Feature: Chinese vocational college in Pakistan promotes skill development, career pathways

This photo taken on July 29, 2024 shows a view of the Sahiwal Coal-fired Power Plant in Sahiwal district of Pakistan’s east Punjab province. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) — With an investment of 26 million yuan (3.6 million U.S. dollars), the Huaneng Pakistan Vocational and Technical College established by Sahiwal coal-fired power plant, a flagship project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in eastern Sahiwal district of Pakistan, has been helping the younger generation to improve employment skills and broaden career paths.
The vocational and training college was built by the Chinese operator of the 1,320-megawatt Sahiwal coal-fired power plant, one of the most efficient coal-fired power plants in Pakistan with advanced technology and best environmental protection indicators, helping Pakistan ensure energy security through its clean and cheap power generation.
Bracing the scorching peak summer heat as temperatures in Sahiwal reached up to 44 degrees Celsius, Muhammad Ramzan, currently working as a vice operator at the coal-handling department of the power plant, had to make do with a meager salary he was getting while working a 12-hour-long shift at a petrol station before joining the Sahiwal power station.
“I am the breadwinner for my family consisting of seven members. I studied until 10th grade and was searching for some opportunity to enhance my skills without any cost. Luckily, I got to know about the training center and enrolled myself in the Chinese language class. Later, I got a scholarship for an advanced Chinese language course to further improve my Chinese language skills in China,” Ramzan told Xinhua.
After coming back from China, Ramzan got an opportunity to work at a fuel handling department of Sahiwal coal-fired power plant, changing his life for good.
“Not only did I improve my Chinese language, I learned a lot about machines from my Chinese colleagues. They helped me to grow significantly — I started off as a Chinese language student, then buckle wheel operator, and now I am the vice operator at the coal handling department by improving my skills starting from the training college. I am quite optimistic about making great strides in the years to come.”
In a conversation with Xinhua, Hafiz Muhammad Shahzad, a senior officer of the college and human resource manager at the power plant, said that so far over 6,000 locals have been trained and improved their employment skills in various disciplines including Chinese language, computer applications, electricians, mechanics, welding and fire safety and others.
He said that the vocational and training college has collaborated with top local universities such as the University of Engineering and Technology of Lahore and Punjab University, providing free training bases for university students of specialized careers at par with high standards.
Highlighting the robust training process for youth, Li Yanlu, vice principal of the college and head of the administration department of the Sahiwal power plant, said that the college imparts valuable and more practical professional skills to students to achieve ambitious career goals.
“After students learn basic knowledge such as theoretical learning, they are referred to the equipment maintenance operation workshop in the power plant for practical training. By using the method of theoretical and practical training, students can better master skills required to work at power plants and other industrial enterprises, especially enterprises under CPEC,” he said.
With his interesting and facilitating teaching style, the classroom of Sajjid Bashir, a teacher at the vocational college and senior executive of fire safety at the power plant, was all lit up during a question and answer time.
“I am diligently training every student who comes here and every time when I see my students are making accomplishments in their professional lives, I feel my hard work pays off,” he told Xinhua.
Sajjid, who himself started as a firefighter at the power plant, said that his painstaking efforts and devotion bore fruit over the period of time, eventually being promoted to the senior-most position at a fire safety department, adding that many others also joined the power station at basic positions and gradually got promoted to management positions through the training by the Chinese staff and engineers.
Among the nearly 800 Pakistani employees working at the power station, there are more than 200 engineers, and currently, 26 of them have moved to the vital positions of management, production, and others, said Chen Wei, vice president of Huaneng Pakistan Company, the operator of the power plant.
With excellent training and performance, Pakistani employees have become the main force in the production and operation of the Sahiwal power station, accounting for nearly 80 percent, he added.
Hamza Yaqoob, an intern at the vocational college and student of mechanical engineering at the COMSATS University, Sahiwal campus, is all set to join the Pakistani workforce with first-hand and practical knowledge of machines and their components.
“I am a final-year student of mechanical engineering at COMSATS University and attending a six-week course at the training school run by the Chinese company. Other than theoretical classes, we get to visit site areas of the power plant. I learned how turbines, boilers, condensers and generators actually work. The teachers here helped us gain an understanding of the different techniques we needed to master in our professional life,” Hamza told Xinhua.
“The college administration also provides free-of-cost residence, transportation and meals, so we can completely focus on our goals without being worried about anything else,” he said, hoping to bring his best out and contribute towards the development of Pakistan. ■

A drone photo taken on July 28, 2024 shows a view of the Sahiwal Coal-fired Power Plant in Sahiwal district of Pakistan’s east Punjab province. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

An aerial drone photo taken on July 29, 2024 shows the compound of Huaneng Pakistan Vocational and Technical College at the Sahiwal Coal-fired Power Plant in Sahiwal district of Pakistan’s east Punjab province. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

Students attend a training class at Huaneng Pakistan Vocational and Technical College at the Sahiwal Coal-fired Power Plant in Sahiwal district of Pakistan’s east Punjab province, July 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)