launched across Central and South Asia. The
dialogue involved broadcasting a total of 55 radio programmes reaching approximately 9.2 million
young people across Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The show aimed to provide much
needed information regarding skills development, employability and entrepreneurship for both urban
and rural youth from across the region.
Employers, universities, industrial groups and other professional bodies agree that there is a great need to
focus on employability and job-readiness skills. The challenge of increased competition in the market
makes these skills particularly necessary. More than ever, professionals are required who are responsive
to economic, social, cultural, technical and environmental change and can work flexibly and intelligently
across different business contexts. The current Skills for Education project initiated by the British Council
with funding from the UK government, represents a move towards improving vocational education and
training in Central and South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and
Uzbekistan) by initiating reforms on the national and international level.
The essential goal of the programme is to create partnerships and trust between the UK and other nations
by exchanging knowledge and ideas about skills development. The programme also strives to increase
employability amongst the younger generation with the long term target of reducing poverty as a
consequence of strengthened bridges between education and industries.
Methodology
The methodology adopted for this interim evaluation was based on primary and secondary data collection
techniques. Tools were designed to assess both the main components of the Skills for Education
programme operational in each country. Qualitative and quantitative tools were designed for Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The questionnaires were designed with open ended questions to encourage
discussion. These questions were asked through individual meetings and by using interactive voice
response (IVR) techniques. All aspects of the policy dialogue event and social entrepreneurship
competition were covered. Qualitative tools were also used for orchestrating Focused Group Discussions
(FGDs) to explore the objectives and impact of the social entrepreneurship award competition.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Findings and conclusions
The results of the evaluation conclusively show that stakeholders, from trainers to competition
participants and NAVTTC members, all have positive opinions about the programme as it has been
implemented thus far. In Pakistan especially, the inclusion of many women in the programme, and the
overall excellent feedback is a commendation to the work. However there were some recurring threads
that emerged regarding areas that the British Council may want to explore further as they continue to
expand their presence in the region. In Bangladesh although the radio programme was a widespread
success, the British Council’s involvement in policy dialogue activities were limited in most other
respects. The evidence also demonstrates that currently government involvement in the both country
programmes is limited. Overall the success of the Skills for Education programme is indicative of the
timeliness of this development intervention, and the British Council's key role in assisting the youth in
South Asia to be globally competitive as they enter the labour market.
Recommendations
The Skills for Education programme in South Asia is now entering its fifth year and thus far the response
has been positive to the radio programme, the Enterprise Challenge and the College Partnership
initiatives. However the feedback generated from the various stakeholders including members of
NAVTTC, TEVTA institutions, competition participants, teachers and trainers has demonstrated that
there are still some areas that need to be improved upon. The British Council should therefore take on a
more advocacy focused role on both countries. The evidence demonstrates that currently government
involvement in the both country programmes is limited and needs to be strengthened in order to become
sustainable.
Policy Dialogue
In general a strong recommendation is that the British Council needs to be more engaged in taking on an
advocacy role in the government. The TVET system in the region is evolving so there is ever-increasing
potential to work closely with key stakeholders to make long term interventions. Currently the entire
region appears to be focusing on apprenticeships, employer engagement and entrepreneurship initiatives
and there appears to be a unified move towards developing proper TVET structures and improving the
capacity to monitor and enhance current National Vocational Standards. These changes signal a window
of opportunity to further expand the British Council’s involvement in the growth of this area.
A further area that the British Council should focus on is to make more sustainable interventions, along
the same vein as the current interventions to bring the experience of the Sector Skills Council UK to
Pakistan.
Representatives from the IAGs also indicated that there have been some issues communicating with
NAVTTC on various industrial curriculum questions which should be addressed by the British Council in
consultation with NAVTTC.
The radio show has been extremely successful. Therefore across the region feedback from listeners,
government representatives, teachers and others has highlighted the start of knowledge, attitude and
behavior changes directly linked to the radio programming. This suggests the need for continuation of the
radio program in all four countries where the pilot project ran in. However, for sustained impact the
British Council will need to look into finding support for longer term programming to see increases in
audience penetration, audience interaction and a deeper impact from program messaging.
One way to achieve this is to continue programming in collaboration with other British Council programs
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
such as Active Citizens and Global Exchange or by leveraging external contracts to ensure sustainability
and long term behavioral change in the society. Moreover greater outreach and expansion into the British
Council’s priority areas in the region is also recommended. Any information on employment
opportunities or skills-development must be disseminated widely and repeatedly. In addition to this,
capacity should also be built to produce local versions of the radio program, in local languages, to connect
the youth to service seekers in the area. This includes imparting more information regarding local vacancy
announcements and community level training opportunities.
The reporting was not done on regular basis and occasionally the deadlines were not met, preventing
efficient monitoring. This lack of diligence was also evident in the contracts between partners drawn up,
which were devoid of important clauses and stipulations. In addition to this operational difficulties were
also faced due to the fact that local partners in the different countries were running the program instead of
Equal Access itself. This not only meant lesser responsibility shown by these organizations towards the
show but also a lack of British Council’s branding and promotion.
While there seems to be a robust policy dialogue strand active in Pakistan, other than the radio
programme, this seems to be lacking in Bangladesh. A key recommendation would be to broaden the
work done in terms of Policy Dialogue Bangladesh, where the events needs to be linked to a agenda
College Partnerships
Although assessing the college partnership strand of the programme was not an emphasis in this
evaluation, some impressions were gathered in the course of collecting data. The link coordinators were
of the opinion that the college partnerships have not only helped the colleges themselves but that the skills
that have been learned as a result of the exchange had a larger scale impact in terms of learning. One
recommendation is that the courses created and updated under this partnership, should now be put
forward for international accreditation.
The British Council has completed this strand and they are now thinking of replicating it but we
recommend that they should look into the following:

Replicating the curricula worked and and finalized during the course of these college partnerships
in Pakistan, and extending it to the entire region.

Facilitating the process of starting dual certification between both the colleges in the same
manner that it is currently done in Rawalakot College in AJK, Pakistan.

Widening the range of colleges that are brought into the programme in this strand is highly
recommended.
Entrepreneurship Award Strand
The British Council needs to analyze this program from two angles; at direct impact and at the legacy that
it will leave behind.
Legacy
The British Council needs to consider methods of making its programmes more sustainable. The fact that
many of the teachers and trainers are employed in the government sector is a good demonstration that
there is increasing public ownership. However this must be further strengthened as much as possible in
the future. Examples of successful handovers to the government can be seen in Uzbekistan, where the
state took full ownership of this strand.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Simultaneously, the British Council needs to look for sustainable partners for this strand to upscale its
visibility at policy level to incorporate enterprise as part of curricula in TVET
Impact
One area that the questionnaires continuously revealed a deficit in was in the training given to students in
the course of the Social Entrepreneurship Challenge. A majority of participants when asked about the
quality of training agreed that there is a strong need to improve the training programme. They suggested
that the training duration should be increased, new topics and experiences should be integrated into the
curriculum, and master trainers should be given laptops so assist them as they deliver trainings. This will
be a good step towards strengthening the skills imparted to the students.
Overall conclusions and recommendations
Although the project has achieved a lot in last three to four years, there has been little emphasis on
marketing materials, stories or publications to support it. The British Council should also be forward
thinking and look into what the foundations are doing and how to possibly get sponsorship from them to
work on different strands or perhaps even act as a local implementation partner. Finally, the British
Council should propose the project to Governments in the region as they do have funding which BC can
further explore.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Chapter I
PROJECT BACKGROUND
1.1 Background to British Council and Skills for Employability
The British Council is the United Kingdom’s cultural relations organization. Its mission is to build
bridges and create international opportunities for exchange between UK citizens and people from other
countries, and to build trust worldwide. The Skills for Employability project is fundamentally a cultural
relations programme which positions the UK as a key partner in projects that are aimed towards
enhancing the competitive skills that the labour force has access to in the South Asian Region. The
project is divided into four components: policy dialogue, partnerships for skill development, enterprise
and professional networks.
1.2 Skills for Employability in South Asia
The British Council’s Skills for Employability (SfE) programme was successfully launched in 2008.
Since its inception the programme in Pakistan has contributed to the development of five partnerships
between Pakistani and UK Technical Vocational Education Teaching (TVET) institutes. Additionally
the British Council worked with the National Vocational and Technical Education Commission
(NAVTTC) to establish industry-driven minimum skill standards, or competency standards in technical
and vocational education across 23 different trades. In Bangladesh the programme has successfully
enlisted partnerships with two colleges. As part of the programme, a policy dialogue event was held
with participation from 70 key position holders in the TVET sector. Moreover, to promote policy
dialogue, a Skills for Employability Radio Project was launched across Central and South Asia. The
dialogue involved broadcasting a total of 55 radio programmes reaching approximately 9.2 million
young people across Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The show aimed to provide much
needed information regarding skills development, employability and entrepreneurship for both urban
and rural youth from across the region.
Employers, universities, industrial groups and other professional bodies agree that there is a great need to
focus on employability and job-readiness skills. The challenge of increased competition in the market
makes these skills particularly necessary. More than ever, professionals are required who are responsive
to economic, social, cultural, technical and environmental change and can work flexibly and intelligently
across different business contexts. The current Skills for Education project initiated by the British Council
with funding from the UK government, represents a move towards improving vocational education and
training in Central and South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and
Uzbekistan) by initiating reforms on the national and international level.
The essential goal of the programme is to create partnerships and trust between the UK and other nations
by exchanging knowledge and ideas about skills development. The programme also strives to increase
employability amongst the younger generation with the long term target of reducing poverty as a
consequence of strengthened bridges between education and industries.
1.2.1 History
Focusing on generic vocational skills as a method of strengthening the connection between educational
institutions and the industries they are meant to serve has become an increasingly accepted economic
development intervention.
7
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
April 2008 saw the commencement of a three year grant to fund collaborative college partnership
activities. The Skills for Employability project was officially launched in July 2008 in Central and South
Asia with the aim of securing partnerships through a competitive application process. This process
consisted of visits from UK institutions to their regional partners as well as implementing strategy
development workshops for selected institutions. After a series of successful events and dialogues by the
end of April 2008, 14 college partnerships were established, creating linkages between the UK and
institutions in 5 countries across Central and South Asia.
In November 2008 the British Council ran a competition to support the “Make your Mark” theme of
Global Entrepreneur Week. The competition encouraged the participation of thousands of people across
six countries in Central and South Asia. The British Council conducted this international challenge for the
first time in Central and South Asia as part of their global Skills for Employability project in 2008-09.
The first ever Regional Enterprise Challenge was won by a team from a small economically marginalized
town in Pakistan, and received a cash prize of £2,500, along with a soft loan of Rs.250,000 provided by
the British Council.1 Despite the resource restrictions faced by these young entrepreneurs they managed
to carry out a successful and profitable business venture in their city.
By 2009, 13 college partnerships had been established with 17 institutions from Central and South Asian
countries. Twelve high impact policy dialogue events were held in 5 countries across the region. As part
of the policy dialogue component, three core working groups of educationalists, employers, government
agency and chambers of commerce representatives were established in three countries – Bangladesh,
Nepal and Uzbekistan. There were many key partnership arrangements agreed upon with ministries and
local VET agencies. Three Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) have been signed to date in the
region, including with the National Skills Testing Board in Nepal. Another item on the list of
programmatic accomplishments includes conducting an ‘Employer Engagement’ seminar with
participants from Pakistan and Kazakhstan attended by 15 T1/T2s from 6 Central and South Asian
countries, including Afghanistan and Nepal.
The programme has also benefited from positive media exposure as a result of a campaign involving
extensive general marketing, the distribution of project flyers, setting up a web-page under the British
Council’s vocational partnerships site, circulating related videos and compiling a photo library following
the ‘Employer Engagement’ seminar. The case study of the Skills for Employability programme as it has
been implemented in Central and South Asia was selected to be featured in the British Council’s Annual
Report for 2008-2009 and 2 stories were featured on BBC World. Additionally one of the programme’s
success stories is scheduled to be featured on the 75th anniversary website. The project’s regional
activities have furthermore received 50 media mentions in the last year, including being covered twice by
the UK media.
The British Council has been a pioneering force in making the world a global village, by implementing
innovative initiatives such as launching the Skills for Employability Radio Project across Central and
South Asia. In collaboration with Equal Access, an NGO in Nepal, the British Council successfully
broadcasted a total of 55 radio programmes reaching approximately 9.2 million young people across
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The radio players targeted employability and
entrepreneurship for rural and urban sectors across South Asia. All these countries experience low literacy
rates and underdeveloped infrastructure. In these conditions the youth radio training programme is
considered a great tool for helping millions to find opportunities. The British Council’s continuous efforts
made it possible for the youth in these countries to understand the significance of being skilled, and how
they can directly link their competencies with their job roles in order to achieve their career aspirations.
1
British Council, Social Enterprise Award - South Asia Region
8 Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
1.2.2 Prospects
Even after the successful conclusion of these initiatives the British Council continues be active in
enhancing its regional presence:
1) A three day ‘Sector Skills Training’ that will be followed by a grand Dissemination
Conference held in Pakistan, inviting key stakeholders, NGOs, international speakers,
TEVTA and NAVTTC staff to identify how universities currently integrate, develop and
teach employability skills
2) Consultations with higher education stakeholders including universities, businesses and
industrial representatives to review and identify best practices for integrating, developing,
teaching, assessing and reporting on employability skills nationally and internationally
3) Identification of practical, cost-effective options that enable employability skills to be
explicitly identified as part of the higher education assessment and reporting process
4) Ongoing recommendation assessments and reporting approaches for the recognition of
graduate employability skills, and identifying the benefits of additional practical, costeffective and educationally sound processes to assess and report employability skills beyond
current arrangements.
The Skills for employability project has attracted collaborative efforts from international agencies such as
UNESCO, the World Bank, ILO, and the European Training Foundation. Its programmatic success can be
attributed to the fact that it fills a current policy gap, providing international dialogue in a critical area
which has not been addressed in the past due to the priority given to primary education under the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The programme represents a theoretical shift in thinking that
has taken place since October 2009 when UNESCO declared at its General Conference that Skills for
Work are the new strategic priority in reaching the Education for All (EFA) goals agreed upon in Dakar.
The Sector Skills Council workshops being held in March 2012 will encourage the UK and Pakistani
Industry Advisory Groups (IAGs) and Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to develop their national
occupational and aptitude standards. Existing skill delivery models will be analyzed and scrutinized to
enhance the operations of future training providers such as a National Skills Academy. The workshop will
enable UK SSC’s and Pakistan IAGs/SSCs to identify products available that will help them develop in
the long term.
The primary aim of this consultancy is to provide evidence that the project has achieved its desired
outcomes and outputs against the Skills for Employment target objectives. A second objective is to
understand where individual strands have been interrelated to reinforce overall outputs and what effect
this has had on the success of the project. Moreover, it aims to provide lessons learnt about the
programme’s success, and evidence of achievement of British Council objectives through SfE activity
including a range of stakeholders including young people, government institutions, learning providers
and wider communities.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Chapter 2
METHODOLOGY
The
methodology adopted for this interim evaluation was based on primary and secondary data
collection techniques. Tools were designed to assess both the main components of the Skills for
Education programme operational in each country. Qualitative and quantitative tools were designed for
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The questionnaires were designed with open ended questions to
encourage discussion. These questions were asked through individual meetings and by using interactive
voice response (IVR) techniques. All aspects of the policy dialogue event and social entrepreneurship
competition were covered. Qualitative tools were also used for orchestrating Focused Group Discussions
(FGDs) to explore the objectives and impact of the social entrepreneurship award competition.
Quantitative tools were designed comprising of closed ended questions keeping in view the following
aspects:





Demographic information of respondents
Perception of respondents about British Council
Perception of respondents about the trainings, partnerships, and exposure visits
Learning impact of the programme
Attribution of British Council in the projects
Testimonial sheets were also designed to be completed by stakeholders.
2.1 Sample selection
Keeping in mind the stakeholders involved in the Skills for Education programme, a sampling framework
was designed for both components.
Table2. 1: Sample Selection for Evaluation of Policy Dialogue Event
For Evaluation of Policy Dialogue Event
Pakistan
 TEVTA Officials (2 from each TEVTA
Punjab, TEVTA Sindh, and TEVTA AJK
 NAVETAC Officials (4 from Islamabad
Head Office)
 33% Industrial Advisory Groups
Representatives (3 out of 9 )
 30% Link Coordinators (5 out of 17)
Bangladesh
 Radio Programme team (10 participants)

Members of Policy Dialogue Event (10
participants)
Table2. 2: Sample Selection for Social Entrepreneurship Award Competition
For Social Entrepreneurship Award Competition
Pakistan
Bangladesh
 Winning Teams (16 members from all the
 Winning Teams (13 members)
4 teams)
 20% Participating Teams (30 students of
 Participating Teams (14 members)
144 students)
10
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation





2% Students who participated but did not
get shortlisted (134 students out of 6500
students)
56% of Master Trainers (14 out of 25)
12 % Principals and teachers (145 out of
1226)
Community Members (39 members where
social projects were launched)
YES Network Official (1)

Students who participated but did not get
shortlisted (21 members)


Master Trainers (5 participants)
Principals and Teachers (20 participants)
2.2 Sample collection techniques
Direct meetings with stakeholders and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology was used for sample
collection depending on the distance and sample size. The following steps were carried out:
 ASK collected the mobile numbers of sample participants as well as their complete addresses.
With this data easily accessible in the form of a database, the process with the participants was
enabled.
 The questionnaires were customized to conform to an analytical model.
The technological database models converted the questionnaires into analytical modules. The
questionnaires were then analytically examined and recorded by the system. Nexsources, one of ASK’s
partners, carried out this survey. The participants were interviewed and their responses were gathered in
IVR software. The process was completed within 15 days and a comprehensive survey was in place for
reporting.
2.3 Data analysis
At the first step data cross verification was undertaken. The data were merged within ABC forms
horizontally and Pakistan and Bangladesh vertically. The data were converted in SPSS, and then
frequency and graph tabulation commands were used for data analysis.
11
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Chapter 3
EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTAN
3.1 Policy Dialogue
The purpose behind the British Council’s policy dialogue initiative is to increase knowledge, trust and
engagement between governments, employers and educators, thereby enabling them to contribute more
effectively to national skills development reforms. It focuses on employer engagement, forging industrial
linkages, creating enterprises and apprenticeships, the development of a National Quality Framework
(NQF) and promoting competency based curricula. This aspect of the programme mainly deals with
building the capacity of key stakeholders and decision makers by organizing local, regional and
international seminars, workshops, forums and consultancies. The core issues involved in skill reforms in
our contemporary global economy compel us to look at how questions of how to enhance coordination
between ministries, skills agencies, employers and educational institutions are the focus of promoting
policy dialogue.
Policy Dialogue in Pakistan
In Pakistan, in May 2011, NAVTTC in collaboration with the British Council arranged a meeting to
validate the skills standards (also called competency standards) of 23 trades of technical and vocational
education in Islamabad.2 The meeting was attended by about 50 key stakeholders from the TVET sector
including senior representatives from relevant national and provincial government agencies, ministries,
and industry and technical institutions.
The roots of this meeting date back to January 2009 when NAVTTC with the assistance of British
Council formed Industry Advisory Groups for three priority sectors: construction, textile and hospitality
and tourism. Each IAG was represented by senior staff of leading companies of these priority sectors and
were trained in the UK by relevant UK Sector Skills Councils. On their return, they held a series of
sessions for wider industry consultation and used the industry feedback to develop skills standards of 23
priority trades.
These skills standards will now serve as the basis of the new curricula being developed by NAVTTC
proposed as ‘Centers of Vocational Excellence.’ The validation of these skills standards mark a
significant milestone in government efforts to bring reforms in Pakistan TVET sector by creating closer
links between the industry and educational institutions feeding them. This is a demonstration of greater
government ownership in the concepts embedded in the British Council’s Skills for Education
programme.
Another initiative taken to promote greater policy dialogue was the introduction of a radio programme in
2010. The programme aimed to raise awareness about technical and vocational education, and training
opportunities for young people. A desired outcome of the show is to increase knowledge of the importance
of enterprise skills and provide a platform for youth globally to share concerns and experiences around
entering the work place. In collaboration with “Equal Access,” an NGO in Nepal, the radio show was
implemented in countries across South Asia, including Pakistan.
