ROLE OF CPEC IN HUMAN RESOURCE AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT

What kind of skills should Pakistan invest in to prepare its workforce for CPEC-related
projects? While there may not be an exact answer, but based on available information it is
possible to draw some broad conclusions. Before seeing the details of these possibilities let us
see what kind of oppurtunities shall be made aval for human resource management. These can
be broadly categorized into three major areas.

EARLY HARVEST PROJECTS First comes the infrastructure-related jobs created by CPEC
investments in roads, energy projects, Gwadar port, etc. It is estimated that the early harvest
CPEC projects have already created 30,000 to 70,000 jobs for Pakistani workforce. These
include 16,000 laborer and engineers in CPEC energy projects and 13,000 in transport and road
sector. It has also been estimated that CPEC may bring as many as 400,000 to 700,000 direct
jobs for Pakistanis in the years to come but in order to prepare the local workforce for these
opportunities, we need to have a strategy in place. We need to strike a balance and prepare the
local workforce for jobs in port and airport operations, transport facilitation and logistics sectors
in partnership with relevant Chinese companies. Anecdotal evidence suggests that high skilled
jobs within these projects remain with Chinese workers. The reason is the absence of requisite
skills in the local labor pool. So in initial stages there is a need to offer training in softer skills to
existing workers to make them suitable to work in Chinese enterprises and train local labors to
generate better skilled labor of our own who can these Chinese workers in future. It is estimated
that poor performance of the transport sector results in a loss of 4-6 per cent of GDP annually for
Pakistan.

INDUSTRIAL PROJECTS The second set of jobs would relate to Chinese investments in
industry, agriculture and other sectors. Similarly, China Overseas Ports Holding Company
recently disclosed that about 20-30 companies have joined the Gwadar free zone with direct
investment of $460 million in hotels, banking, logistics and fish- processing sectors. Early
evidence suggests that textile and garments, household appliances, cement, light industrial and
transportation machinery, mining and agri-businesses are likely to be priority sectors for Chinese
investment.

SIDE BUSINESSES TO MEET CHINEESE NEEDS The third area pertains to meeting the
everyday needs of the incoming Chinese population. According to official estimates, there are
about 60,000 Chinese living in Pakistan, a six-fold increase since 2009. They need restaurants,
grocery stores, cultural activities and educational facilities besides interpreters and domestic
staff. Almost all large metropolitans of the world have China towns, catering to the needs of
Chinese communities and Pakistan is likely to see its own share of these Chinese localities in
the years to come.

The Job oppurtunities and skill sets that shall be req to max from CPEC is listed below:
EXPPECTATIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
FROM CPEC

ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE
 Strength of any country’s economy is measured through it road infrastructure. Road
infrastructure projects are the primary projects of CPEC. Skilled labor required for the
projects under the infrastructure of roads include Senior Executives, Business Process
managers, Construction Managers, Building Specialist, Surveyors, Project Managers,
Quality Engineers, Civil Engineers, and Technical Staff. Thus, the technical and vocational
institutes are ready to train further labor force of Pakistan in order to meet the demand for
the upcoming projects.
RIALWAYS INFRASTRUCTURE
Rail Routes are one of the fastest land transportation systems, and they can carry a lot more
burden than any other motorized system. It is estimated to increase a massive amount of
employment opportunities for skilled and non-skilled labor force within the areas it will
pass. An estimate of 8 labors per kilometer are required for successfully running the
system. The categories of skilled labor required for these projects include Signal Support
Staff, Electrical Engineers, Project Managers, Communication Engineers, Electricians and
Civil Engineers.
COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE
Fiber optic is a way of transmitting data from one part of a country to another. Thus,
installation of this Cross Border Optical Fiber Cable also comes under the scope of CPEC
which is estimated to increase the number of skilled staff in the fields of Project managers,
ICT Engineers and electronics/ electrical Engineers in order to run the projects with
smooth functioning. The work on this project has already been started, and is expected to
Domestic Workers 42% & Foreign Workers 58% Composition of Labor in Constructional
Phase
.
ENERGY SECTORS
Pakistan as a country is struggling due to Energy Shortage. Therefore, a high amount of
focus is being paid on the energy related projects which will create energy through Coal,
Hydro and wind. The Category of skilled labor required for these projects include Civil
Engineers, Electrical Engineers, General Managers, Safety Engineers, Maintenance
Engineers, Foreman and Operators etc. A vast number of Pakistani civil and electrical
engineers could grab these opportunity, as investors would prefer to decrease their total
cost by hiring more and more of Local skilled labors by further enhancing their abilities
and providing them concerned trainings.
GAWADER CITY
Gwadar is a port city located in the south of Baluchistan, due to its strategic location and
deep sea port it is an ideal location to serve as a heart of Belt and Road initiative
decreasing the distance of trade routes of OBOR to minimum. In detail, the category of
technical and skilled staff required for Gwadar projects include Engineers, Quality Control
Officers, Hydro Graphic Officers, Counselor-Terminal, Customer Services, Mechanic-
Aerospace, Mechanic-Avionics, Marine Scientists, and Shipmen etc. Along with these an
estimated of minimum 0.1 million construction related labor force is required for the
construction of these projects.
TOURISM
Regional Integration and Cultural Connectivity plays a vital role in making world a global
village. Pakistan is full of high potential youth which is ready to enhance the learning
horizons, and explore the vast beauty of different cultures and norms. These projects
 include people to people exchanges, Tourism Promotion, Trade Promotions, and
Establishment of Pakistan Academy of social Sciences and China Pakistan Consortium of
Business Schools. However, the focus group of technical staff includes Professors,
Teachers, Scholars, Tourists Guides, Restaurant Managers, Investment Consultants, and
Trade Promotion Specialists Etc.
INDUSTRIALIZATION (SEZ)
Building special Economic Zones in order to promote industrialization is the key to de
government decided to include the development of the nine Special Economic Zones under
the project of CPEC. These SEZs require technical staff which include Civil Engineers,
Electrical Engineers, General Managers, Safety Engineers, Maintenance Engineers,
Electrical Engineers, Electrical Trades and Installation Specialist, HVAC Engineers,
Foreman/ supervisors and prime Mover Operator etc. The SEZs are designed to use 70% of
their area for industrial zones and the remaining 30% is allocated for the housing and
employee’s facilitation.
1.
HOW CHINESE ARE HELPING US IN SKILL DEV AND HRD? 3 parts
The official said that the cooperation was being extended with a special focus on boosting
cooperation in the areas of climate change, desertification control, desalination, water
management, ecological restoration, wildlife protection, forestry industry development,
disaster management and risk reduction and other areas of mutual interest.
According to a report by Deloitte in 2017, CPEC will create 700,000 jobs for Pakistan
from 2015 to 2030.

First is vocational training and education.The Chinese companies shared advanced

techniques and successful experience to help Pakistan transform its human resources into
advantages. The Chinese companies have sponsored thousands Pakistani students to study
in China with scholarships and sent hundreds of Pakistani engineers and professionals to
China for training. In 2016, there were 19,000 Pakistani students studying at Chinese
universities, making Pakistan the fourth largest source of international students in the
country..China Fund for Peace and Development (CFPD) has built the Faqeer primary
school in Gwadar, which is known as "Chinese Pakistan Friendship school".

Second is medical care. A CPEC emergency medical center was set up in Gwadar port in May,
2017. It was donated and run by the Chinese Red Cross Foundation with a top class Chinese
medical team working there, providing local residents with necessary first aid treatment and free
medical examinations for local primary school students. Many Chinese companies have also
donated medicine to residents near the project, and provided free medical examinations to the
local people.

Third is mini projects for uplifting the living standards of poor people across different parts of
Pakistan. Chinese companies are actively exerting their own advantages to build bridges and drill
wells for residents to help them solve water and travel problems.

Some of important steps taken in wake of skill development and Human Resource
Development (HRD) are as follows:
VOCATIONAL TRG INSTITUTES AT KPK:
Four centers will be established in Peshawar as well as north and south regions of KPK.
It has been planned to construct a technical training institute under the CPEC at Yar
Hussain,
In the initial phase, short courses in the Chinese language would be offered while gradually
the training program will begin to impart training in various trades.
Chinese authorities have also agreed to give training to more than one lakh people
belonging to KPK in various trades under an internship programme.

VOCATUIONAL TRG INSTITUTES AT GAWADER:

The Ministry of Ports and Shipping will establish Pak-China Technical and Vocational
Training Institute at Gwadar under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project
in a bid to produce skilled manpower for the deep-sea port. The institute will help fulfilling
technical and skilled manpower requirements of the port after the development of
industrial projects including the Gwadar Port Free Zone, Export Processing Zone and other
industrial and port-related projects.
JOB CREATION AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

In order to promote economic development and employment of Pakistan, Chinese companies

also subcontract a large number of projects to local Pakistani companies. This also develops
relevant upstream and downstream industries, such as raw material processing, catering industry
which also provide more employment opportunities for local people.