Technical & Vocational Training in Pakistan
Free and subsidised skill-training courses — from electrical work and welding to IT and beauty/tailoring trades — run through Pakistan’s technical and vocational training system. Here’s how the pieces fit together and where to apply.
The National Vocational & Technical Training Commission is the federal regulator that sets standards and often funds free short courses (including under the PM’s Youth Skills Development Programme) delivered through partner institutes nationwide.
Punjab’s own Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority runs Government Technical Training Institutes and Centres, offering courses from 6 months up to 2 years.
Sindh runs its own STEVTA, and Balochistan runs B-TEVTA, each with province-specific institutes and course listings.
Enrolled students at Abrar Academy School also get access to free basic skill classes on the same campus — a smaller-scale, no-extra-fee alternative alongside the government TVET system.
NAVTTC vs TEVTA — what’s the difference?
NAVTTC sets national standards and often funds free training places, but it doesn’t run the training centres itself in most cases — that’s done by provincial bodies like TEVTA (Punjab), STEVTA (Sindh) and B-TEVTA (Balochistan), plus private partner institutes. In practice, a “NAVTTC free course” and a “TEVTA course” can be the exact same class, funded and regulated differently but delivered at the same technical training institute.