2
British Council and National Vocational and Technical Education Commission, “Meeting on Market Driven Skills
Standards Validated for Technical & Vocational Education,” Islamabad, 20 th May 2011.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
In Pakistan, the radio show, named “Kadam Pa Kadam,” (KPK) provided information about educational
and vocational training opportunities and aimed to engage and inspire people from the Khyber
Pukhtunkhawah region.3 Reaching an estimated weekly audience of 4 million, including 1.7 young people,
KPK provided a vehicle for civic education and community awareness in one of the most remote and
marginalized regions of Pakistan. The show included 63 diverse voices from across Pakistan and aired
reports, vox-pops, features, interviews, talk shows and monologues and accounts of personal experiences.
The programme received considerable appreciation from the people whose lives were changed from
listening to the show. Iltaf Hussain, a listener from Rashkhai, Nowshera remarked:
“I think such radio programmes should be broadcasted frequently since they are very
much informative and help eradicate unemployment in the area.”
3.1.1 Perspective of IAG Representatives
In a series of structured interviews, the views of IAG representatives from the construction, textiles and
hospitality industries were assessed. Mr. Naeem Mushtaq commented that skills standards developed by
the USA are applied all over the world because they are based on human interaction and are readily
applicable to Pakistan. He was therefore of the opinion that there is limited space available for UK
standards in Pakistan as far as hospitality management is concerned. Additionally since protocols were
not established and no orientation on roles was given to the hospitality industry’s IAG, he indicated that
there was a sense of dissatisfaction. He related the example that since the group’s leadership role was not
made very clear, not all members believed that the industry was being served by its creation. Mr. Usman
Mumtaz’s (construction) understanding of the IAG representative’s mandate was to simply advise on
skills standards rather than to develop the curriculum of vocational institutions. He was of the opinion
that it was NAVTTC’s responsibility to develop the curriculum.
There were also disagreements on approving the skills standards that should be put in place for cooks and
waiters. Dr. Naeem Mushtaq and Malik Nasir asserted that they had developed standards which they
believed were not acted upon by NAVTTC. He was of the view that instead of focusing on the industrial
level, business representatives were tending to focus on benefitting their own organizations. The example
given was of a Serena Hotel presentation in which members were given their institutional performance
presentation instead of achievements of the IAG. One remarked that the “British Council team was unable
to manage the project in the right direction.” Another area discussed was that staff turnover at NAVTTC
was another reason for the lack of coordination in implementing the project.
Positive feedback centered on the one week visit made to the UK for training purposes, during which
much was learned regarding industrial practices. These lessons were then applied to domestic venues such
as the Islamabad club. Mr. Abdul Khalique from the construction IAG agreed that one of the impacts of
the exposure visit to the UK was realizing that people have taken their own initiative. There is great
demand for skilled labour in the construction industry overseas such as in Doha. There is an opportunity
for Pakistanis because Indians are not willing to move outside the country now because of wage increase
in India.
A recommendation was made to institute grievance mechanisms in case of conflict in a group. It was also
felt that there was disconnect between the curriculum committees and these IAGs. Mr. Mumtaz
recommended greater attention to the fact that there were frequent transfers of NAVTTC officials, as this
was one of the reasons why progress was slow. Further suggestions included greater understanding
amongst NAVTTC officials about IAG’s specific role.
3
British Council, “Skills For Education-Radio Programme.”
13 Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
3.1.2 Perspective of Link Coordinators
Figure3. 1: Gender of Link Coordinators
Figure3. 2: Education of Link coordinators
The graph above is a statistical representation of the proportion of men to women in the group of link
coordinators. The second graph shows that 85.7 percent of link coordinators are qualified with Masters
level degrees. No one in the sample had lower than a Masters degree.
Table3. 1: Perception of Link Coordinators about overall programme
Perception of Link Coordinators about overall programme
Excellent Very
Good
Poor
Very
Good
Poor
57.14
Benefits of international partnership to institute 42.86
42.86
57.14
Rating of SfE programme
57.14
42.86
Rating of UK TVET skills
42.86
57.14
Rating of college partnerships
57.14
42.86
Rating of British Council entrepreneurship
award
The table above shows the perception of link coordinators about the overall programme launched by the
British Council. Out of the sample, 57.14% ranked the Skills for Education Programme and college
partnerships as very good. Similarly, 57.14% of the link coordinators rated the entrepreneurship award
competition as excellent. They were also of the view that this programme had helped a great deal in
increasing and adopting the UK technical and vocational skills in Pakistani TVET institutions.
14
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Table3. 2: Perception of Link Coordinators about training
Link coordinators’ perception about training
Statements
Excellent
Very
Good
71.43
Good
Poor
Very
Poor
-
28.57
Role of TEVTA & employers in module design &
updating
42.86
28.57 14.29 Appropriate assessment techniques to check work-based
learning
42.86
57.14 Good practices have been disseminated to stakeholders
100.00
0.00
Overall satisfactory contribution of British Council
14.29 Development of knowledge & ideas for new opportunities 85.71
85.71
14.29 College curricula development
85.71
14.29 Accreditation of college curricula
57.14
42.86 Training quality improvement by college partnership
28.57
42.86 28.57 Dissemination of college curricula
28.57
71.43 Good relationships development of British Council with
different stakeholders
85.71
14.29 Important role for the TVET sector
42.86
42.86 Change in students perception by college partnership
85.71
14.29 Change in teachers perception by college partnership
42.86
57.14 British Council role in employer engagement in TVET
sector
42.86
42.86 Improvement in teacher training quality
57.14
28.57 Improvement in assessment methodology
85.71
14.29 Improvement in employer engagement
100.00
0.00
Improvement in employability skills of students
57.14
42.86 Improvement in actual employment rate of students
28.57
71.43 Quality improvement of students
The table above indicates the perception of link coordinators about the training programme and the
observed positive changes that have taken place as a result of the training programme. They strongly
agree that this training has helped develop knowledge and ideas for new opportunities, enhanced college
curricula and improved accreditation mechanisms. Of the respondents, 71.43% said that this partnership
has developed very good relationships between the British Council and different stakeholders. The link
coordinators observed a greater change in perspective amongst teachers than amongst the students. Most
of them observed improvements in employer engagement (85.71%) and there seemed to be a unanimous
consensus that the programme had had a positive impact on the employability skills of students (100%).
71.43% participants agree that college partnerships have resulted in introducing a better quality of
students into the workforce.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 3: Percentage of Link coordinators who visited UK
The graph below shows that 85.7% of the link coordinators visited the UK for learning and adopting UK
TVET skills thanks to the efforts of the British Council. Moreover, 100% of the participants responded
that they have observed changes in TEVTA practices as a result of this programme. When the College
Partnership strand’s work plans were developed the teacher visits were one of the core components of the
programme. The purpose was to equip teachers with the skills that they could then pass on to other
students and teachers.
Figure3. 4: Changes observed in practices by Link coordinators
As shown above, 71.4% of the link coordinators responded that they have observed a very positive
change in the curriculum of technical institutes. According to the graph, the modern teaching methods and
new curriculum which were key components of the partnership received high scores. 100% of the link
coordinators believed that they have been sufficiently equipped with new and modern teaching methods.
Even so, the teachers did believe that under the college partnership there was further room to improve the
technical aspect of the curriculum.
The side graph shows that 85.7% of the link
coordinators have shared all the practices that they
had learnt during the visits with the trainees.
Additionally, all the participants responded that
they would be likely to recommend the British
Council to a friend or colleague in future due to its
highly efficient performance and beneficial
programmes.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 5: Practices shared with trainees
3.2 Social Entrepreneurship
Social Entrepreneurship Award Competition in Pakistan
In Pakistan, the first ever Regional Enterprise Challenge in 2009 was won by a team of five ambitious
young students including Muhammad Nazim, Farida Siddiq, Noshabah Nasir, Kanwal Saeed and Khurram
Abbas. These youngsters came from Government Vocational Training Institute (GVTI) in a small city
named Jhang. The fact that their school is primarily for under-privileged students makes their achievement
even more noteworthy. The team’s project was named the “Integrated Solid Waste Management System”
and aimed to overcome the growing challenge of wastage and garbage in Jhang by using the garbage
collected in the city to produce fertilizer.4 The team’s presentation of their innovative idea won them the
regional enterprise award along with a £2,500 prize. This was in addition to a soft loan of Rs. 250,000
provided by the British Council. With the help of this seed money, the energetic young entrepreneurs were
able to produce a considerable amount of fertilizer from garbage within a few months and also generate
profits for themselves. The endeavor is now not only self-sustainable, but it also creates employment
opportunities for the youth in the area, benefitting the society immensely.
So far Skills for Employability has provided financial support to 30 teams of about 150 young social
entrepreneurs across Pakistan to address a common social problem through their innovative ideas
presented during the National Challenges. It has further enlightened and trained over 28,000 members of
the youth and 600 teachers at approximately 550 TVET colleges across Pakistan on the concept of social
entrepreneurship. In addition, the programme’s partner NAVTTC organized its first ever National Skills
Competition in 2009, and also participated in the British Council’s Regional Enterprise Awards. The
participation of NAVTTC in the Regional Enterprise Awards is a step towards making this activity
sustainable and is a sign that Pakistani institutions are taking ownership of the concept.
Results from Focus Discussion Groups
Competition Winners
There were a variety of innovative projects implemented in response to the Enterprise Challenge. After
carrying out a series of Focus Discussion Groups, the teams were asked to reflect on their experiences,
and the role that the British Council had played. One project involved skills guidance and training of
unemployed people within a community. The project was directed towards assisting “aimless youth
looking for a better future.” The trainings included computer repairing, mobile repairing, electronics,
motor winding, electrical wiring and welding. Another group implemented a project which involved the
establishment of a small and mobile diagnostic centre for hepatitis. The project’s aim was to screen
hepatitis in their target population which comprised of socially and economically disadvantaged people
who cannot afford the high cost of tests and are unaware of the disease. The last group interviewed has
started a skills training centre only for females. Their project was for women wanted to learn about ways
to cope with the financial issues they were facing. They provided beautician courses, handicraft and
stitching courses, computer courses and a tuition centre.
All the young entrepreneurs were in agreement that the British Council had “stood side by side” with
them to see the successful implementation of the project. Each team was also of the opinion that the
community had positively benefited by the project.
4
British Council, “Social Enterprise Award- South Asia Region,”
17
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Master Trainers
A focus group discussion was held in Lahore in 2012 where 13 master trainers were asked to share their
reflections on the programme and their perceptions of the outcomes of their work. According to the
trainers, social entrepreneurship is the solution to many different problems. As a result of the training
people are now able to make financial summaries, set objectives and targets and plan how to achieve
targets effectively and efficiently. Pakistan is currently facing a critical financial situation with
unemployment increasingly daily. In these circumstances, the middle class or under matriculation
students find it very hard to get jobs. Trainers focus their students’ attention away from jobs towards an
emphasis on self employment. Once self-employed, students will be able to generate more jobs and might
ultimately benefit society as a whole. By earning for themselves they are no longer burden on the
economy rather now they are contributing to the society.
The trainers believed that the programme was helping them develop personally, raise self confidence
levels, become more positive thinking, hopeful, creative and ethical. The programme was furthermore
helping them create opportunities, become more innovative, and improve communication skills.
Trainers shared some of the strategies they used for motivation of the students and improve the quality of
programme. Master Trainer’s made sure that the material is used effectively and efficiently and held
maximum sessions with the students to provide detailed training. Most of the projects in this programme
were either related to social creativity or social enterprise. This helped the trainers to motivate their
students, to direct them towards utilizing their skills to enhance their income.
3.2.1 Perspective of Winning Teams
Figure3. 6: Location of participants from winning teams
Figure3. 7: Gender of participants from Winning teams
18
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
As presented in the above graphs, most of the participants of the winning team were from Punjab with
33.3% from Jhang, 26.7% from Lahore, 20.0% from Multan and 20 % from Karachi. The active
involvement of women in this competition is indicated in the graph above (53.3% women: 46.7% males).
Figure3. 8: Education level of participants from Winning teams
Education plays a very important role in a country’s development process it was important to record the
educational accomplishments of those who took part in the contest. Of the participants, 66.7% in the
winning teams were intermediate and diploma holders while 13.3% of them were only intermediate.
Pakistan’s literacy rate is extremely poor, especially when compared to developed countries. This fact
comes out in the survey results as well as it shows that there is a need to educate larger quantities of
people either through technical education or formal education.
Figure3. 9: Employment status of winning teams
Figure3. 10: Employment type of winning teams
19
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
The graph below indicates that this programme has enabled students to enhance their employment
opportunities along with their studies. 53.3% of the participants were students and employed at the same
time. Of those employed 38.5% are working in private sector, 30.8% are working in government sector
and 30.8% are self employed (running their own businesses) as a direct consequence of the enhanced
entrepreneurship skills they were able to develop during this competition.
Figure3. 11: Working duration of winning teams
It can be extrapolated from the above graph that the social entrepreneurship training and award
competition is largely responsible for the fact that students are employed. As shown, 71.4% of the
participants have been working for the last year while 21.4% of them have been working for the last two
years - that is the time period covered since the implementation of the Skills for Education Programme.
On probing this employment pattern it was revealed that the recent employment of students can be largely
attributed to the British Council’s intervention through this project.
Table3. 3: Perception of Winning teams about different indicators of Project Benefits
Respondents Perception about different Indicators of Project Benefits
Indicators
Excellent Good
Average
23.08
69.23
Developing entrepreneurship skills
66.67
33.33
Upgrading Communication skills
53.85
38.46
7.69
Using innovation
26.67
46.67
13.33
Starting own business
86.67
6.67
6.67
Improving confidence level
7.14
92.86
Enhancing team Building skills
28.57
64.29
7.14
Improving leadership skills
73.33
26.67
Increasing interest in participation in future
12.50
62.50
12.50
Other benefits of the project
Average
42.05
48.96
5.26
Poor
13.3
12.5
2.87
Very Poor
7.69
0.85
The above table demonstrates that the project has helped to develop entrepreneurial skills which lead to
the creation of jobs, and the provision of opportunities to the students to start their own businesses. In
carrying out its activities the project has helped to develop student confidence which is the key to finding
a job and to working efficiently. Approximately 93% of the students believed that their confidence has
increased due to their participation in the project.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Table3. 4: Perception of Winning teams about different indicators of the Competition
Respondents Perception about different Indicators of the Competition
Indicators
Excellent Good
Average
93.33
Idea of Social enterprise award
20.00
80.00
Learning during this competition
20.00
60.00
20.00
Planning & management of competition
66.67
13.33
20.00
Level of support provided by teachers
Average
50.00
38.33
10.00
Poor
-
Very Poor
6.67
1.67
The table above indicates that 93.3% of the respondents think that idea of social entrepreneurship award
was excellent, with only 6.67% providing negative feedback. 80% of the students responded that they
have learnt a great deal during the competition. The planning and management of the competition was
ranked “good” by 60% of the students while 66.67% of the students ranked the level of support by
teachers during the competition as “excellent.” All of the respondents are still running their projects
showing the sustainability and success of the British Council initiative, which has provided a means of
procuring employment through development of entrepreneurship skills.
Figure3. 12: Number of people working with winning teams
The above graph shows that the number of people working with each student-run business as part of the
project and indicates the size of the enterprise. According to the results, 33.3% of respondents have 10
people working with them and 26.7% have 18 people working with them. All of the participants
responded that they are planning to turn their project into a long term business, a key success indicator of
the British Council’s efforts in launching this programme and providing the training to them in
collaboration with YES Network. This clearly shows that a team of 4-5 people are creating employment
for many more.
Figure3. 13: Key role of stakeholders in projects success
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The graph above shows that 80% of the students from winning teams responded that the British Council
and the YES Network played a key role in the project’s success, while 26.67% pointed towards the
teachers as playing a key role in project success
Figure3. 14: Contribution of British Council in knowledge acquisition of winning teams
The above graph depicts the respondent’s views on how much the British Council contributed towards
students’ knowledge acquisition: 46.7% of the participants marked British Council’s contribution as 6080%, while very few gave the question a negative response with only 6.7% ranking knowledge
acquisition at 20%-40%.
Table3. 5: Perception of Winning teams regarding extent of problems they faced
Respondents Perception Regarding the Extent of Problems they Faced
Problems
Greatly Great Moderate
20.00
33.33
13.33
Financial support
73.33
20.00
Confidence
53.33
26.67
Education
50.00
21.43
Project presentation skills
46.67
13.33
26.67
Community support
35.71
35.71
Training
25.00
Cooperation of government departments 58.33
62.50
12.50
Other Problems
Average
20.09
38.85
19.54
Some What
33.33
6.67
20.00
28.57
6.67
21.43
16.67
16.67
Not at all
6.67
7.14
25.00
4.85
As shown above, all the respondents faced problems during this competition. By asking them to identify
their challenges in detail it is clearly shown that students lacked support from the community and from
the government. They also identified issues with the training they received and indicated great problems
with their levels of confidence. These are issues that the British council has tried to address through this
project. One of the prevailing myths was that students face financial problems but surprisingly only half
of the team felt that it was an issue. This could be in part due to the fact that they all received seed money
from the British Council.
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Table3. 6: Perception of Winning teams regarding projects' successfulness
Respondents Perception Regarding Project’s Successfulness
Success Indicators
Strongly
Agree
agree
British Council & YES Network
support in Project implementation
British Council & YES Network helped
in launching project
Satisfactory contribution of British
Council
Respondent’s feeling as a respected
person in society after project
involvement
Knowledge & ideas developed due to
Project
Respondents’ Learning from other
teams
Opportunities for youth due to British
Council
Average
53.33
46.67
Neither
agree nor
disagree
-
Disagree
Strongly
disagree
-
-
20.00
80.00
-
-
-
14.29
85.71
-
-
-
66.67
33.33
-
-
-
60.00
40.00
-
-
-
-
100.0
-
-
-
53.33
46.67
-
-
-
38.23
61.77
-
-
-
The above table indicates students’ perceptions about the project’s success. The majority strongly believe
that their knowledge-base and ideas have been developed as a result of this project: 66 % responded that
they feel respected in society after being involved in the project; 100% of the participants responded that
they have learned from a lot from the other teams and the overall competitive environment; while 53.33%
students from the winning team strongly believed that the British Council and YES Network supported
them in project implementation and that the youth is getting receiving employment opportunities as a
consequence of the British Council’s efforts. All the respondents were of the view that the project will
have positive outcomes that will impact the Pakistani youth in the future. By being involved in the British
Council’s project, the youth’s general employability skills are improved. They also believe that their
participation in this competition has assisted in enhancing their entrepreneurship skills in one or more
ways.
Figure3. 15: Participants of winning teams who started their own business
The rate of unemployment in Pakistan can be measured by the help of Labor Force Survey conducted by
the Federal Bureau of Statistics in 2000. According to the survey, the unemployment rates have gone up
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
from 5.9% in 1998 to 7.8% in 2000. This increase has been observed for both men and women. Women
experience higher levels of unemployment (17.3 %) as compared to men (6.1%) (LFS, 2000). The British
Council’s work, therefore, is creating jobs at a time when unemployment poses a distinct challenge to
society. The above graph shows that 93.3% of students have started their own business, an exceptional
number. Moreover, they are also giving employment opportunities to those that are not directly
participating in the programme. All of them responded that they would like to participate in such
activities by the British Council in future.
Figure3. 16: Participants of winning teams who would like to recommend British Council
The above graph indicates that 64.3% of the students would very likely to recommend the British Council
and its programmes to their friends and colleagues, a solid recommendation.
3.2.2 Perspective of Participating Teams
A total of 30 respondents were interviewed for the results depicted below, out of which 14 responses were
given through by writing on a hard copy of a questionnaire and 26 were telephonically interviewed. The
total 36 people were contacted by phone but 10 were not willing to respond.
