Islamabad, Dec 14 (IANS): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100-million loan to help improve technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Pakistan's Punjab province.

The Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project will help enhance the quality and relevance of TVET to increase graduates' employability, upgrade workers' skills, and ensure more equitable access to training for women and disadvantaged groups while improving management and strategic planning in TVET institutions, Xinhua news agency quoted the ADB as saying in a statement.

The ADB's project would finance the establishment of 19 TVET centers of excellence in eight priority economic sectors, including automobile assembly parts and repairs, construction, food processing, health, information and communication technology, light engineering, textiles and garments, and tourism and hospitality, the statement said.

They would provide programs with linkages to industry and deploy best practices, it added.

"The project will include the development of skills training programs using technology in response to emerging trends in the fourth industrial revolution," according to the ADB.