Table3. 7: Location of respondents from Participating Teams
City of the Respondent
City
Rawlakot
Multan
Kotli
Faisalabad
Jhang
Rahim Yar Khan
Balakot
Karachi
Karak
Khanewal
Nowshehra
Total
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Number
7
6
3
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
30
Percentage
23.33
20.00
10.00
10.00
10.00
10.00
3.33
3.33
3.33
3.33
3.33
100.00
The social entrepreneurship award competition invited the participation of youth from all over Pakistan
without any preferences given or discrimination against people from any background. The participating
student teams represented a diverse range of geographical areas. The largest number of students, 7
students making up 23.33%, belonged to Rawlakot and 20% belonged to Multan. Other cities represented
include Faisalabad, Kotli, Jhang, Karachi, Balakot, Nowshehra, etc.
Figure3. 17: Gender of participating teams
Figure3. 18: Education level of participating teams
The graph above shows that participating teams comprised more men (83.3%) than women (16.7%).
Mostly students were either qualified with a Masters degree or were Diploma holders, and 20% of the
students had a graduate level degree.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 19: Employment status of participating teams
Figure3. 20: Employment type of participating teams
Figure3. 21: Working duration of participating teams
The above graphs show the employment status, employment type, and working duration of the
respondents. It has been observed that 63.3% of the students are employed while 23.3% are employed
even while still studying. In type of employment, 55.6% of the respondents are working as government
employees and 33.3% are working in private sector. In length of employment, 50% of the students have
been working for the last 3 or more years while 40% of them have been working for 2-3 years.
Table3. 8: Perception of Participating Teams about project benefits
Respondents Perception about Project Benefits
Indicators
Excellent
44.83
Developing entrepreneurship skills
40.00
Upgrading Communication skills
58.62
Using innovation
53.33
Starting own business
66.67
Improving confidence level
50.00
Enhancing team Building skills
41.38
Improving leadership skills
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Good
41.38
36.67
27.59
36.67
16.67
36.67
44.83
Average
10.34
20.00
10.34
6.67
13.33
10.00
10.34
Poor
0.00
0.00
3.45
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Very Poor
3.45
3.33
0.00
3.33
3.33
3.33
3.45
Increasing interest in participation in future
Other benefits of the project
Average
68.97
66.67
54.50
20.69
33.33
32.72
6.90
0.00
9.77
3.45
0.00
0.77
0.00
0.00
2.25
The above table indicates students’ perceptions about the benefits of the project. The majority of the
respondents believe that this project has benefited them in terms of developing their entrepreneurship
skills, starting their own business, improving confidence levels, and enhancing team building skills. Only
3-4% responded that they have developed very poor entrepreneurship skills, communication skills, and
team building skills, which may be partly due to personal interests and ability. Members of the winning
team were naturally more unified in being positive about their experience. However the results clearly
indicate that the project has managed to uplift the entrepreneurial skills, communication skills and
confidence for all students involved. Research has proven that these traits are directly correlated with
skills required to get a job.
Table3. 9: Perception of participating teams about different indicators of Competition
Respondents’ Perception about different Indicators of the Competition
Indicators
Excellent Good
Average
76.67
20.00
0.00
Idea of Social enterprise award
51.72
44.83
3.45
Learning during this competition
73.33
20.00
6.67
Planning & management of competition
76.67
16.67
0.00
Level of support provided by teachers
Average
69.60
25.37
2.53
Poor
0.00
0.00
0.00
3.33
0.83
Very Poor
3.33
0.00
0.00
3.33
1.67
The table above shows how the students rated the competition. It is a tribute to the quality of the
programme that only 3% responded that the idea of the award competition was poor and that level of
support provided by teachers was poor. In fact 70% of the respondents ranked the idea, planning and
management of competition as excellent. It is important to remember that this group of participants
interacted less with the British Council during the workshops and orientation sessions, but have still
developed positive impressions of the competition. It was felt the management arrangements were good
and that the competition overall promoted high levels of learning. An interesting point to note is that the
students viewed teacher support as a vital element. It was discovered that the British Council had made a
conscious effort to focus on this in their planning of the project. Given the large numbers of student to be
trained in 2011-12 (50,000 students have been trained) the British Council focused on making the
teachers the medium through which to disseminate institutional support to the students.
Figure3. 22: Participants who are still running their projects
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 23: Number of people working with participating teams
It is important to note that it is not only members of the winning team that have kept their business in
motion, but members of participating teams (80.8%) have also continued to run their projects.
Additionally 44.4% of the students are running their projects with the help of 4-5 people in their teams
while 33.3% of them are running with the help of more than 5 people. This is a very important aspect. In
2011-12 British council received about 800 proposals from different group of students. The percentages
above show that the British Council is not only responsible for startup ventures among the winning teams
Figure3. 24: Plan of respondents to convert project into business
but the students who participate in the trainings are also benefiting from the programme.
The above chart demonstrates that 88.5% of the respondents plan to continue their projects as their own
business. They are able to this as a result of their acquired entrepreneurship skills and enhanced
employment opportunities.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 25: Key role of stakeholders in project success
From the above graph it is clear that the British Council and YES Network played similar role in
bolstering the project’s success. Both members of the winning team and the participating teams, a total of
86.67% of the students, believed that the British Council and the YES Network played a key role in their
project success. The remaining students believed that their families, friends and teachers also played
some role in the project’s implementation. Because they received more direct attention, the winning team
indicated greater appreciation of the British Council staff and YES Network.
Figure3. 26: Contribution of British Council in knowledge acquisition of participating teams
The above graph shows that respondents have positive views about the British Council’s contribution
towards their acquisition of knowledge: 39.3% of the students marked the British Council’s contribution
as 80%- 100% whereas no one in the sample marked its contribution as 0%- 40%.
Table3. 10: Perception of Participating teams regarding extent of problems they faced
Respondents Perception Regarding the Extent of Problems they Faced
Problems
Greatly Great Moderate
17.86
21.43
28.57
Financial support
16.67
16.67
13.33
Confidence
13.79
13.79
17.24
Education
16.67
16.67
30.00
Project presentation skills
7.14
28.57
14.29
Community support
13.33
13.33
10.00
Training
20.00
23.33
Cooperation of government departments 23.33
22.73
22.73
22.73
Other Problems
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Some What
14.29
20.00
24.14
6.67
14.29
26.67
13.33
4.55
Not at all
17.86
33.33
31.03
30.00
35.71
36.67
20.00
27.27
Average
16.44
19.15
19.94
15.49
28.98
The students from participating teams had a diverse array of resources to draw on for support including
their families, friends, their teachers, the British Council and YES Network. Therefore, 28% of them
didn’t face any problems during the competition. However those that did face problems mostly
complained about the lack of cooperation of government departments.
Table3. 11: Perception of Participating teams regarding projects' successfulness
Respondents Perception Regarding Project’s Successfulness
Success Indicators
British Council & YES Network support
in Project implementation
British Council & YES Network helped in
launching project
British Council contribution
Respondent’s feeling as a respected person
in society after project involvement
Knowledge & ideas developed due to
Project
Respondents’ Learning from other teams
Opportunities for youth due to British
Council
Average
Strongly
agree
60.00
Agree
Disagree
36.67
Neither agree
nor disagree
-
-
Strongly
disagree
3.33
62.07
31.03
-
-
6.90
73.33
76.67
23.33
23.33
3.33
-
-
-
63.33
33.33
3.33
-
-
51.72
90.00
44.83
6.67
3.33
3.45
-
-
68.16
28.46
1.43
0.49
1.46
The above table shows the students’ perceptions about the project’s success. The majority of students
strongly believe that their knowledge base and ideas have been developed due to this project. They also
feel that as a result they are more respected in society after getting involved in the project. As compared
to the winning teams, only 51.72% of participating team members’ agreed that they have learnt a lot from
the other teams. From participating teams, 60% of the students strongly believed that the British Council
and YES Network supported them during the project’s implementation and that youth receiving better
employment opportunities due to British Council (90% of the participants strongly agreed). All the
respondents were of the view that the project outcomes will benefit the youth in the future. By getting
involved in the British Council’s project, they also believe that their general employability skills have
improved.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 27: Participating teams who started their own business
Similar to the students in the winning teams, students from participating teams (82.8% of the sample)
have also been engaged in starting their own business due to this project. And all of them responded that
they would like to participate in such activities by the British Council in the future, another excellent
commendation.
Figure3. 28: Participating teams who would like to recommend British Council
The above graph indicates that 80% of the students would be very likely to recommend the British
Council to their friends and colleagues while 10% would not recommend it. The British Council might
like to explore the reasons why they would not recommend the programme as a way to strengthen their
outreach.
3.2.3 Perspective of Participant Students not Shortlisted
Table3. 12: Location of students who participated but not shortlisted
City of the Respondent
City
Number
60
Jhang
27
Nowshehra
22
Kaller Syedan
20
Faisalabad
8
Balakot
2
Multan
Total
139
31
Percentage
43.17
19.42
15.83
14.39
5.76
1.44
100.00
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
The table above shows the cities that the different participants originated from and in what proportion.
After receiving training, they sent their ideas to the British Council and YES Network as entries for the
competition but were not shortlisted. These students belonged mostly to Jhang (43.17%), Nowshehra
(19.42%), Kaller Syedan (15.83%), and Faisalabad (14.39%).
Figure3. 29: Gender of participants who were not shortlisted
This graph indicates the gender composition of the respondents. The sample comprised of 64.7% men and
35.3% women. Women’s participation is shown in greater proportions here as the British Council made
an effort encourage women to submit their ideas. Even though the final selections were based on merit
and therefore out of the British Council’s hands, encouraging women to display their entrepreneurial
ideas is high on the project’s agenda.
Figure3. 30: Education level of students who participated but not shortlisted
The graph above shows the level of educational attainment of the respondents. Educational levels have
strong influences on the rates of employment since people with high levels of education experience less
difficulty in accessing the labour market. The statistics show that 51.8% of the students who participated
but were not shortlisted were only matriculate whereas only 4.3% of the participants were diploma
holders. This indicated a positive correlation between competitiveness of the participants and their
educational levels.
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Figure3. 31: Employment status of students who participated but not shortlisted
Figure3. 32: Employment type of students who participated but not shortlisted
From the data analyzed above, it has been observed that there is a great variety in the employment rates of
participants in this competition. Those students who were not given the opportunity to implement their
project ideas as a group have correspondingly lower employment rates. Only 2.3% of these students are
employed, out of which 50% are government employees and only 21.4% of them are self-employed.
Table3. 13: Perception of participants about Competition indicators
Respondents Perception about different Indicators of the Competition
Indicators
Excellent Good
Average
72.18
23.31
4.51
Idea of Social Enterprise award
58.18
26.36
13.64
Learning during this competition
Average
65.18
24.84
9.07
Poor
0.00
0.91
0.45
Very Poor
0.00
0.91
0.45
The above table shows the respondents perceptions about the competition: 72.18% of the participants
suggested that the idea of the social entrepreneurship award was excellent and 58.18% of the participants
responded that they were able to learn through the competition.
Table3. 14: Perception of participants regarding extent of problems they faced
Respondents Perception Regarding the Extent of Problems they Faced
Problems
Greatly Great Moderate
22.63
24.82
30.66
Financial support
9.49
20.44
17.52
Confidence
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Some What
7.30
28.47
Not at all
14.60
24.09
Education
Project presentation skills
Other Problems
Average
6.57
6.67
11.69
11.41
11.68
16.30
9.09
16.46
12.41
14.07
19.48
18.83
31.39
37.78
20.78
25.14
37.96
25.19
38.96
28.16
Compared to the participants from the winning and participating teams, respondents from this group faced
more problems such as in financial support, confidence levels, education levels, and lack of presentation
skills. They faced these problems more than other teams because they were unable to get the same amount
of support and attention from the British Council and YES Network.
Figure3. 33: Percentage of respondents who attended training before competition
The graph above shows the statistics of those respondents who did not attend any training sessions before
the competition: 92.6% responded that they were not able to receive any training before the competition
and this is a strong explanation for why they were rejected. This shows that there is a need to enhance the
reach of the trainings conducted. Although the British Council reached around 50,000 students in 2011-12
alone, the fact that 93% of the participants never had any training before indicates that efforts need to be
expanded. This, however, also does demonstrate that the British Council is attracting strong applicants to
their workshops.
Table3. 15: Perception of participants regarding competition's successfulness
Respondents Perception Regarding competition’s Successfulness
Success Indicators
Strongly Agree
agree
60.74
28.15
British Council & YES Network help in
participating in competition
51.85
45.19
British Council contribution was
satisfactory
30.97
44.25
Short listing criteria of BC was fair
63.39
31.25
Knowledge & ideas developed
53.57
42.86
Opportunities for youth due to British
Council
54.62
34.62
After training respondent will start his
own business
Average
52.52
37.72
Neither agree
nor disagree
11.11
Disagree
0.00
Strongly
disagree
0.00
2.96
0.00
0.00
10.62
4.46
2.68
4.42
0.89
0.89
9.73
0.00
0.00
7.69
2.31
0.77
6.59
1.42
1.75
The above table indicates the students’ perceptions about the competition’s success: 60.74% of the
participants strongly agreed that the British Council and YES Network have made it possible for them to
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
participate in competition and that their contribution was satisfactory. Similarly 30.97% of the
participants strongly agreed that the short listing criteria of the British Council was fair while only 9.73%
of them strongly disagreed that it was fair. Almost 54% of the participants believed that the British
Council has provided employment opportunities to the youth through this programme. This is very
important set of percentages as these figures reflect a much larger group of voices as compared to the
winning or shortlisted teams.
Figure3. 34: Key role of stakeholders in competition success
The table above shows that the competition’s success was not determined wholly by the British Council
and YES network, but rather in collaboration with a range of other actors involved in the project. Only
38.85% of the participants responded that the British Council and YES played a key role. One of the
views expressed was that they felt largely ignored as compared to the participating and winning teams.
This sentiment was expressed amongst shortlisted participants as well, as is mentioned elsewhere in this
report. This is again a demonstration of the fact that the British Council has intentionally designed a
system whereby participants receive support through teachers which is evident here in the results. The
British Council trains almost 500 to 1000 teachers every year so they are well equipped to support the
students.
Figure3. 35: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of students who participated but not shortlisted
The above graph shows the contribution of the British Council in terms of promoting knowledge
acquisition. The gap is clearly shown if compared with other groups because 5.3% of the respondents
marked the British Council’s contribution from 0-20% and 7.1% of the respondents marked the British
Council’s contribution as between 20%- 40%.
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Figure3. 36: Improved general employability skills of students who participated but not shortlisted
3.2.4 Perspective of Master Trainers
Table3. 16: Location of master trainers
Respondent’s City
City
Faisalabad
Rawlakot
Multan
Kallar Syedan
Rahim Yar Khan
Nowshera
Balakot
Karachi
Kotli AJK
Jhang
Total
No of Responses
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
13
Percentage
23.1
15.4
7.7
7.7
7.7
7.7
7.7
7.7
7.7
7.7
100
The British Council and YES Network selected the master trainers from technical institutes
across Pakistan. The side table shows the percentage and number of respondents who made up
the sample for evaluation of the programme: 23.1% are from Faisalabad, 15.4% are from
Rawlakot, and rest of the respondents represent a range of different cities across the country such
as Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Nowshera, Balakot, Karachi and Jhang.
Figure3. 37: Gender of master trainers
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Although women play an active role in Pakistan's economy, their contribution is under-reported and
largely restricted to specific sectors. This graph is indicative of the gender disparity in skilled jobs
positions where 84.6% of the sample was made up of men and 15.4% of the sample was women.
Figure3. 38: Education level of master trainers
The data above shows that a good percentage of the respondents are qualified with either higher than a
masters’ degree (38.5%) or a graduate degree (38.5%). 15.4 percent have a masters degree and a small
sample (7.7%) have an intermediate qualification.
Figure3. 39: Employment type of master trainers
The British Council has made sustainability a priority as it implements its programmes. The above table
shows which sectors master trainers work in, and demonstrates that most of the respondents are working
in the government sector (84.6%).
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 40: Working experience of master trainers
The graph above shows that 38.5% of the master trainers have more than 4 years of work experience,
7.7% have 3 years of experience, 15.4% have 2 years of experience, while the remaining 38.5% have 1
year of work experience. The British Council played a very important role in training the trainers in
collaboration with YES Network in order to provide the best training faculty to students for development
of entrepreneurship skills.
Table3. 17: Training perception of master trainers
Training Perception of the Respondent
Before training
After training
Standard of training manuals
Quality of training
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Poor
Very Poor
16.67
25.00
33.33
41.67
25.00
33.33
33.33
33.33
41.67
25.00
8.33
0.00
16.67
8.33
16.67
8.33
0.00
8.33
8.33
16.67
The significance and value of proper training has long been recognized. Consider the popular and often
repeated quotation, “Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a person to fish and you feed
him for a lifetime.” This is the approach that the British Council has adopted in this programme as the
designers felt that the importance of expending energy on quality training should not be underestimated.
This is demonstrated in the table above which indicates that only 16.67% of the master trainers rated their
skills as excellent. After the training, however, this percentage increased to 25%. 41.67% of them ranked
the overall training programme as excellent.
Figure3. 41: Trainings attended by master trainers before SfE Program
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
The above graph shows that the majority of the master trainers did not receive any training before
participating in Skills for Education Programme. The British Council and YES Network provided the
training which resulted in the respondents developing better technical skills, which was the desired
ultimate outcome of the social enterprise competition. All the respondents were of the view that they
needed further training about entrepreneurship skills for delivery of effective training in future.
Figure3. 42: Contribution of stakeholders
Master trainers strongly believe that the British Council and YES Network played a key role in the
project’s success.
Figure3. 43: British Council's contribution in knowledge acquisition of master trainers
The above graph shows the British Council’s contribution to the master trainers’ acquisition of
knowledge, where 61.5% of the participants marked the British Council’s contribution as 80-100%. It is
positive that no one in the sample believed that the British Council had not contributed at all.
Table3. 18: Perception of master trainers about training assessment indicators
Training assessment indicators
Statements
Agree
Sharing of possible knowledge and ideas with trainees
Strongly
agree
69.23
British Council’s sufficient support to the trainers
30.77
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Disagree
23.08
Neither agree
nor disagree
0.00
0.00
Strongly
disagree
7.69
69.23
0.00
0.00
0.00
British Council’s contribution
50.00
41.67
0.00
0.00
8.33
Training time duration
0.00
69.23
15.38
15.38
0.00
Knowledge and ideas has enhanced the skills of trainees
53.85
46.15
0.00
0.00
0.00
Good relationships development of British Council with
different stakeholders
Change in youth
53.85
46.15
0.00
0.00
0.00
76.92
15.38
0.00
0.00
7.69
Change in society
83.33
8.33
0.00
0.00
8.33
Changes in trainees
23.08
38.46
15.38
23.08
0.00
The above table shows trainer’s feedback on the British Council’s contributions to the training
programme. The majority of the respondents agreed that the British Council provided sufficient support to
the trainers. As a result of training programme, they have been able to impart knowledge and skills
development lessons to their students. Most of the trainers agreed that the social entrepreneurship
competition can bring change for the youth and the society as a whole.
Table3. 19: Changes observed by master trainers
Changes observed by Participants
Statements
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Poor
Very Poor
Developing entrepreneurship skills
Upgrading Communication skills
Using innovation
Starting own business
Improving confidence level
Enhancing team Building skills
Improving leadership skills
Increasing interest in participation in future
Others
46.15
38.46
38.46
30.77
61.54
38.46
38.46
50.00
66.67
38.46
46.15
38.46
30.77
23.08
30.77
46.15
25.00
0.00
7.69
7.69
15.38
23.08
0.00
15.38
0.00
8.33
0.00
7.69
0.00
7.69
7.69
7.69
15.38
7.69
8.33
33.33
0.00
7.69
0.00
7.69
7.69
0.00
7.69
8.33
0.00
The above table indicates the changes observed in the students after the training delivery. The majority of
trainers believe that they have observed changes in entrepreneurship skills and team building skills.
Improvements in these areas are sure to create job opportunities for students. They have also observed
that students have improved their communication skills, and confidence levels have risen as well.
Respondents indicated that students should not be able to start their own business.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 44: number of students trained through SfE
Figure3. 45: Number of teachers trained through SfE
The above tables give the number of students and teachers trained through this programme.
Figure3. 46: Need of improvement in training program
Based on the diagram above, 69.2% of the participants believe that there is need to improve the training
programme. They suggested that the training duration should be increased, new topics and experiences
should be integrated into the curriculum, and master trainers should be given laptops so assist them as
they deliver trainings. This will be a good step towards strengthening the skills imparted to the students.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 47: Recommendation of BC by master trainers
The above graph indicates that 69.2% of the master trainers would be very likely to recommend the
British Council to their friends and colleagues while 7.7% would not recommend it. The British Council
may find it useful to explore the reasons why the respondents did not want to recommend the British
Council.
There was agreement that the overall impact of the project was good. All the trainers were unified on the
point that such programmes must be implemented in the future. Projects like the Social Entrepreneurship
Competition are benefiting the individuals and the society. Such projects are changing the thinking of
people and adding value to peoples’ lives.
3.2.5 Perspective of Principal and Teachers
Figure3. 48: Age of principals and teachers
Almost 39% of the total population interviewed was above the age of 49. The graph above shows that
most of the respondents are a mature group. The rest of the sample was between 25 and 48 years old.
42
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 49: Gender of principals and teachers
The graph above shows the gender composition of the respondent group comprising of 72.7% men and
27.3% women. There fact that over a fourth of the participants are women is an indication of the British
Council’s commitment to ensuring female participation.
Figure3. 50: education level of principals and teachers
Education plays a crucial role in a country’s development process. People with high levels of education
experience less difficulty in accessing the labour market. The statistics show that 63.3% of the
participants were qualified with masters level degrees, while only 3.4% of them had intermediate degrees.
Figure3. 51: Employment type of participants
43
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
The graph above shows that the majority of principals and teachers (86.7%) are working in the
government sector. This is a good indicator of the sustainability of the project as greater government
involvement and interest will contribute to the prolonging of the project.
Figure3. 52: Work experience of principals and teachers
The statistics from the above table show that most of the principals and teachers have more than 16 years
of work experience. Few respondents (20%) have 1-5 years of teaching experience.
Table3. 20: Perception of Principals and Teachers about training assessment indicators
Trainers perception of training assessment indicators
Statements
Excellent Very
Good
8.52
21.59
Before getting exposed to competition
35.59
49.15
After getting involved in competition
36.72
Perception of students about cascading session 43.50
38.07
42.05
Standard of training manuals
46.33
37.85
Quality of training
Good
Poor
36.36
11.30
17.51
14.77
13.56
26.70
2.82
2.26
2.84
1.69
Very
Poor
6.82
1.13
0.00
2.27
0.56
Competition plays a pivotal role in enhancing the capacities of participants to deliver their best. The table
above shows us that only 8.52% of participants rated their knowledge as “excellent” before being exposed
to competition. However this percentage increased to 35.5% after being involved in a competitive
environment, demonstrating their increased knowledge about entrepreneurship skills. Very few of the
participants have rated the standard of training manuals and quality of training as very poor.
Figure3. 53: Training need of principals and teachers
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
The above graph shows the trainers’ view (98.3% of the participants’ view) that as a principal or teacher,
they need further training on the concept of social entrepreneurship for delivery of effective training in the
future. This will lead to the provision of increased employment opportunities for the youth.
Figure3. 54: Key role of stakeholders
From the above graph it is clear that the British Council and YES Network played a major role in the
project’s success. The statistic indicate that 89.27% of the participants believe that the British Council
and YES Network played a key role in the project’s success, but at the same time the role of family,
friends and teachers are also emphasized prominently in the responses.
Figure3. 55: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of principals and teachers
The above graph shows the British Council’s contribution in terms of knowledge acquisition: 8.0% of the
students marked the British Council’s contribution as 80%- 100%, 54.5% marked its contribution from
60-80% whereas 2.3% also marked the British Council’s contribution as 0- 20%. The British Council
may like to explore why these few respondents didn’t consider the British Council’s contribution as
satisfactory in knowledge acquisition.
Table3. 21: Perception of Principals and Teachers about training assessment
Trainers perception of training assessment indicators
Strongly
agree
Agree
Neither agree
nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly
disagree
Knowledge and ideas for improving training quality
Learning through enterprise competition
Benefited knowledge through competition
74.86
68.75
64.97
19.43
21.59
24.29
4.00
5.68
7.34
1.71
2.27
2.26
0.00
1.70
1.13
Beneficent learning resources for teacher training
58.29
30.29
8.57
0.57
2.29
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Useful training for the students
Sufficient training duration
Sufficient support from British Council & Yes
Network
Contribution of British Council is sufficient
Useful part of curricula
Good relationships development of British Council
with different stakeholders
64.97
31.03
58.05
22.03
17.82
24.71
11.30
25.29
12.07
0.56
2.30
3.45
1.13
23.56
1.72
56.25
81.14
59.76
28.98
9.14
17.75
9.66
4.57
18.34
2.27
1.71
2.96
2.84
3.43
1.18
From the statistics above it can be observed that the majority of participants strongly agree that
knowledge and ideas have been developed for improving the quality of training. They also agree that they
have found the enterprise to be a part of the curriculum. There was some expressed doubt regarding the
training duration as 23.56% of the participants strongly disagree that the training lasted long enough for
them to properly learn social entrepreneurship skills.
Table3. 22: Perception of principals and teachers about training benefits for students
Trainers’ perception of training assessment for students
Excellent Very Good
Statements
Developing entrepreneurship skills
Upgrading Communication skills
Using innovation
Starting own business
Improving confidence level
Enhancing team Building skills
Improving leadership skills
Increasing interest in participation in future
Others
47.06
30.86
27.33
30.46
23.70
26.35
26.79
24.10
62.43
23.53
39.43
41.28
43.68
34.10
43.71
45.83
41.57
19.08
Good
Poor
Very
Poor
11.76
21.14
25.00
20.69
28.90
22.16
20.83
24.10
15.03
5.88
1.71
2.91
1.72
4.05
3.59
2.98
5.42
1.16
11.76
6.86
3.49
3.45
9.25
4.19
3.57
4.82
2.31
The table above shows the perceptions of teachers and principals about the training of students. The
majority of participants believed that this training was successful in developing entrepreneurship skills,
communication skills, confidence levels, and enhancing team building skills that leads students to start
their own businesses. 11.76% of the participants also felt that there is a need to develop entrepreneurship
skills in students.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure3. 56: Perception about training program by principals and teachers
In the diagram above, it is significant that 90.12% of the participants responded that the training
programme needs improvement. The British Council may like to investigate this response further in the
future in order to strengthen the programme. However, participants (98.26%) still want this teacher
training programme to be implemented in the future. Majority of participants responded that there is no
voluntary work started by their college or students yet but they have a very strong plan of doing so in
future.
Figure3. 57: Principals and teachers who would recommend BC in future
Most of the principals and teachers are very likely to recommend the British Council to other colleagues
and friends.
3.2.6 Perspectives from Community Members
Table3. 23: Location of Community Members
City of the Respondent
City
Number
14
Multan
8
Jhang
6
Kotli
47
Percentage
35.90
20.51
15.38
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Lahore
Rawalakot
Faisalabad
Mardan
Total
4
4
2
1
39
10.26
10.26
5.13
2.56
100.00
The respondents for evaluating community members are taken
from the cities where the winning team and participating teams
have launched their projects. The cities with the largest
number of participants were Multan (35.90%), Jhang
(20.51%), Kotli (15.38%), Lahore (10.26%) as shown in the
diagram above.
One to one meetings are the best
way to communicate and share
each others’ ideas. The graph
below shows the statistics of
community members (92.1%) who
interacted and helped the project
team through direct meetings.
Figure3. 58: Ways of communication with project team
Table3. 24: Perception of community members regarding purpose of community involvement
Respondent’s Perception regarding purpose of community involvement in the project
Statements
Excellent
Good
Average Poor
72.97
16.22
10.81
Resource mobilization
81.08
16.22
2.70
Monitoring the project activities
8.11
10.81
Playing a key role in project implementation 81.08
59.46
18.92
21.62
Conflict resolution
Average
73.65
14.86
11.49
-
Very Poor
-
The data above shows that most of the community members think that resource mobilization, monitoring
of project activities, conflict resolution and helping students in project implementation are the main
purposes of community involvement in the project.
Table3. 25: Perception of community members regarding project benefits
Respondents’ Perception regarding Project benefits
Statements
Strongly
agree
92.11
The community was involved in the
project implementation
89.47
Direct contact between the community
and project team
92.11
Project benefited the community
89.47
The partnership developed many good
relationships of British Council with
different communities
Average
90.79
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Agree
Disagree
5.26
Neither agree
nor disagree
2.63
-
Strongly
disagree
-
10.53
-
-
-
5.26
5.26
2.63
5.26
-
-
6.58
2.63
-
-
The above table shows community members’ perceptions about project benefits. The majority of the
participants strongly agree that the community was involved in the project implementation and that they
had direct contact between the project team. They also strongly agree that the project has benefited the
community.
Figure3. 59: Respondents heard about BC
Figure3. 60: Source from where respondents heard about BC
From the above data, it can be observed that only 44.7% of community members have heard about the
British Council. Main sources include friends, YES Network (as YES Network has been working in youth
engagement projects for many years), and newspapers, etc.
Table3. 26: Perception of community members regarding impact of project on community
Respondents’ Perception regarding Impact of the Project on Community
Statements
Excellent Good Average
71.05
18.42 10.53
Enhancement of skills
68.42
18.42 13.16
Change in socio economic situation
76.32
21.05 2.63
Improvement in knowledge
75.68
21.62 2.70
Change in attitude
Average
72.87
19.88 7.25
Poor
-
Very Poor
-
This table is indicating that the project has enhanced the skills of project team, improved the knowledge
and brought a positive change in socio economic situation of society.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Table3. 27: Perception of community members regarding project benefits for students
Respondent’s Perception regarding Project Beneficial for Students
Statements
Excellent
Good
84.21
13.16
Increased their social entrepreneurship skills
92.11
7.89
Developed innovative ideas for them to use
86.49
10.81
Provided them a chance to involve in some
creative projects
83.33
5.56
Provided employment opportunities for them
Average
86.53
9.35
Average
2.63
2.70
Poor
-
Very Poor
-
11.11
4.11
-
-
All the participants agree that the project has been very beneficial for the learning of students as well as it
has increased their social entrepreneurship skills, provided them a chance to involve in some creativity,
and provided them with the employment opportunities also as shown in the table above.
Figure3. 61: Community members who would recommend BC
All the participants responded that they would like to participate in such activities in future for
community development and that they would also like to recommend the British Council to their
colleagues and friends.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Chapter 4
EVIDENCE FROM BANGLADESH
4.1 Policy Dialogue
In Bangladesh a number of policy dialogues have been held to strengthen multi-sectoral thinking on
vocational skills training in the country. A recent workshop focused on improving social, business and
entrepreneurship through Technical and Vocational Education Training. The event lasted two days and
was attended by over 90 people. Attendees included academics, practitioners, successful TVET graduates,
selected members of government and private sector bodies along with members from civil society. The
high profile turnout of the event made the discussion fruitful as participants recounted their past
experiences and their educational backgrounds.
Another policy dialogue initiative was the introduction of a radio program in 2010 that aimed to raise
awareness of technical and vocational education and training opportunities for young people, increase
knowledge of the importance of enterprise skills and provide a platform for youth globally to share
concerns and experiences around entering the work place. In collaboration with Equal Access, an NGO in
Nepal, the radio show was implemented across South Asia, including Bangladesh. In Bangladesh 8
episodes of the show named “Tarruno Din” were broadcasted by a local partner called Bangladesh NGOs
Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC).5 The episodes reached at least 6 million listeners of
which 2.5 million were from the target youth audience. Major themes of the programme included
interview techniques, job searching and C.V. writing, along with information on services and construction
sector jobs and skills.
Overall the radio program helped millions of young people understand and pursue skills development,
employment and enterprise opportunities, transforming their role in society and empowering them as
agents for positive change. Sabed Ali from Jhinaidah expresses his appreciation of the show saying “I am
a regular listener of this program. It helps me and other youth to generate income and live with dignity.”
4.1.1 Workshop Participants
Feedback from those who attended the workshop was positive overall. Much of the discussion focused on
how education is not a universal right in Bangladesh, rather it is a privilege which is bestowed upon those
who are willing to work hard and learn. Transforming educational opportunities into concrete
employment outcomes will require that students are being taught the appropriate skills before they enter
the workforce. Bangladesh is a nation whose population lacks a large enough pool of skilled workers. The
more workers are assisted at becoming skilled workers, the greater the inflow of remittances and
subsequent rise of GDP. In the present scenario, the economy is growing moderately, but the demand for
workers is skyrocketing in the industrial and service sectors.
5
British Council, “Skills for Employability- Bangladesh,”
51
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Respondents were positive about the event’s role in assisting the youth to develop skills for
employability. The programme will serve to increase student enrollment and will possibly create selfemployment for emerging school dropouts. Livelihood skills are a step towards breaking the poverty trap
that has gripped Bangladesh.
4.1.2 Radio Programme Members
The central aim of the radio programme is to raise awareness of technical and vocational education and
training opportunities for young people, increase knowledge and understanding of the importance of
enterprise skills and provide a platform for youth globally to share concerns and experiences around
entering the work place. Programme content will be developed in close collaboration with the British
Council in each of the programme countries. BNNRC was in charge of hosting and broadcasting. The
name of the programme, “Tarruno Din” means “New Days for the Youth.” The name is supposed to
invoke a sense that the future belongs to the youth if they work hard and take advantage of opportunities
to develop their vocational skills and enhance their ability to earn a livelihood. 6
The show collaborated with its UK partners in the following ways:
1. Sought out UK VET and skills content advice, information and support to enable Central and
South Asian Skills managers to operate effectively
2. Where proposed broadcast themes allowed partners in the UK provided relevant UK VET/Skills
information and discussion of their own experiences to help script writers conduct research and
develop the content of episodes under review
3. Identification of suitable UK experts to contribute to particular episodes where these are outside
of the area of expertise of the consultant
4. On completion of this assignment a report setting out recommendations for future sourcing of UK
content to similar initiatives.
The role of Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC’s) in broadcasting this
radio programme was particularly crucial. BNNRC was in charge of doing all the groundwork and the
implementation of the 10 part episode.
The main themes included in the show were employment, technical education, the domestic and overseas
job markets, self-employment, languages, introduction to labor laws, saving money and sending
remittances, applying for overseas jobs, networking and knowledge sharing. The show attempted to
involve the youth in interviews and chat shows, as well as radio-dramas. The show helped the youth
develop skills by giving them knowledge and insight in to the world of TVET. Respondents were
enthusiastic in responding that they thought the radio show will be beneficial for youth in future.
4.2 College Partnerships
A significant component of the Skills for Employability program deals with institutional partnerships
between colleges in the UK and overseas, thereby encouraging the internationalisation of vocational
education along with learning from the UK’s knowledge and experience of effective, demand driven skills
training. It aims to establish curriculum models that are tailored to meet the specific needs of the industry in
priority sectors. In Bangladesh two institutions were working in partnership with institutions from UK.
Through these partnerships more that 20 teachers and students were given the opportunity to work in
6
British Council, “Policy Dialogue in Bangladesh, Feedback from the British Council Staff,”
52 Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
different cultures, and to exchange ideas and knowledge thereby enhancing their international exposure.
In 2011 the partners showcased their results from the project through a dissemination event attended by
various invited guests including the Secretary of the Tourism Ministry.
One of the partnerships was between Edinburgh’s Telford College, the UK Lead partner and Central and
Southern Asia Lead Partners Textile Institute in Tangail.7 Another partner from the UK was Cardonald
College. The other partnership was between Dundee College, the lead partner from the UK, and the
National Hotel & Tourism Training Institute (NHTTI) as the Central and Southern Asia Lead Partner.
Another partnership arrangement was with the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. This partnership was
aimed at building capacity amongst senior staff and trainees to respond to the needs of the tourism
industries in both the UK and Bangladesh. This involved ongoing training in hospitality and tourism at
each partner institution, with inputs from industry partners. The training was aimed at continual
professional development allowing exposure to industry requirements and providing opportunities to use
the new training method approaches and resource materials.
4.3 Social Entrepreneurship Competition
In Bangladesh the Enterprise Challenge Award was organized for the first time in 2009 in which 100
TVET institutions from 4 divisions participated. The competition had a positive impact on the lives of
many students, including Raisul, Najrul, Shahidul, Kawar and Muzahidul, the winners of the competition.
The winning team was awarded seed money of 53,000 taka to establish their enterprise “Light for Life,” a
youth targeted project providing English Language training, a large factor in boosting employability. The
project opened up many opportunities to young people, helping them avoid potential unemployment.
The competition was held again in 2010, this time involving 800 students and 151 teachers from 151
TVET institutes from all over Bangladesh. It was organized by the British Council in partnership with the
Technical Education Board, Directorate of Technical Education, Institute of Hotel & Tourism Training
and Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. 7 competitions in 7 divisions with 151 institutions were held and
two winners from each division were selected for the final competition. 70 students on the national level
received a two day training course at the British Council Auditorium prior to the final competition. The
training focused on the development of skills, on team building, creativity, communication and
presentation. The Education Minister, Nurul Islam Nahid called the Enterprise Challenge inspirational
and innovative. He thanked the British Council saying “I am greatly inspired that this year, 500 students
from 100 technical and vocational institutions across the country participated in this Challenge in
Bangladesh.” The training was very effective for the students to boost their confidence which enhanced
the quality of the projects as a result.
Green Life was an endeavor to change the lives of many young individuals who have fallen prey to the
clutches of drug addiction. The idea came out of the efforts of five young students Sujan, Milan, Rabeya,
Delower & Hoymonte from Barisal Polytechnic Institute (BPI) that won the runners up position in the
Enterprise Challenge Award 2010, Bangladesh. Although the students did not win the national
championship and continue the legacy of their seniors who had won the award in 2009, they were still
motivated and committed to the idea. These five young fighters had resolved to implement their project
better than the national winner and they proved themselves right.
4.3.1 Results from the Winning Team
7
British Council, “Skills for Employability- Bangladesh.”
53 Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
This team implemented a project called “Light for Life” which aimed to train people from the community
to improve their English as well with professional skills that would benefit them as they enter the
workforce. After being confronted with the difference between a project plan on paper, the team leader
remarked “Reality is lot more difficult than the planning stage, some of the things were completely
opposite than we anticipated.” Although the initial response to their initiative was small, after a while the
local residents started to understand what was being attempted to be achieved and they started attracting
greater and greater numbers of unskilled workers.
Figure4. 1: Location of participants from winning teams
Figure4. 2: Gender of participants from winning teams
All the participants belonged to either Dhaka or Barisal in the ratio of 53.8% and 46.2% respectively.
From the above graph, it is clear that women were not very well represented in the winning team.
Figure4. 3: Educational level of winning teams
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Education plays a very important role in a country’s development process. Out of 13 participants, 30%
have matriculated, 30% are intermediate while only 10% have graduate and 10% have masters level
degrees. 20% of the participants are diploma holders. Like Pakistan, Bangladesh also ranks very poorly in
terms of its literacy rate, especially when compared to developed countries. Therefore there is a strong
need to educate more people either through technical or formal education institutions.
Table4. 1: Perception of Winning teams about indicators of project benefits
Respondents Perception about different Indicators of Project Benefits
Indicators
Excellent Good Average Poor
Very Poor
83.33
16.67 Developing entrepreneurship skills
76.92
15.38 7.69
Upgrading Communication skills
76.92
23.08 Using innovation
75.00
16.67 8.33
Starting own business
54.55
27.27 9.09
9.09
Improving confidence level
75.00
16.67 8.33
Enhancing team Building skills
91.67
8.33
Improving leadership skills
83.33
16.67 Increasing interest in participation in future
91.67
8.33
Other benefits of the project
Average
78.71
15.64 4.64
1.01
From the table above we can see that the project has helped to develop entrepreneurial and leadership
skills which leads to job creation and enhanced opportunities for students to start their own business. A
lower percentage of respondents indicated that the programme has enhanced their confidence levels,
approximately 54.55% of the students believed that their confidence has increased due to their
participation in the project.
Table4. 2: Perception of Winning teams about different Indicators of Competition
Respondents Perception about different Indicators of the Competition
Indicators
Excellent Good
83.33
8.33
Idea of Social enterprise award
63.64
36.36
Learning during this competition
72.73
18.18
Planning & management of competition
90.91
9.09
Level of support provided by teachers
Average
77.65
17.99
Average
8.33
9.09
4.36
Poor
-
Very Poor
-
The table above shows that 83.33% of the respondents think that idea of a social entrepreneurship award
is excellent and 63.64% of the students responded that they have learnt a lot during the competition. The
planning and management of the competition was ranked “good” by 72% of the students while 90.91% of
the students ranked the level of support they received from teachers during the competition as “excellent.”
55
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure4. 4: Respondents still running the project
Figure4. 5: Respondents' plan to take project as business
Over half (53.8%) of the participants from Bangladesh are no longer running their projects due to
different constraints which the British Council might be interested in exploring. About 75% of them have
plans to take up their projects as their businesses as shown in the above diagram.
Figure4. 6: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of winning teams
The above graph shows respondents’ perceptions of the British Council’s contribution towards the
student’s knowledge acquisition where 23.1% of the participants marked the British Council’s
contribution as 80-100%, 46.2% of the participants marked the British Council’s contribution as 60- 80%,
and no one believed that the British Council had not contributed at all, which is commendable.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Figure4. 7: Percentage of respondents who faced problems during competition
Table4. 3: Perception of Winning teams regarding the Extent of Problems they faced
Respondents Perception Regarding the Extent of Problems they Faced
Problems
Greatly Great Moderate
Some What
Not at all
10.00
40.00
50.00
Financial support
16.67 8.33
16.67
58.33
Confidence
25.00 8.33
66.67
Education
9.09
9.09
36.36
18.18
27.27
Project presentation skills
8.33
25.00
66.67
Community support
8.33
8.33
25.00
58.33
Training
20.00 20.00
20.00
30.00
Cooperation of government departments 10.00
50.00
50.00 Other Problems
Average
9.68
18.43 20.38
6.86
44.66
From the table above, it can be seen that only 50% of the respondents faced problems during this
competition. The students lack only project presentation skills and support from government. One of the
myths was that student face financial problems but surprisingly 50% of the teams felt that this was not a
big issue, demonstrating that the seed money given by the British Council went a long way.
Table4. 4: Perception of winning teams regarding Project’s Successfulness
Respondents Perception Regarding Project’s Successfulness
Success Indicators
Strongly Agree
agree
British Council support in Project
implementation
British Council helped in launching project
British Council contribution
Respondent’s feeling as a respected person
in society after project involvement
Knowledge & ideas developed due to Project
Respondents’ Learning from other teams
Opportunities for youth due to British
Council
57
46.15
46.15
Neither
agree nor
disagree
-
23.08
50.00
69.23
61.54
40.00
30.77
7.69
-
7.69
10.00
-
-
69.23
23.08
69.23
30.77
38.46
23.08
7.69
-
23.08
-
7.69
7.69
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Disagree
Strongly
disagree
7.69
-
Average
50.00
38.68
2.20
6.92
2.20
The above table shows students’ perception about the project’s successfulness. The majority of students
strongly believed that knowledge and ideas have been generated due to this project and that they feel like
respected people in society as a result of their involvement. A gap was seen in terms of team coordination
as only 23.08% of them agreed that they have learnt from the other teams. About 46% of the students
from the winning team strongly believed that the British Council supported them during the project
implementation phase, and 69.23% responded that the youth is benefitting from enhanced employment
opportunities. All respondents were of the view that the project outcomes will be beneficial to the youth
in the future.
By getting involved in the British Council’s project, the youth’s general employability skills have
improved. They also believe that their participation in this competition helped them to enhance their
entrepreneurship skills in one or the other way.
Figure4. 8: Percentage of respondents from winning teams who started their own business
According to a survey of ILO, the incidence of unemployment in Bangladesh has increased at the national
level from 1.50 per cent to 3.27 percent between 1999 and 2000. There was an increase in the incidence
of unemployment both for men and women. From the graph above, it can be seen that only 46.2% of
students have started their own business also creating employment opportunities for the youth. All of
them responded that they would like to participate in such activities by the British Council in future.
4.3.2 Results of Participating Teams
Figure4. 9: Gender of respondents from participating teams
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Figure4. 10: Educational attainment of respondents from participating teams
From the above graph, it is demonstrated that participating teams comprised of more men (92.9%)
compared to women (only 7.1%). The statistics show that 50% of the students matriculated while 35.7%
are intermediate and 14.3% are diploma holders.
Figure4. 11: Employment status of respondents from participating teams
The above graph shows the employment status of the respondents. It has been observed that 78.6% of the
students are unemployed which is a major drawback while only 7.1% are students and employed as at the
same time.
Table4. 5: Perception of Participating teams about different Indicators of Project Benefits
Respondents Perception about different Indicators of Project Benefits
Indicators
Excellent
Good
71.43
Developing entrepreneurship skills
42.86
50.00
Upgrading Communication skills
50.00
50.00
Using innovation
37.50
62.50
Starting own business
50.00
28.57
Improving confidence level
78.57
14.29
Enhancing team Building skills
57.14
28.57
Improving leadership skills
78.57
21.43
Increasing interest in participation in future
71.43
28.57
Other benefits of the project
Average
59.72
31.55
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Average
28.57
7.14
14.29
5.56
Poor
7.14
7.14
1.59
Very Poor
14.29
1.59
The above table presents students’ perceptions about the benefits of the project. Majority of the
respondents believed that this project has benefited them in developing their entrepreneurship skills,
starting their own business, and enhancing team building skills. Only 22% of the respondents think that
they have improved their levels of confidence. If this table is compared with the responses of the winning
team, a greater dispersion of results will be observed. The reason for this is that some students will have
interacted less with the project than others. However, the results clearly indicate that the project has
managed to uplift students’ entrepreneurial and communication skills, and definitely enhanced their team
building skills. Research has proven that all this is directly correlated with the skills required to get a job
but the British Council may still like to explore the reasons for perpetual unemployment.
Table4. 6: Perception of participating teams about different Indicators of the Competition
Respondents Perception about different Indicators of the Competition
Indicators
Excellent Good
Average
71.43
21.43
7.14
Idea of Social enterprise award
57.14
28.57
14.29
Learning during this competition
64.29
21.43
7.14
Planning & management of competition
71.43
21.43
7.14
Level of support provided by teachers
Average
66.07
23.21
8.93
Poor
7.14
1.79
Very Poor
-
The table above shows the rating of the competition by students where only 7.14% of them think that the
planning and management of the competition was poor. About 71% of the respondents ranked the idea,
and level of support received from the teachers as excellent. We have to consider that this group of
participants interacted less with the British Council, but still during the workshops and orientation
sessions the students realized the importance of this competition. Results indicate that they felt the
management arrangements were either good or average and the level of learning out of this competition
for them was great. Similar to the case in Pakistan, they see the support provided to them by their teachers
as a vital element.
Figure4. 12: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of participating teams
The above graph shows the British Council’s contribution towards knowledge acquisition: 64.3% of the
students marked the British Council’s contribution as 80%-100% whereas no one in the sample marked
its contribution as 0%- 40%.
Table4. 7: Perception of Participating teams regarding the Extent of Problems they faced
Respondents Perception Regarding the Extent of Problems they Faced
Problems
Greatly Great Moderate
7.14
14.29
Financial support
7.14
Confidence
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Some What
35.71
28.57
Not at all
42.86
64.29
Education
Project presentation skills
Community support
Training
Cooperation of government departments
Other Problems
Average
-
7.14
7.14
3.57
21.43
14.29
7.14
28.57
35.71
15.18
7.14
21.43
21.43
7.14
21.43
17.86
92.86
57.14
57.14
85.71
42.86
64.29
63.39
Since the students from the participating teams had help from a diverse support system including their
families and friends, as well as from their teachers, the British Council, 28% of them didn’t face many
problems during the competition. The problems that have been noted by them included lack of
cooperation from the government, the community and financial support as presented above.
Table4. 8: Perception of Participating teams regarding Project’s Successfulness
Respondents Perception Regarding Project’s Successfulness
Strongly
Agree
Success Indicators
agree
British Council support in Project
implementation
British Council helped in launching project
British Council contribution
Respondent’s feeling as a respected person in
society after project involvement
Knowledge & ideas developed due to Project
Respondents’ Learning from other teams
Opportunities for youth due to British Council
Average
Neither agree
nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly
disagree
14.29
71.43
14.29
-
-
28.57
14.29
14.29
71.43
85.71
78.57
7.14
-
-
28.57
21.43
21.43
20.41
71.43
71.43
78.57
75.51
3.06
7.14
1.02
-
The above table presents students’ perceptions about the project’s success. The majority of the students
believed that knowledge and ideas have been generated as a result of the project. They additionally
indicated that they are feeling respected people in society as a consequence of being involved in the
project. As compared to the responses from the winning teams, only 21.43% of participating team
members’ agreed that they have learnt a lot from other teams. 85.71% of the students from participating
teams believed that the British Council supported them in project implementation and that the youth is
getting greater employment opportunities due to the British Council’s efforts. All the respondents were of
the view that the project outcomes will certainly be beneficial for the youth in future. By getting involved
in the British Council’s project, they also believe that their general employability skills have been
improved.
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Figure4. 13: Respondents from participating teams who started their own business
Compared to the winning teams, the proportion of students from the participating teams (28.6% of the
sample) who are engaged in starting their own business due to this project is very low. But all of them
responded that they would like to participate in such activities by the British Council in the future.
Figure4. 14: Respondents from participating teams who would recommend BC
The above graph indicates that 71.4% of the students would be very likely to recommend the British
Council to their friends and colleagues.
4.3.3 Results from Students who Participated but not Shortlisted
Figure4. 15: Education level of students who participated but not shortlisted
The group size sampled for this section comprised of a total of 21 respondents, all of whom were men.
The graph shows the educational attainment levels of the respondents. Educational levels have a strong
influence on the rates of employment. People with high levels of education experience less difficulty in
accessing the labour market. The statistics in the diagram above show that 57.1% of the students who
participated but didn’t get shortlisted had matriculated whereas only 23.8% of the participants were
diploma holders, and some has only achieved an intermediate level of education.
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Figure4. 16: Employment status of participants who were not shortlisted
From the above graph, it can be observed that there is a huge difference in the employment rate of
participants of this competition. Since these students did not get the chance to implement their project
ideas, their employment rate is very low. Only 9.5% of the students are employed all of which are selfemployed.
Table4. 9: Perception of students who participated but not shortlisted about competition indicators
Respondents Perception about different Indicators of the Competition
Indicators
Excellent Good
Average
Poor
Very Poor
85.71
14.29
Idea of Social enterprise award
61.90
33.33
4.76
Learning during this competition
Average
73.81
23.81
2.38
The above table shows respondents’ perceptions about the competition. About 88% of the participants
suggested that the idea of the social entrepreneurship award was excellent and 62% of the participants
responded that the competition had positive learning outcomes.
Table4. 10: Perception of students who participated but not shortlisted about extent of problems they faced
Respondents Perception Regarding the Extent of Problems they Faced
Problems
Greatly Great Moderate
26.67
40.00
Financial support
6.67
20.00
Confidence
12.50
12.50
Education
6.25
25.00
37.50
Project presentation skills
14.29
Other Problems
Average
6.58
16.83
16.86
Some What
6.67
33.33
37.50
6.25
14.29
19.61
Not at all
26.67
40.00
37.50
25.00
71.43
40.12
As compared to members from the winning and participating teams, respondents from this team faced
more problems such as in financial support, lack of education and lack of presentation skills. They faced
these problems more than other teams because they couldn’t get enough support and attention from the
British Council, according to the table above.
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Figure4. 17: Percentage of respondents who attended training before competition
The graph above shows the statistics of respondents who didn’t attend any training sessions before the
competition. 70% responded that they could not get any training before competition, and that could be a
possible reason for their rejection. This demonstrates a strong link between training the quality level of
the applicants.
Table4. 11: Perception of not shortlisted students about competition's successfulness
Respondents Perception Regarding competition’s Successfulness
Success Indicators
Strongly Agree Neither
agree
agree nor
disagree
61.90
38.10
British Council help in participating in
competition
66.67
23.81
British Council contribution was
satisfactory
47.62
28.57
4.76
Short listing criteria of BC was fair
61.90
38.10
Knowledge & ideas developed
57.14
42.86
Opportunities for youth due to British
Council
47.62
9.52
After training respondent will start his own 38.10
business
Average
55.56
36.51
2.38
Disagree
Strongly
disagree
-
-
9.52
-
19.05
-
-
4.76
-
5.56
-
The above table shows students’ perceptions regarding the competition’s successfulness: 62% of the
participants strongly agreed that the British Council made it possible for them to participate in the
competition and that their contribution was satisfactory; 47.62% of the participants strongly agreed that
the British Council’s short-list criterion was fair and 57.14% of the participants believed that the British
Council has provided employment opportunities to youth through this programme. This is very important
set of percentages represent a much larger group than those of the winning and participating team
questionnaires.
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Figure4. 18: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of students who were not shortlisted
The above graph indicates the contribution of the British Council in terms of knowledge acquisition. The
gap is clearly shown if compared with other teams because 4.8% of the respondents marked the British
Council’s contribution from 20-40% and 40-60% each. The majority viewed the British Council’s role as
positive.
They all believe that by getting involved in the British Council’s project, their general employability
skills have been improved. Their participation in this competition helped to enhance their
entrepreneurship skills in some way.
Figure4. 19: Percentage of students who started their own business after training
The above graph shows that only 4.8% of candidates started their own business after receiving training
which is very low compared to the other groups. It therefore might be worthwhile for the British Council
to look for alternative ways to help these students find themselves employment.
Figure4. 20: Percentage of Respondents who would recommend BC
It is very important to note that even given their low participation levels, students who participated but did
not get shortlisted were still very likely to recommend British Council to their friends and colleagues.
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4.3.4 Results from the Master Trainers
Figure4. 21: Education level of master trainers
This group is comprised of 5 people from Dhaka city. The data above shows that a good percentage of the
respondents are qualified with at higher than a masters level degree (60%) and 40% have masters level
degrees.
Figure4. 22: Employment type of master trainers
The above diagram shows breaks down where the master trainers are employed. It demonstrates that most
of the respondents are working in the private sector (60%).
Figure4. 23: Working experience of master trainers
The graph above shows that 40% of the master trainers have more than 21 years of work experience, and
that 60% have less than 20 years of experience. The British Council played a very important role in
training the trainers and made a conscious effort to emphasize the quality of this role, and to provide the
best training faculty to students for the development of entrepreneurship skills.
Table4. 12: Training perception of master trainers
Training Perception of the Respondent
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Statements
Before training
After training
Standard of training manuals
Quality of training
Excellent
75
50
80
Very Good
25
50
20
Good
50
-
Poor
25
-
Very Poor
25
-
The significance and value of training can be observed in the above table which presents that only 50% of
the master trainers rated their skills on the concept of social entrepreneurship as good but this percent age
increased to 100% after receiving training. 100% of them ranked the overall training programme as
excellent because of the British Council’s satisfactory contribution.
Figure4. 24: Master trainers who attended trainings before SfE program
The above graph shows that the majority of the master trainers did not receive any training before
participating in the School for Education Programme. The British Council provided the training which
resulted in a marked improvement in technical skills for the respondents which was the ultimate goal of
social enterprise competition. All the respondents were of the view that they need further training about
entrepreneurship skills for delivery of effective training in the future. Master trainers strongly believe that
British Council played a key role in project success.
Figure4. 25: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of master trainers
The above graph shows the British Council’s contribution in terms of the knowledge acquisition of master
trainers. 50% of the participants marked British Council’s contribution to be 80-100% and no one in the
sample marked BC’s contribution as 0%.
Table4. 13: Training assessment indicators of master trainers
Training assessment indicators
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Sharing of possible knowledge and ideas with
trainees
British Council sufficient support to the trainers
British Council contribution
Training time duration
Knowledge and ideas has enhanced the skills of
trainees
Good relationships development of British Council
with different stakeholders
Change in youth
Change in society
Changes in trainees
Strongly
agree
100
Agree Neither agree
nor disagree
-
Disagree
-
Strongly
disagree
-
100
100
100
-
-
100
-
0
-
100
-
-
-
-
100
100
100
-
-
-
-
The above table shows that the British Council’s contribution to the training programme. All the
respondents agree that British Council has provided sufficient support to the trainers and that because of
this training programme the skills of trainees have been enhanced as a result of being provided new ideas
and knowledge. All of the trainers agreed that the social entrepreneurship competition can bring change in
youth and in the society. But all responded that the training duration was insufficient.
Table4. 14: Perception about changes observed by master trainers
Perception about change by the Respondent
Developing entrepreneurship skills
Upgrading Communication skills
Using innovation
Starting own business
Improving confidence level
Enhancing team Building skills
Improving leadership skills
Increasing interest in participation in future
Others
Excellent
100
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
Very Good
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Good
0
100
100
100
100
0
0
0
Poor
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Very Poor
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
The above table indicates the changes observed in the trainees after the training delivery. All the trainers
believe that they have observed changes in entrepreneurship skills and team building skills which both
have direct consequences for the creation of job opportunities for the students. They have also observed
that students have improved their communication skills and confidence levels as well and that the
students are now able to start their own business.
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Figure4. 26: Number of students and teachers trained by master trainers
The above tables present the number of students and teachers trained through this programme.
Figure4. 27: Need of improvement in training program
The graph above shows that 80% of the participants believe that there is a need to improve the training
programme. They suggested that the training duration should be increased, group work must be enhanced,
participation should be made stronger and that greater consideration should be given to financials.
However, all the respondents indicated that they would be likely to recommend the British Council to
their friends and colleagues.
4.3.5 Results from Teachers and Principals
Figure4. 28: Age of principals and teachers
This group consisted of 20 respondents. Most of the respondents fell between the ages of 33 and 40 years
old, making up almost 45% of the total population interviewed. The graph above shows that a major
proportion of the respondents are mature with only 15 percent less than 32 years of age.
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Figure4. 29: Gender of principals and teachers
The graph above indicates the gender composition of the respondent group: 95% of the groups were men
and only 5% were women.
Figure4. 30: Educational level of principal and teachers
Education plays an important role in a country’s development process. The statistics show that 70% of the
participants were qualified with a master’s level degree, while only 3.4% of them had intermediate
degrees.
Figure4. 31: Employment type of principals and teachers
The graph above shows that the majority of the principals and teachers (70%) are working in the
government sector. This is a good indication of government ownership of the project and bodes well for
programme sustainability as government servants are participating actively in the project, building
capacity and also simultaneously learning the lessons of the programme.
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Figure4. 32: Experience of principals and teachers
The statistics from the above table show that the most of the principals and teachers (45 %) have 1 to 5
years of work experience. A few respondents (30%) have 6 to 15 years of teaching experience while 25%
of them have more than 16 years of experience.
Table4. 15: Perception of Principals and teachers about training assessment indicators
Trainers perception of training assessment indicators
Statements
Excellent Very
Good
Poor Very Poor
Good
5.00
25.00
30.00
20.00 20.00
Before getting exposed to competition
70.00
25.00
5.00
After getting involved in competition
25.00
15.00
5.00
Perception of students about cascading session 55.00
25.00
40.00
25.00
10.00 Standard of training manuals
30.00
50.00
10.00
10.00 Quality of training
Competition plays a crucial role in compelling people to deliver their best. The table delineates that only
5% of the trainers rated their knowledge as excellent before exposure to the competition. However after
participating in the competition the percentage of respondents who answered with “excellent” increased
to 70%. This demonstrates that knowledge of how to enhance entrepreneur skills increased. Additionally
very few of the participants rated the standard of training manuals and quality of training as poor.
Figure4. 33: Training needs of principals and teachers
The above graph shows the trainers’ view (80%) that as a principal or a teacher; they need further training
on the concept of social entrepreneurship to ensure the quality of training in the future. Better training will
lead to the provision of increased employment opportunities for the youth.
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Figure4. 34: Contribution of BC in knowledge acquisition of principals and teachers
The above graph shows the British Council’s contribution towards knowledge acquisition. 50% of the
participants saw the British Council’s contribution as being between 80% and 100%, 45% marked its
contribution to be between 60 and 80%, whereas only 5% saw the its contribution to be between 0 and 20
percent.
Table4. 16: Perception of principals and teachers about training benefits
Perception of principals and teachers about training benefits
Strongly
agree
Agree
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
Strongly
disagree
31.58 21.05
Knowledge and ideas for improving training quality 47.37
50.00
45.00 5.00
Learning through enterprise competition
45.00
50.00 5.00
Benefited knowledge through competition
35.00
40.00 10.00
15.00
Beneficent learning resources for teacher training
55.00
40.00 5.00
Useful training for the students
5.00
30.00 65.00
Sufficient training duration
35.00
45.00 15.00
5.00
Sufficient support from British Council
30.00
70.00 Contribution of British Council is sufficient
55.00
45.00 Useful part of curricula
50.00
30.00 15.00
5.00
Good relationships development of British Council
with different stakeholders
From the above statistics it can be noted that the majority of participants agree that knowledge and ideas
have been developed for improving the quality of training. They also agree that they have found the
competition to be a useful addition to the curricula and that training was useful for students. Respondents
did, however, identify that training duration and resources were two areas of weakness. 65% of
participants disagreed that the training duration was sufficient for them to learn social entrepreneurship
skills.
Table4. 17: Perception of principals and teachers about training benefits for students
Perception of principals and teachers about training benefits for students
Excellent Very Good
Good
Statements
30.00
55.00
15.00
Developing entrepreneurship skills
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Poor
Very Poor
-
-
Upgrading Communication skills
Using innovation
Starting own business
Improving confidence level
Enhancing team Building skills
Improving leadership skills
Increasing interest in participation in future
Others
25.00
27.78
25.00
30.00
55.00
55.00
50.00
89.47
50.00
61.11
50.00
30.00
40.00
25.00
35.00
10.53
25.00
5.56
18.75
25.00
20.00
15.00
-
5.56
6.25
15.00
5.00
-
-
The table shows the perceptions of teachers and the principal about the training assessment of students.
The majority of the participants believe that this training has developed entrepreneurship skills, upgraded
communication skills, and enhanced team building skills, all steps towards starting their own businesses.
15% of the participants felt that there is need to improve students’ confidence levels.
Figure4. 35: Perception of principals and teachers about training program
The British Council may find it useful to investigate the areas that need improvement as all of the
participants responded that there is great need in this department. The areas of improvement identified
included the donation system, development of time practice, communication with management, learning
the mother tongue, and finding ways to cope with environmental issues. It can be observed that the
participants (94.74%) want this teacher training programme to be further implemented in the future.
Additionally the majority of participants responded that there is no voluntary work started by their college
but teachers reported that students have themselves started the voluntary work.
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Figure4. 36: Principals and teachers who would recommend BC
Only 35% of the principals and teachers are very likely to recommend the British Council to other
colleagues and friends while 30% responded that they wouldn’t recommend the British Council,
according to the above diagram. Since this is quite different from the results of most other groups, it
might be worthwhile investigating why such a significant proportion of respondents wouldn’t recommend
the British Council to their colleagues.
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Chapter 5
COMPARISON OF PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH; AT GLANCE
Table5. 1: Gender of Respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh
Gender of Respondents
Pakistan
Female
Male
Total
Winning Teams
53.3
46.7
100.0
Participating Teams
16.7
83.3
100.0
Participants, not short listed
35.3
64.7
100.0
33.7
66.3
100.0
Winning Teams
7.7
92.3
100.0
Participating Teams
7.1
92.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
95.8
100.0
Total
Bangladesh
Participants, not short listed
4.2
Total
The table is statistical comparison between Pakistan and Bangladesh showing the proportion of men to
women participated in social entrepreneurship competition. We can see very clearly the active
participation of women in Pakistan as compared to Bangladesh (33.7% females from Pakistan: 4.2%
females from Bangladesh).
Table5. 2: Educational Level of respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh
Educational Levels of Respondents
Middle
Pakistan
Matriculation
Intermediate
Any
Diploma
Winning
Teams
20.0
73.3
6.7
Participating
Teams
13.3
6.7
30.0
20.0
51.8
28.8
4.3
0.7
Participants,
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Graduation
Post
Graduation
and Above
Total
100.0
30.0
100.0
100.0
not short
listed
10.9
42.9
28.8
8.7
3.8
4.9
100.0
Winning
Teams
25.0
41.7
16.7
8.3
8.3
100.0
Participating
Teams
50.0
35.7
14.3
100.0
14.3
57.1
4.8
23.8
100.0
6.4
46.8
23.4
19.1
Total
Bangladesh
Participants,
not short
listed
Total
2.1
2.1
100.0
The above table shows the comparison between Pakistani and Bangladeshi respondents’ educational
attainment. Compared to the participants from Bangladesh, students from Pakistan have higher level of
educational attainment as percentage of Intermediate, Graduate and Post Graduate students recorded as
28.8%, 3.8%, and 4.9% respectively.
Table5. 3: Employment Status of respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh
Employment Status of the respondents
Employed
Pakistan
Student
Employed
Total
13.3
33.3
53.3
100.0
Participating Teams
63.3
13.3
23.3
100.0
Participants, not short listed
3.1
3.9
90.7
2.3
100.0
14.4
2.9
72.4
10.3
100.0
Winning Teams
15.4
23.1
61.5
Participating Teams
7.1
7.1
78.6
7.1
100.0
90.5
9.5
100.0
79.2
6.2
100.0
Participants, not short listed
Total
Student
unemployed
Winning Teams
Total
Bangladesh
Unemployed
6.2
8.3
100.0
This comparison table shows the employment status of participants. It has been observed that students are
more unemployed in Bangladesh (8.3% unemployment rate in Bangladesh vs. 2.9% unemployment rate
in Pakistan) which is a major drawback while only 6.2% are students and employed at the same time
while in Pakistan, situation of employment is not better but good as compared to Bangladesh.
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Table5. 4: employment Type of respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh
Employment Type of the Respondents
Pakistan
Private
Government
Self
Total
Winning Teams
38.5
30.8
30.8
100.0
Participating Teams
33.3
55.6
11.1
100.0
Participants, not short listed
28.6
50.0
21.4
100.0
33.3
48.1
18.5
100.0
Total
Banglades
h
Winning Teams
100.0
Participating Teams
100.0
100.0
100.0
Participants, not short listed
33.3
Total
33.3
100.0
100.0
33.3
100.0
The above table shows that equal number of respondents is engaged in self- business, and working in
either private sector or in government sector in Bangladesh. In Pakistan, majority of the respondents
(48.1%) are employed in government sector, some (33.3%) are working in private sector while only few
(18.5%) are self- employed.
Table5. 5: Working experience of respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh
Working Experience of the respondents
Pakistan
Up to 1 Year
2 to 3 Years
Winning Teams
71.4
28.6
Participating Teams
41.4
10.3
Participants, not short listed
58.3
41.7
52.7
21.8
Total
Banglades
h
77
Winning Teams
100.0
Participating Teams
100.0
Participants, not short listed
50.0
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Above 3 Years
Total
100.0
48.3
100.0
100.0
25.5
100.0
100.0
100.0
50.0
100.0
50.0
Total
50.0
100.0
The table shows that 52.7% of the participants of all 03 teams of Pakistan have up to 1 year of experience,
22% of them has 2-3 years of experience, and 25.5% of them have more than 3 years of experience.
While in Bangladesh, participants had only experience of either 1 year or up to 2 years. Although British
Council played a very important role but in Bangladesh, there is still need to train the students and help
them in getting employment.
Table5. 6: Perception of participants from Pakistan and Bangladesh about different indicators of Project Benefits
Respondents excellent or very good Perception about different Indicators of Project Benefits
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Winning
Teams
Participating
Teams
Participants,
not short
listed
Total
Winning
Teams
Participating
Teams
Participants,
not short listed
Total
Developing
entrepreneurship skills
92.3
86.2
94.2
92.7
100.0
71.4
81.0
82.9
Upgrading
Communication skills
100.0
76.7
81.8
82.4
92.3
92.9
95.3
93.7
Using innovation
92.3
86.2
78.0
80.4
100.0
100.0
90.5
95.8
Starting own business
73.4
90.0
83.1
83.5
91.7
100.0
76.2
85.4
Improving confidence
level
93.4
83.4
87.8
87.5
81.8
78.6
95.2
86.9
Enhancing team Building
skills
100.0
86.7
85.6
86.9
91.7
92.9
95.3
93.6
Improving leadership
skills
92.9
86.2
89.9
89.5
100.0
85.7
95.2
93.7
Increasing interest in
participation in future
100.0
89.7
89.0
90.1
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Other benefits of the
project
75.0
100.0
64.9
67.6
91.7
100.0
100.0
97.0
Average
91.0
87.2
83.8
84.5
94.4
91.3
92.1
92.1
The table presents the respondents’ only “Excellent” or “Very Good” perception about different
indicators of project benefits in Pakistan and Bangladesh. There is a very slight difference in responses of
students from both countries. It is shown in the statistics that majority of students (more in Bangladesh)
have upgraded their communication skills, enhanced team building skills, improved leadership skills, and
increased interest in future participation.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Table5. 7: Perception of participants from Pakistan and Bangladesh about different indicators of Competition
Respondents excellent and very good Perception about different Indicators of the Competition
Pakistan
Idea of Social
enterprise award
Learning during this
competition
Average
Winning Teams
93.3
100.0
96.7
Participating Teams
96.7
96.5
96.6
Participants, not
short listed
95.5
84.6
90.1
95.5
88.3
91.9
91.6
91.6
Total
Bangladesh
Total
Winning Teams
Participating Teams
92.8
85.7
89.3
Participants, not
short listed
100.0
95.2
97.6
97.1
91.5
94.3
Compared to responses of participants of Pakistan (where 95.5% of the participants ranked idea of social
enterprise competition as “Excellent” or “Very Good” and 88.3% responded that they have learnt a lot
during this competition), it has been observed that that participants of Bangladesh were more satisfied
with the idea d social enterprise award competition and that they have learnt a lot during the competition.
Table5. 8: Contribution of British Council in knowledge acquisition in Pakistan and Bangladesh
Contribution of British Council in Knowledge Acquisition
0% to 20%
20%
40%
Winning Teams
Pakistan
6.7
Participating Teams
79
to 60%
80%
to 80% to Total
100%
20.0
46.7
26.7
100.0
25.0
35.7
39.3
100.0
Participants, not short 5.3
listed
7.1
34.5
28.3
24.8
100.0
3.8
5.8
31.4
31.4
27.6
100.0
30.8
46.2
23.1
100.0
Total
Bangladesh
to 40%
60%
Winning Teams
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Participating Teams
Participants, not short
listed
Total
7.1
28.6
64.3
100.0
4.8
4.8
52.4
38.1
100.0
2.1
12.5
43.8
41.7
100.0
This table depicts the comparison between responses of participants’ views from Pakistan and Bangladesh
on how much British Council contributed towards students’ knowledge acquisition. Majority of the
respondents from Pakistan marked British Council’s contribution as 40% to 80% and same was the
response from Bangladesh where they marked its contribution as 60% to 100%. But 3.8% of the
participants from Pakistan gave the question a negative response ranking knowledge acquisition at 0 to
20% which should be investigated by British Council to know where and why it needs to be improved.
Table5. 9: Problems faced by respondents from Pakistan and Bangladseh
Respondent faced problem during the Competition
Yes
Pakistan
Total
Winning Teams
100.0
Participating Teams
62.1
37.9
100.0
Participants, not short listed
44.7
55.3
100.0
55.0
45.0
100.0
Winning Teams
50.0
50.0
100.0
Participating Teams
21.4
78.6
100.0
Participants, not short listed
33.3
66.7
100.0
34.0
66.0
100.0
Total
Bangladesh
No
Total
100.0
This table is statistical comparison between Pakistan and Bangladesh showing the proportion of
Problems faced during the Social Entrepreneurship Competition. We can see very clearly that the
respondents in Pakistan faced more problems (55%) in comparison with the Bangladesh (34 %)
and British Council may like to explore the reasons that why Pakistani participants faced more
problems.
Table5. 10: Perception about extent of problems faced by participants from Pakistan and Bangladesh
Respondents Greatly or great Perception Regarding the Extent of Problems they Faced
Financial Confidence Education Project
support
presentation
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Other
problems
Average
skills
Pakistan
Winning Teams
53.3
73.3
53.3
50.0
62.5
58.5
Participating Teams
39.3
33.4
27.6
33.4
45.4
35.8
Participants, not short 47.4
listed
29.9
18.3
23.0
20.8
27.9
46.7
34.1
22.7
26.8
29.0
31.9
Winning Teams
10.0
16.7
25.0
18.2
100.0
34.0
Participating Teams
7.1
7.1
-
-
-
2.8
Participants, not short 66.7
listed
6.7
12.5
31.2
-
23.4
30.8
9.8
11.9
17.1
8.6
15.6
Total
Bangladesh
Total
As shown in the table, all the participants faced problems during this competition. After
identifying the details of their problems faced, we come to know that participants from Pakistan
faced more financial problems, lack of confidence, and lack of project presentation skills as
compared to participants from Bangladesh.
Table5. 11: Perception of participants regarding projects' successfulness in Pakistan and Bangladesh
Respondents Strongly Agree or Agree Regarding Project’s Successfulness
Pakistan
British
Council
contribution
Knowledge
& Opportunities for Average
ideas developed youth due to
due to Project
British Council
Winning Teams
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Participating Teams
96.6
96.6
96.7
96.6
short 97.1
94.6
96.5
96.1
97.2
95.6
96.8
96.5
Winning Teams
90.0
100.0
92.3
94.1
Participating Teams
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
96.8
Participants,
listed
not
Total
Bangladesh
Participants,
listed
81
not
short 90.5
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Total
93.4
100.0
97.9
From the table above, it has been observed that there is a very slight difference in the perception of
participants from Pakistan and Bangladesh about projects’ success. The majority of the students strongly
agreed that knowledge and ideas have been developed due to this project and that British Council
contributed a lot during this competition. They also believed that youth is getting more employment
opportunities due to British Council’s efforts.
Figure5. 1: Improvement in employability skills of participants from Pakistan and Bangladesh
British Council through social entrepreneurship competition improved the general employability skills of
participants of all the teams both in Pakistan (98.3%) and Bangladesh (100%) which is a very good
indicator of the success of SfE Program.
Figure5. 2: Enhancement of entrepreneurship skills in participants of Pakistan and Bangladesh
British Council played a very important role in training the trainers in order to provide the best faculty to
students for development of entrepreneurship skills in both countries. And it is clearly shown in the graph
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
97.1
(90.6% in Pakistan and 97.9% in Bangladesh) that the participation of winning teams, participating teams
and even the participants who were not shortlisted have enhanced their entrepreneurship skills through
this competition and training.
Figure5. 3: Respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh who started their own business after training
After getting training, 67.1% of the total respondents in Pakistan has started their own business in
Pakistan while only 22.9% of the respondents in Bangladesh has started their own business which is very
low as compared to Pakistan. This percentage is high in Winning teams in both countries. It, therefore,
might be worthwhile for British Council to look for other alternate ways to help the students of
Bangladesh in finding themselves the employment opportunities.
Figure5. 4: Respondents from Pakistan and Bangladesh who would participate in future activities
This comparison graph does not show much difference in the response of Pakistani and Bangladeshi
participants. 96.7% and 97.9% of the total participants from all the 03 teams of Pakistan and Bangladesh
respectively would participate in such activities in future.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Table5. 12: Participants who would recommend British Council in future
Respondent would you recommend BC
Very
Unlikely
Pakistan
Neutral
Likely
Very
Likely
Total
7.1
28.6
64.3
100.0
3.3
3.3
3.3
80.0
100.0
Participants, not short 4.4
listed
0.7
11.7
25.5
57.7
100.0
5.0
1.1
9.9
22.1
61.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
14.3
71.4
100.0
14.3
85.7
100.0
10.6
85.1
100.0
Winning Teams
Participating Teams
Total
Banglades
h
Unlikely
10.0
Winning Teams
Participating Teams
14.3
Participants, not short
listed
4.3
Total
The table shows the likeliness of participants of Pakistan and Bangladesh to recommend British Council
to their friends and colleagues. 85.1% of the participants from Bangladesh would very likely to
recommend British Council while 61.9% of participants from Pakistan would very likely to recommend
and 5.0% would not like to recommend British Council. British Council might like to explore the reasons
why few participants from Pakistan would not recommend.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
Chapter 6
SUCCESS STORIES
6.1 Pre- Fabricated Houses
“Empowering and enabling the environment
for the youth; the hope of country is the greatest
contribution of British council” said Fowad
Fowad Ahmed is the shining star and dedicated entrepreneur who has successfully implemented the
concept of social enterprise; coined by British council in Pakistan. Ahmed belongs to a far flanged and
difficult area of Pakistan “Balakot” which was severely hit by the disastrous and outrageous earthquake of
2005. This massive destruction has not only swallowed the precious human lives but also has taken the
basic need of shelters from them.
This natural calamity brought an idea in his mind; and he decided to put his maximum efforts towards the
benefit of the society. British council has contributed and inculcated the sense of responsibility and
ownership for the community and society by providing social entrepreneurial training and information.
When he saw that most of the habituates are cutting the trees and exploiting the environment for the sake
of shelter he decided to build the pre-fabricated houses made of Aluminum. The main theme of this
concept was to save the tress and soil from erosion; as the tress and the healthy soil is the only source to
save this piece of land from unforeseen natural calamity like earthquake. Although it took half decade to
transform this concept in to the implementation phase but this only happened when financially and
morally BC helped the team in this innovative idea.
In 2010, Fowad and his team of 10 members got the opportunity of understanding the social entrepreneur
thus enabling them to use their skills and capabilities in an effective manner. British council supported
Fowad with the seed money of 0.15 Million and he used this money wisely for the purchase of new raw
material. “The best feature of these houses is that they are portable, repairable and cost effective” Fowad
said confidently. Due to this reason the team Fowad has helped many poor families by offering them a
choice of size and they can also build in the houses in segments as well.
In the short span of 8 months Fowad has not only implemented the direct benefit of this idea but this has
generated the livelihood opportunities for 30 persons and hence provided the relief to 250 people in form
of shelter. Further to this he was able to maintain the profit up to 40 %; thus this concept has been
implemented in an effective way that is running the business for the sake of the community uplifting.
He said in a pleasant way that youth is the major striking force of Pakistan in bringing change; if and only
if they are taken care in a right manner. British council through this novel approach is bringing change in
the lives of marginalized youth of the south Asia. I and my team are much obliged for providing me the
life time opportunity for unleashing my talent and giving the right direction to my thoughts.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
6.2 Solid Waste Management
Jhang the state of Punjab, Pakistan; situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, about 210 kilometer
from Lahore has given birth to some innovative and brilliant minds named as Fairda and Nazim. These
shining stars presented their ground-breaking idea of solid waste management in 2008 and it eventually
strike in the Annual Youth Social entrepreneur competition held in United Kingdom.
“We belong to a region with the population of 387,418; here people are not aware of healthy
environmental practices. I always feel very bad when I passed through the streets from my house to my
institute and see that the waste was dumped outside the houses; spreading the diseases and infections.”
Said Farida in blue mood.
Solid Waste management is the collection, transport, disposal, managing and monitoring
of waste materials. The purpose of this process is to work in such a way that it can reduce the hazardous
effect on health and the environment. This novel approach flourished when British council helped the
team of this project to implement this idea. British council with the purpose to inculcate the sense of
responsibility in the youth for the betterment of the community has helped them a lot. With the guidelines
provided by BC; Nazim and Farida Team is not only saving the community but also they are able to earn
sufficient money by selling the beautiful fabric bags in institutes, book shops and markets.
Farida and Nazim along with their team did the extensive research on the subject matter; however they
concluded their idea with the reduction of paper bags, re-using the waste and recycling. The main
challenge at this point of time was to make people aware about the hap hazardous outcomes of this waste.
This can only be done if you had strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Nazim said “I am much grateful to the British council for providing me this wonderful opportunity of
learning the new skills; they polished our skills and made us confident enough to raise our voice in front
of masses”. Nazim and his team organized more than 340 awareness campaigns; reaching people at home
steps. They also organized the campaigns at schools and colleges with the message how plastic bags and
waste material is eradicating the beauty of the motherland.
The third part of their idea carries the Incineration process. It is a disposal method in which solid organic
wastes are subjected to combustion so as to convert them into residue and gaseous products. Incinerators
convert waste materials into heat, gas, steam and ash. As a leading part of this idea they are working with
one of the sugar mill in Pakistan; which provides them waste material and they decompose them in the
form of fertilizer which is again used for increasing the fertility of the sugarcane. Keeping the idea of recycling in mind they are also working in different hospitals making people aware on the safe disposal of
medical wastes.
As a part of social entrepreneur they are not only earning money now; but also have installed the systems
in many houses where people can easily generate and utilized the bio gas by disposing the solid and
organic wastes. Making people aware for the green land is their motive which is achieved with the help
and support of British Council.
Every first step is difficult to take; when you do something against the routine life people oppose but
thanks to British council for supporting and encouraging us. They always taught us lay a firm foundation
with the bricks that others throw at you. We feel privileged when people listens us and accepts the
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
importance of this work. It was an honor and sense of pride when we won this competition amongst the
seven countries. Nazim and Fairda said in a pleasant way.
6.3 Paper Recycling
Three
years ago British council’s youth social entrepreneurship has carved the diamond from
Rawalakot. British council through this novel program in South Asia is unleashing the potential of the
youth who has some hidden skills but are marginalized segments of the society. Zohaib is one of those
brilliant young entrepreneurs who got the benefit from the trainings and information sessions provided by
British Council.
Zohaib is a nature loving and environment friendly person; his nature has inspired him to look around his
environment and from there an idea struck in his mind that people use the paper very ruthlessly .Zohaib
Said “It is always very difficult to change the attitude of the people on re-usability of the material which
they always think of no use. When I got to know how the people of one of USA’s state worked on the water
conversation; it stimulated my thoughts that why not we. But the dilemma is we are not even aware how
we can use; rather re-use the paper”.
Zohaib with the seed money provided by British council started the massive awareness campaigns on
how to save the paper and tress. He introduced in schools, colleges and offices that how to use paper
effectively; rather than ragging and dumping it into dustbins. Without the help of British Council it was
quite difficult for me to accomplish this task, as when I started I even don’t know what to say and how to
say. But after the guidance I been able enough to talk and convince masses on why and for what reason I
am doing this? Zohaib said confidently
He worked on this idea in three dimensions which include the paper mashing technique. Team Zohaib
requested the community to donate them the rough and used paper so that they can use this in beautifying
and preparing the models and decoration pieces. Zohaib effectively and efficiently engaged the
community by involving the skilled students of technical institution.These unique products is sold at
Zohaib’s own shop. This idea has enabled him to earn sufficient money and serve the community in a
productive way.
Making envelops by old papers is a simple technique; but people don’t like to use this. Zohaib Said
“Today, 90% of paper pulp is made of wood. Paper production accounts for about 35% of felled trees,
and represents 1.2% of the world's total economic output. Recycling one ton of newsprint saves about 1
ton of wood while recycling 1 ton of printing or copier paper saves slightly more than 2 tons of wood”.
Zohaib uses two methods; one is to sell papers to whole sellers at lower cost and saving money on the
other hand serving the under-privileged youth by giving those books.
With the support of British council Zohaib has not only created the job opportunities for the people of his
age group but also he has introduce the idea on conservation of resources. Currently he has engaged many
students and women for making envelop and paper mashed products. British council has showed him a
right direction and he is currently working on broadening the scope of work. Zohaib with the help of
British Council has not only doing networking with multi cultural people to inform them with universal
problems of paper recycling but also he is able enough to do the capacity building of the communities.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
6.4 Ladies Shop
“Working as a female social entrepreneur in an area which has strict socio- cultural barrier is always
a challenging Job. This courageous work is appreciated and encourages by British Council”. Shaiza
Said.
Shazia belongs to Rawalakot; the area which was severely attacked by the outrageous earthquake. Shazia
along with her group members worked on an innovative idea which supports the female to work and shop
without fear of male harassing factor in the market. This shop is exclusively for the females by the
females; however this initiative is supported by British Council.
With the seed money of around 65,000 PKR Shaiza and her team dexterously and professionally worked
on this idea; with the purpose to meet the social issue of her area. The females of the area due to the
socio-cultural issues faced many problems in purchasing the daily necessities of life; one of them is
buying undergarments. Shazia had the opportunity to get awareness about empowering self and
community and she used this quite effectively. She is trying to eradicate the social issue as well as now
earning at her own.
“Becoming an entrepreneur at this very young age; it always feels privileged when females come to you;
appreciate and get inspired. She said. Shazia is now considered a successful entrepreneur in her
community; she has successfully employed two (02) females who are earning their livelihood and
supporting their family. As a symbol of tomorrow she is emerging as a successful female entrepreneur
who is addressing the need of the community in a better way.
She gives the credit and this success for her to British council. From the platform of British Council she
has reach to self- actualization stage and now she is equipped with the skills and abilities that has enabled
her to work for the community and with the community. She is currently expanding her business with the
vision that you can only bring gender equality if you give women the equal opportunity and acceptability
to work.
6.5 Hepatitis
“Covered in the veil and working for the community; which has defined and stereotyped role is always
a difficult task to accomplished. But this all happened when I am endorsed with confidence given to me by
British Council” Said Asia Quasar.
Asia is one of distinguished and young female social entrepreneur who got a chance to work under the
umbrella of Youth Social entrepreneurship program for South Asia. Aisa showed her talented by working
in the difficult sector of Community up lift; which is Health.
Living in the most densely polluted and populated city of Lahore; it is always difficult to make people
massively aware about the disease. It is the dilemma of the city that despite of the many campaigns and
easy access to information people are not that much aware of the symptoms and remedies of this perilous
diseases. However she picked up this challenge and start running the massive awareness campaigns about
the Hepatitis with the target to reach people in suburbs of the city.
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Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
During the tenure of one year she not only successfully managed to maintain her business but also
managed to serve the community in a very challenging way. Aisa successfully organized more than
twenty (20) awareness campaigns in different schools, colleges; academics. She also approached the
community by organizing the awareness campaigns as she believes that you need to make people aware at
grass root level, that you can eradicate any social issue.
Her passion to achieve and contribute in the up lift of the society has been supported by British Council.
Since her selected area doesn’t have sufficient laboratories and the one that is dedicated to the testing of
Hepatitis only; she took this initiative and managed to test around 2000 victims at her own; with the ratio
of 70 % as youth. But this is not the end of her achievements she continued and started to work for the
Dengue campaigns as well. She has also been contacted by some students with the vision to work on
Anemia as well.
“I must say that with the help of seed money and the ideology that British Council has mapped in mind is
brining major changes in my life. I being a girl have never thought that I can run my very own business.
This is a great moment of satisfaction for your soul and mind that you as marginalized segment is not
only serving for society but also making enough profit” Asia said with a big smile.
British council is changing the lives of the under privileged youth by showing them the ray of hope;
equipping them with the skills and ideas and making them the productive part of the society. Like many
other social entrepreneur produced by British council Asia has the vision to run her campaign on the
country level, she want people to have easy and relatively lower access to basic health facilities like
vaccination. Her dream and vision to bring change in the society has been polished by British Council.” I
am always thankful to British Council for revealing my potential and brining the best out of me.” said
Asia
6.6 Honey Production
Bilal Akhtar is one of the emerging youngster from Rawlakot Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) - who
has effectively implemented the idea of social entrepreneur stimulated by British council. Bilal with the
idea to have a sustainable society started worked on the honey production with exotic species of bees.
Rawlakot is one of the coldest areas of Pakistan; community always needs nutrition which can keep them
warm. The idea of producing honey at local level with providing the sufficient job opportunities has been
supported by British council.
Beekeeping is considered as a profitable business in Pakistan. About 7,000 beekeepers are now nurture
exotic species. There are about 300,000 colonies producing 7,500 metric ton honey annually. Genial
climate conditions and bee flora in the country provide excellent opportunities for the expansion of
beekeeping. Honeybee flora is present on vast areas in all the provinces including Northern areas, FATA
and AJK and can support 1,000,000 honeybee colonies. But the need of hour is to support the people of
that areas by providing them education and training on the methods to maintain the bee broods.
British council provided the enough seed money to initiate this Nobel cause; and Bilal with his team
successfully implemented the concept. He involved the local community, provided them the training on
production with the bee broods and community started to earn the money. They successfully engaged
over 40 families in honey production and generated around net income of over Rs100, 000. Bilal and his
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team with the help of the British council started eliminating the major problem of the area that is
unemployment. This step has helped them to be employed and started working for their own business.
The honey produced by the bee broods are now sold in the market at comparatively fair price.
“Being a part of this challenge I always feel happy that I am not only earning; empowering people by
educating them but also serving my community. Now i am proud enough that I am a useful and important
part of this community; with the believe that my generation will bring change and prosperity in the uplift
of the nation and communities. For making me aware and putting me on right track is the contribution of
British Council. They helped me to learn the communication, management, leadership and the empathy
for society”. Bilal Said
Bilal is currently working as a Lecturer at Faran Institute in Rawlakot city; and brining vision and life
skills in the lives of his own age fellows. He is passing through the knowledge and skills he learned from
the trainings and support of British council thus this young social entrepreneur is inculcating the sense of
social responsibility and importance of a health society in the upcoming generations.
6.7 Tourism
Tourism is said to be the big industry some years back as Pakistan with its diverse cultures, people and
landscapes has attracted 0.7 million tourists to the country, almost double to that of a decade ago. Before
the Global economic crisis Pakistan received more than 500,000 tourists annually .However, this number
has now come down to near zero figures since 2008 due to instability in the country and many countries
declaring Pakistan as unsafe and dangerous to visit” Yasir Ilyas an emerging social entrepreneur said.
Yasir belongs to an area of Pakistan which is said to be the heaven for tourist. Azad Jammu and Kashmir
with its magnificent and awesome beauty has attracted him to work for the tourism and hospitality
industry of the country which is in dilapidated phase. The soul to this spirit was given by British council;
when Yasir was given help; guide lines and encouragement to promote the tourism in Pakistan.
Yaisr believes that Pakistan has so much potential to be visited and appreciated; he study in Surrey
University of United Kingom and while doing his masters in Tourism he realized that his very own
motherland is full of beauty but this is unrevealed and once it was; it is exploited. This provoking though
has given him a direction and as he contacted British Council. Soon he realized that this is the right
platform which can not only give me a source of earning but also he can be a light for rest of others.
The 2008 World Economic forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report (TTCR) ranked Pakistan
103 out of 124 countries to visit. This low figure was due to a weak travel and tourism infrastructure, low
branding, market effectiveness, and most importantly ignorance about the tourism of Pakistan. Yasir
believes that there is a dire need to motivate, educate and sensitize the community to promote, inter
country and intra country tourism; which in result will not only generate the revenue for the country but
also provide the livelihood opportunities for the locales.
With his vision to reduce the poverty of the areas and increase the tourism in the country he started
awaking people about the importance of the tourism and hospitality. Tourism for life.org is a plant which
is nourishing and has flourished from the help of British council. He is successfully running an institute
with the purpose to provide people the necessary resources and knowledge in order to run their own
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business in the domain of Tourism. He has conducted many awareness campaigns and workshops for
students and youth to understand the importance of tourism for the country and how they can choose this
industry for their career.
British council provided him a platform form where he is doing networking with national and
international tourism policy makers and institutions. Within year he has successfully managed to train and
developed more than 1000 followers who are on the board now and promoting the tourism industry in
Pakistan.
Yasir is thankful to British council who has not only provided him the opportunity to understand this
industry on international level but also has helped him to learn the basic rules and principles for living in
varied cultures. He has attended the conference in United Nations and this has helped him a lot to under
the tourism industry from another perspective.
6.8 Skills Training Center
Pakistan is going through the hard time and during this time of recession, there is a pressing need to
empower women economically and to create employment opportunities and income generating activities
to facilitate them to endure, flourish and provide support for their families. For the development of
women-to-women business potential, women entrepreneurs require support in the form of training and
development, broadening the vision and special life skills. The idea of social entrepreneur is also
encouraged and adopted by the females. A group of females from a slummed area of Karachi, Pakistan
also approached British Council and their desire to work for community uplift was appreciated by them.
Iqra and her team started working on the skills training initiative exclusively for the females. Iqra said
“The area from where I belong is a slummed where most of the females are illiterate and unskilled. We
always though what we can do for them and one day when we get the platform we decided to participate
in this event”
The most difficult part of this project was to make people aware about the importance of equal
participation of females in society. The business environment for women in Pakistan reflects the complex
interaction of many factors, one of them is social, cultural, traditional and religious elements. Keeping all
these constraints in mind they are trained in such a way that we can easily communicate our message to
intended recipients.” The best part of the training center is variety of courses we are offering Beautician,
Handy Craft and stitching course and Computer course; all of these are quality oriented and cost
effective courses”. Said the team mate of Iqra.
Iqra as an innovative entrepreneur is trying to eradicate the social issue of the community and she carried
out this approach with the training and vision given to her by British Council. This project is not only
providing the assistance to the team in order to earn money but also helping the trained women for Skills
enhancement and development of self-confidence. These trained women will be the future entrepreneur of
the country.
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6.9 UPS Unit
The latest crisis that has Pakistani’s from all walks of life up in arms is the lack of electrical power
throughout the country. During 2010 Pakistan floods and 2005 Kashmir earthquake power stations, power
distribution and transmission and other energy infrastructures were damaged. Since the shut of electricity
is at its frequent; you are ultimately forced to purchase an alternative device.
Rehmat Ali from Multan was a team member of low cost UPS (uninterrupted power supplier)
manufacturing emerged as a young entrepreneur with the resolution to this problem. “When you live in a
society which is under developed and people don’t have enough capacity to meet the daily needs then this
is need of time that you have to come out and become a shining star. My vision was to serve the
community because I saw people including me suffering from shut of electricity and waiting for its
availability even for preparing exams” Said Rehmat. His vision in life was to do something extraordinary
which can not only serve the community but can also be a mean of his livelihood. British council found
this diamond and the training provided to him yield a result.
He is being trained on communication skills to leadership skills and that is the result of his effort and
dedication that he is now fearless. This is of the fact the training, coaching and guidance provided to him
by BC has enabled him to work as a lecturer in an institute of his area. His knowledge is now
transforming a new shape; and this sense of responsibility and ownership of society is passed to
generation of the future. Rehmat said in a pleasant way “Formal education provides you the livelihood;
self-education will make you a fortune and my day to fortune was when I meet the team of British
Council.”
Rehmat is not confident enough; he is not only earning money by selling the low cost UPS but also
teaching and both sources have made him capable of earning his livelihood with dignity. He is serving the
community by facilitating them with lower cost energy saving product and the major issue of the
community is resolved by this. Einstein said “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you
everywhere.” Rehmat imagined the idea of Low cost UPS and this imagination was transformed in to the
reality with the help of British Council.
6.10 Skills Coaching
Unemployment is a central problem of Pakistan because when unemployment is high, resources are
wasted and people’s incomes are depressed; during such periods, economics distress also spills over to
affect people’s emotions and family lives. Saifulla Quoted. Two years back team Saifullah started
working on the project which can develop the future of Pakistan. The aim of this initiative was to help the
aim less youth in finding the right path for their career.
There are 160 million unemployed people in the world and 40 percent of those out of work are young
people. Pakistan is no exempted from this label, not only unemployment rates have been beyond
reasonable limits but also a vast majority who fall prey to this belongs to youth category. Technical
training is one type of formal education which can resolve the issue of employability and skills
enhancement; with the fact that majority of the youth is illiterate.
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These technical trainings includes Computer Repairing, Mobile repairing, Electronics, Motor Winding,
Electrical wiring, welding etc. These training focused the under privileged youth with a low income
capacity and that is one of the reason the fees of these courses are nominal than that of the other training
institutes.” Currently our institute has 56 students and this is an achievement for our team; as the effort
exerted on us by the British council has brought the result for us. British Council stood side by side in
that project and trains us how we can launch that idea and now we are using that idea and support to
take this project as business.” Team Said Said
6.11 Plant Nursery
Finding a resources and right platform, for which you are searching for is not a piece of cake; but good
luck never comes too late. This luck strikes to Adnan khan when he meet the team of British council in
his technical institute based in Kotli, Pakistan. “Sometime dreams come true and things start working in
the way you always desire and same happened with me when I found social entrepreneurship program
carried out under the umbrella of British Council.
Adnan is an environment friendly person and his eager to serve and conserve the world has forced him to
work for a plant nursery. Environmental protection is a practice of shielding the environment, on
individual, organizational or governmental levels, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans.
Due to the pressures of population and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded,
sometimes permanently. He started working on this idea when he saw a rotten piece of land near by his
house and this place was used by the people to dump the waste material. He always feels that why not
make this place a beautiful land and starting a plant nursery was his achievement.
He said that in schools, houses and in the vacant areas people don’t make their places clean; one of the
reason is that at the gross root level people are not aware why environment is important for community
and the world. He always emphasizes on the importance of teaching the students regarding the
environment and most importantly it must be a part of their curricula; and particular knowledge should be
provided in form of botany practical.
Adnan is serving the community by making it green and beautifying this with colors of flowers and his
theme was appreciated and laddered by British Council. Adnan is serving the community by providing
them healthy and green environment on the other side he is earning by decorating the lawns and houses of
the people. He invested the seed money provided by British council for purchasing the model plants and
today he possesses more than 10,000 plants. The best thing about his idea is that people are buying the
plants at relatively lower cost.
This young and enthusiastic social entrepreneur is working with zeal and zest for his community. “My
aim is to provide people a healthy environment which can refresh them, it is of immense pleasure when
people sit in the nursery recall their relish memories and spent the pleasant time over here.” Adnan Said.
British council at his best has infused the spirit of healthy socity in his mind and this has yield result in
form of this model garden.
Now days Adnan is looking forward to work with Agriculture research center for doing some more
productive vision in future he wants to see himself and his community ecology friendly community and
for this reason he is networking with the experts of his domain. In future he wants to more productive and
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effective for the society by introducing something new in the field of plantation of fruits and plants. With
the hope to the best Adnan vision has been changed and he is focusing to learn and upgrade his skills and
this is supported and broadened by British Council.
Adnan Said “I must thank and acknowledge the support provided by the British council; it is for me like a
dream come true. Now I realize how much important it is to work for the community but in a way that
both parties can get the benefit. If today I communicate confidently with the community on this issue than
it is the effort of British Council who has given me strength and broaden my vision. I am thankful to them
for having a believe on my skills and abilities.”
6.12 Blind Master Trainer
In terms of the worldwide prevalence of blindness, it is present on a much greater scale in developing
world countries than in developed world countries. According to numbers from the WHO, 90% of blind
people live in the developing world; where most of the people are deprived from basic necessities of the
life. Out of these many visually impaired people Ammara is one of the female entrepreneurs who is
running her NGO.
Ammara quoted “A day that is spent without the sight of beauty, the meditation of mystery, or the search
of truth or perfection is a destitute day; but when you live in a world of unseen and unrevealed sculptures
you are always bestowed with something extra; believe me it’s a rule of nature”. She believes that nature
has given me skills and hopes to keep determined and to work for the humanity and this though is
encouraged and appreciated by British Council.
This exemplifying trainer was working for visually impaired people and she conducted training and
workshops on her own. The main aim of Ammara was to quip people with the basic life skills and
empower them to become the social entrepreneur as she is. She always had an urge to inspire people with
the skills she possess and British council provided her the right platform. She trains people on life skills
and not only earn sufficient money but also served the community by making them aware.
From the platform of British Council Ammara has successfully managed to be part of the international
trainings. Certified compensational benefit manger is one of such training. She is currently working on
the business plan for her Ngo and this training has helped her out to understand the cultural diversity and
exposed her benchmark she wants to achieve for her community and for herself. It is always very difficult
to be part of these international trainings; you need to have a strong financial background to attend these
multi cultural and diversified trainings. Being a part of training conducted by Cultural advancement
institute of management, USA I am much obliged to BC for providing me this wonderful opportunity.
Ammara said
The credit goes in to the bank account of British Council; who helped Ammara to achieve her ultimate
target of life. Now she is not only renowned as the empowered social entrepreneur of the country but also
as the first visually impaired trainer of Pakistan and Duabi. She acknowledges the contribution of British
council for coloring her life with the spirit of social work with the blend of earning.
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Chapter 7
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
The Skills for Education programme in South Asia is now entering its fifth year and thus far the
response has been positive to the radio programme, the Enterprise Challenge and the College Partnership
initiatives. However the feedback generated from the various stakeholders including members of
NAVTTC, TEVTA institutions, competition participants, teachers and trainers has demonstrated that
there are still some areas that need to be improved upon.
The results of the evaluation conclusively show that stakeholders, from trainers to competition
participants and NAVTTC members, all have positive opinions about the programme as it has been
implemented thus far. In Pakistan especially, the inclusion of many women in the programme, and the
overall excellent feedback is a commendation to the work. However there were some recurring threads
that emerged regarding areas that the British Council may want to explore further as they continue to
expand their presence in the region. In Bangladesh although the radio programme was a widespread
success, the British Council’s involvement in policy dialogue activities were limited in most other
respects. The evidence also demonstrates that currently government involvement in the both country
programmes is limited. Overall the success of the Skills for Education programme is indicative of the
timeliness of this development intervention, and the British Council's key role in assisting the youth in
South Asia to be globally competitive as they enter the labour market.
7.1 Policy Dialogue
In general a strong recommendation is that the British Council needs to be more engaged in taking on an
advocacy role in the government. The TVET system in the region is evolving so there is ever-increasing
potential to work closely with key stakeholders to make long term interventions. Currently the entire
region appears to be focusing on apprenticeships, employer engagement and entrepreneurship initiatives
and there appears to be a unified move towards developing proper TVET structures and improving the
capacity to monitor and enhance current National Vocational Standards. These changes signal a window
of opportunity to further expand the British Council’s involvement in the growth of this area.
A further area that the British Council should focus on is to make more sustainable interventions, along
the same vein as the current interventions to bring the experience of the Sector Skills Council UK to
Pakistan.
Representatives from the IAGs also indicated that there have been some issues communicating with
NAVTTC on various industrial curriculum questions which should be addressed by the British Council in
consultation with NAVTTC.
The radio show has been extremely successful. Therefore across the region feedback from listeners,
government representatives, teachers and others has highlighted the start of knowledge, attitude and
behavior changes directly linked to the radio programming. This suggests the need for continuation of the
radio program in all four countries where the pilot project ran in. However, for sustained impact the
British Council will need to look into finding support for longer term programming to see increases in
audience penetration, audience interaction and a deeper impact from program messaging.
One way to achieve this is to continue programming in collaboration with other British Council programs
such as Active Citizens and Global Exchange or by leveraging external contracts to ensure sustainability
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and long term behavioral change in the society. Moreover greater outreach and expansion into the British
Council’s priority areas in the region is also recommended. Any information on employment
opportunities or skills-development must be disseminated widely and repeatedly. In addition to this,
capacity should also be built to produce local versions of the radio program, in local languages, to connect
the youth to service seekers in the area. This includes imparting more information regarding local vacancy
announcements and community level training opportunities.
The reporting was not done on regular basis and occasionally the deadlines were not met, preventing
efficient monitoring. This lack of diligence was also evident in the contracts between partners drawn up,
which were devoid of important clauses and stipulations. In addition to this operational difficulties were
also faced due to the fact that local partners in the different countries were running the program instead of
Equal Access itself. This not only meant lesser responsibility shown by these organizations towards the
show but also a lack of British Council’s branding and promotion.
While there seems to be a robust policy dialogue strand active in Pakistan, other than the radio
programme, this seems to be lacking in Bangladesh. A key recommendation would be to broaden the
work done in terms of Policy Dialogue Bangladesh, where the events needs to be linked to a agenda
7.2 College Partnerships
Although assessing the college partnership strand of the programme was not an emphasis in this
evaluation, some impressions were gathered in the course of collecting data. The link coordinators were
of the opinion that the college partnerships have not only helped the colleges themselves but that the skills
that have been learned as a result of the exchange had a larger scale impact in terms of learning. One
recommendation is that the courses created and updated under this partnership, should now be put
forward for international accreditation.
The British Council has completed this strand and they are now thinking of replicating it but we
recommend that they should look into the following:

Replicating the curricula worked and and finalized during the course of these college partnerships
in Pakistan, and extending it to the entire region.

Facilitating the process of starting dual certification between both the colleges in the same
manner that it is currently done in Rawalakot College in AJK, Pakistan.

Widening the range of colleges that are brought into the programme in this strand is highly
recommended.
7.3 Entrepreneurship Award Strand
The British Council needs to analyze this program from two angles; at direct impact and at the legacy that
it will leave behind.
7.3.1 Legacy
The British Council needs to consider methods of making its programmes more sustainable. The fact that
many of the teachers and trainers are employed in the government sector is a good demonstration that
there is increasing public ownership. However this must be further strengthened as much as possible in
the future. Examples of successful handovers to the government can be seen in Uzbekistan, where the
state took full ownership of this strand.
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Simultaneously, the British Council needs to look for sustainable partners for this strand to upscale its
visibility at policy level to incorporate enterprise as part of curricula in TVET
7.3.2 Impact
One area that the questionnaires continuously revealed a deficit in was in the training given to students in
the course of the Social Entrepreneurship Challenge. A majority of participants when asked about the
quality of training agreed that there is a strong need to improve the training programme. They suggested
that the training duration should be increased, new topics and experiences should be integrated into the
curriculum, and master trainers should be given laptops so assist them as they deliver trainings. This will
be a good step towards strengthening the skills imparted to the students.
7.4 Overall conclusions and recommendations
Although the project has achieved a lot in last three to four years, there has been little emphasis on
marketing materials, stories or publications to support it. The British Council should also be forward
thinking and look into what the foundations are doing and how to possibly get sponsorship from them to
work on different strands or perhaps even act as a local implementation partner. Finally, the British
Council should propose the project to Governments in the region as they do have funding which BC can
further explore.
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Annexure
ANNEXURE A: List of Participants
TableA 1: List of Participants
COMPETITION
WINNERS
Team 1:
Team 2
Team 3
Team 4
Organization/School
Affiliation
Name
Designation
Cell
Muhammad Nazim Zafar
Fareeda Saddique
Kanawal
Nashaba Nasir
Muhammad Khurram Abbas
Saifullah
Muhammad Rashid Kaved
Zeeshan Manzoor
Ehsan Ali
Rana Muhammad Adeel
Asia Kosar
Maham Sadia
Iqra Jabeen
Sundas Javeed
Iqra Jabeen
Ms. Sikandar
Rahila Ibrar
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
0313-7124259
0332-6635516
0315-6191655
0313-6501309
0333-6726303
0306-7222516
0334-7737863
0302-7810325
0321-8890098
0341-6292201
0312-4195627
0321-8816642
0322-3412199
0322-36-4098
0322-3412199
0341-2280882
0347-3547561
Sadia Hussain
Gulfran Ahmed
Rashid Ali
Baber Mehmood
Sadaf Saleem
Mudassir Rehman
M. Yousaf
Ubaid Anwar
Adnan
Fawad Ahmed
Basit Shah
Faiz ul Haq
Naqash
Khurram Saleem
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
Student
0345-7101022
0304-7320279
0344-2727118
0307-4893769
0313-6686039
0305-8619563
0331- 7113317
0331-7015545
0344-9008132
0313-5821828
0345-7932421
0308-8301677
0332-2934177
0303-6523716
COMPETITION
PARTICIPANTS
MASTER
TRAINERS
Mr. Sohail Abbas
Mrs. Tabassum Roohi
Mr. Imran Ashraf
Mr. Abid Ali
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0300-6206199
0300-6620063
0300-6301196
0302-7632810
Mr. Riaz
Mr. Rahmat Gull
Mr. Ahsan
Mr. Imran Nazir
Mr. Zohaib Khalil
Mrs. Shagufta Sohail
Mr. Mukhtar
Mr. Naved Jafar
Mr. Abdul Masood
Mr. Adbul Masood
Mr. Qasim Shah
Mr. Abdul Haseeb
Mr. Bilal Akhtar Khan
Ghulam Jafer
ISLAMABAD
IAG
Representative
IAG
representative
Dr. Naeem Mushtaq
Mr. Usman Mumtaz
NAVTTC
Mr. Shahid Ashraf Tarar
NAVTTC
Mr. Tariq Shafiq Chak
NAVTTC
Mr. Muhammad Riaz
NAVTTC
Javed Malik
0345-5873500
0300-5999486
0342-5574411
0345-5695394
0333-9340573
0333-3106388
0300-4605578
0300-3848326
0300-7661921
0300-9030560
0314-9041664
0302-8106837
0334-5908505
0300-766-1921
HR Manager
Director
Development
Director
General
Executive
Director
Ex-Director
General
Ex-Director
Islamabad Club
Halcrow Pak (Pvt)
Ltd
NAVTTC
NAVTTC
NAVTTC
NAVTCC
051-90461889
0321-513-5376
051-2203451
0302-2618188
051-9205816
0300-2151000
0300-5338951
KARACHI
TEVTA Sindh
Adbul Wahid Uquaily
TEVTA Sindh
Syed Nazir Ali
TEVTA Sindh
Dr. Masroor Ahmed
LAHORE
PVTC Member
IAG
Representative
Yes Network
Sajid Naseer Khan
Mr. Abdul Khalique
Mr. Ali Raza
TEVTA Punjab
Mr. Javed Iqbal
TEVTA Punjab
Mushtaq Ahmed
Ex-TEVTA
Punjab
TEVA Punjab
Ex-TEVTA
Punjab
TEVTA Punjab
99
Managing
Director
TEVTA
Director
Director
A&T
TEVTA
MD
Senior
VP/Director
CEO
GM
Academics
Manager
Training
ExChairman
Ex-Chief
Operating
Officer
PVTC
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
TEVTA
Training (Pvt) Ltd
Yes Network
TEVTA Punjab
TEVTA Punjab
TEVTA Punjab
0300-5555149
0300-2025083
0333-2156760
0300-9450000
042-35169376
042-7068219
0343-4001001
042-99263078
0333-4216064
TEVTA Punjab
0301-4489986
AJK
TEVTA (AJK)
TEVTA (AJK)
Mr. Shaukat Ali
Manzoor Kiani
TEVTA (AJK)
Zahoor-ul-Hassan Gilani
100
Director
Chairman
ExChairman
Skills for Employability- South Asia Evaluation
TEVTA (AJK)
TEVTA (AJK)
State Disaster
Management
0300-7661921
0300-9030560
0314-9041664
ANNEXURE B: References
British Council, “Clean Life Green Life- A Tale of Changing Lives”
British Council, “Skills for Employability- Bangladesh”
British Council, “Enlightening Lives: Enterprise Challenge Award 2009”
British Council, “Skills for Employability: Meeting the Global Challenge,” Leitch Review of Skills, Final
Report, HM Treasury, December 2006.
British Council Pakistan, ‘Skills for Employment,” 2011
British Council, “Skills for Education-Radio Programme”
British Council, “Market Driven Skills Standards Validated for Technical & Vocational Education,”
British Council, “Social Enterprise Award- South Asia Region,”
British Council and National Vocational and Technical Education Commission, “Meeting on Market
Driven Skills Standards Validated for Technical & Vocational Education,” Islamabad, 20th May
British Council, “Policy Dialogue in Bangladesh, Feedback from the British Council Staff,”
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ANNEXURE C: Additional Results from Pakistani Respondents
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ANNEXURE D: Focus Group Discussions with Pakistani Participants
1) The participants presented their projects briefly in the start of discussion. The project themes
included evacuate Plastic Bags, Reuse of Old Electronic Parts, Online Franchise, Domestic Bio
Gas Plant, Dengue Spray, Employment Journal, Mosquito Repellent, Solar Energy, Honey
Projection, Mushroom Cultivation and reuse of Papers. The brief detail of each project is given
in the table below:
TableD 1: Brief description of Projects of participating teams
Sr# Project Name
1.
Plastic Bags
Description
To introduce fabricated bags for reducing the use of plastic bags
which decreasing pollution from the plastic environment.
2.
Reuse of Old
Electronic Parts
To ruse the old electronic parts for efficient use of country’s
economy/ for saving country’s economy.
3.
Online Franchise
To provision of employment through online ad posting on the web
sites.
4.
Domestic Bio Gas
Plant
To provide the gas for domestic use to the villagers through Bio
Gas Plant.
5.
Dengue Spray
To introduce a spray prepared by using Metatheses for reducing
the risk of dengue in local communities.
6.
Employment Journal
To provide all the job advertisements from all the newspapers in
one journal weekly in Urdu language for people’s convenience.
7.
Mosquito Repellent
To introduce a mosquito repellent for reducing the dengue’s risk.
8.
Solar Energy Unit
To establish a solar energy unit and introduce it in residential
societies for providing electricity at cheaper cost.
9.
Nursery
To plant the seeds at lower cost for poor people in a nursery.
10.
Fabricated Houses
To make fabricated houses for Azad Kashmir affectees.
11.
Honey Production
To produce or collect honey from bees and sell at lower cost for
local community as compared to market price.
12.
Mushroom Cultivation
To cultivate the mushrooms for heart patients and which also
helps people to reduce cholesterol and fatness.
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13.
Reuse of Papers
To collect the papers from all over the community and reuse them
to a void wood cutting. Thus saving natural resources and
reducing pollution.
2) On asking about getting any kind of training or ideas from BC and YES Network for project
implementation, most of the candidates replied that they got training from YES Network and
their teachers. As Sadia Hussain stated that, “we got training by our Instructor and a proper
guideline was provided to us. The sessions were arranged for our convenience”. Another
participant Rashid also told us that they learned all the rules through the trainings provided by
their teachers.
The member of project “Dengue Spray” also participated that they were guided about the YES’s
Project by their teachers and was trained by them. For participants BS and YES Network was
like a way of hope. These organizations provided them a path to move on and start their own
businesses.
3) The participants, when asked about the learning for this competition, gave very positive
response that they have learned many good and productive lessons through this competition.
Such as, one participant mentioned that she learned how to work in team/ team work and how to
share ideas among each other. She also stated that they never even thought of starting their own
business, but after this competition, their team learned a lot that how to improve the business.
Moreover, another participant told that their learning capacity has been increased and that how to
use ideas as participant’s team worked on the project,” Reuse of Old Electronic Parts” in which
they used their brilliant idea of reusing the faulty components of electronic machines, thus saving
the country’s economy.
Babar Mehmood also told us by contributing in the discussion that because of their project
implementation their social contacts have been improved. He mentioned that every fuitful ending
needs a hardworking start and if we will work hard, we will directly benefit our community
which will also be beneficial for our future generation.
A member of project “Solar Energy Unit” who was a DAE Mechanic designed the solar energy
units for energy conservation. Added in the discussion that through this competition we got
chance to implement what ever we had in our minds for the benefits of society. They also learned
that how to use ideas and the most important encouraging factor is that many youngsters gained
self confidence after participating in this competition.
4) When the discussion com to the point of problems faced during this competition all the
participants contributed in the discussion elaborating their problems one by one.
The first participant form “Evacuate Plastic Bags” told us that her team faced problems in selling
the fabric bags as people questions a lot about the whole project. However, for this purpose they
planned to provide awareness about the project first so that they can easily conveyance the
community for purchasing fabric bags. Form the project team of “online Franchise”, a participant
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told that they face problem in project implementation when their fellows start getting jobs. As it
was an ongoing process of online and posting, the process got slow due to decrease in number of
project team members. Another problem they face is load shedding. They told us that they have
generators in their college but when they come at homes, they cannot work for longer hours due
to load shedding that badly affects their business.
A member from project “Domestic Bio Gas Plant”, added that they face problem when they
needed to dig the land 16 ft deep and 16 ft wide for plant fixing. Another participant form
“Dengue Spray Project”, added that it is very difficult to conveyance the peoples and for this
purpose awareness is the only tool to overcome this problem and that they cannot implement
their project before March or April as they need to vacant the houses for one day which not
possible in the winter season. So, the weather condition seems to be a natural problem coming in
the way of their project implementation.
The member of “employment Journal” mentioned that they are facing problems in the printing of
journal as it is costly for them to afford as they are using A4 size paper for this purpose.
Moreover, the problem continues as they cannot extend their business on larger scale due to
heavy cost involved in this project.
Mostly, the problems were related to finance or lack of awareness among people about the
projects. However, another participant from “Honey Production”, added that they faced problems
were very much expensive and their availability depends on the season. Bees are not available in
extreme winters as they cannot survive in winter season. Another problem was that whenever we
did not get food for bees, we had to provide the homemade food (indigenous food) for survival
of bees.
5) All of the participants are still running their projects. Two of them told us that they are still
waiting for the grant funds for the project implementation. One of the respondents added in the
discussion that its not only their wish that they keep on continuing their project as their business
but its also the wish of their teachers who trained them very well and want their students to
continue this program.
6) When the students were asked that do they have any plan to take over their project as their
business, all of them responded that they willingly want to take over their projects as their
business because through these projects, they are not only getting employment rather they are
also giving employment opportunities to others.
Such as, a participant, member of project “Reuse of Old Electronic Parts” said during the
discussion that they have opened a shop where they reuse the mechanical parts of machines and
sale those parts. For this purpose, they have hired some boys, whom they provide training and
gibe jobs in their shop, thus providing on opportunity of employment to others in the society.
A member of “Nursery”, added that they have built a nursery on about 3 canals of land through
which they are providing of plants at low cost. This project is not only providing the employment
opportunities to others rather it is gibing the profit of about Rs. 10,000/- per month due to this
they are planning to rent more land for the purpose of expanding nursery area.
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7) Participants very confidently discussed the benefits of their projects and the impact of their
projects on overall community. Because, their projects are really providing benefits to their
society in one or the other way.
The first participant actively said that as there are lot of factors involved in polluting the
environment where use of shopping bags is very common. It is very dangerous for our health and
is badly affecting our sewerage system. That’s why we thought of stitching fabric bags and
selling them in our community to save our environment and to provide safe and healthier
environment to community people.
Moreover, community also get involved in our project as they helped us in stitching fabric bags
and coordinated with us in promoting our project positively. She added that they will also
implement this project in other cities when they will feel that people form all over the Jhang are
completely using fabric bags instead of plastic bags, making the environment clean and healthy.
Ghufran mentioned in this discussion that his group is helping other uneducated boys of their
community by providing them training plus employment without any degree which is a very
positive initiative for improving their community’s economy.
From the project team of “online franchise”, Rashid told us that their project’s benefit to
community is that they have engaged the children/ young boys in work instead of wasting their
time.
Babar Khan also added with a pride that there was no gas in the village they live. Women were
used to ignore their children and had to spend maximum time in collection of wood through tree
cutting that was also a cause of increasing air pollution. They planned to fix the gas plant through
the use of dung cakes on a small level which will provide gas to almost 7-8 houses which is a
great achievement for them. People from their community are very happy from their project due
to the availability of gas. Moreover, the time durability of bio gas plant is 30-35 years, and
people have just to pay 2000 per month for its installation, where as they were spending 7-8
thousands per month on wood. Thus, it is very beneficial for the community, where gas
availability was not possible due to government’s ignorance.
The participants working on “Dengue Spray” and “Mosquito Repellent” added that their projects
will have very healthy effects on community.
The member of “Employment Journal”, told us in the discussion that their project is very much
useful for youth as the people belonging to their community cannot read English newspapers due
to which they cannot access every job. They collect all the ads form all the available newspapers
and translate the English ads into Urdu so that everyone can read the journal. It is a very good
initiative to provide the employment opportunities to the well acknowledged people of society
who couldn’t get employment due to lack of access and information.
Adnan said that through Nursery, people are getting enough benefit that they are now planting
they are now planting four times more plants due to easily available seeds and plants in their
surroundings. Even they do not need to travel long distances for this purpose.
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The discussion ended with the comments of last participant who was member of “Reuse of
papers”, that their project is beneficial for community in many ways. Through recycling of paper
pollution can be avoided along with the benefit of saving economy.
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