Sequencing skills and degrees

PAKISTAN’S education debate is stuck in a false choice: universities or vocational training. Successful economies never choose. They build both. The real question, one Pakistan can no longer afford to avoid, is sequencing: where should scarce public resources go first to deliver faster growth, better jobs, higher exports. rising incomes in an economy struggling with low productivity and limited fiscal space?

This matters because Pakistan’s core economic constraint is not a shortage of talent. It is a shortage of productive capabilities. Employers struggle to find technicians, supervisors, machine operators, digital specialists and agricultural extension workers. Meanwhile, graduates with degrees but few practical skills struggle to find meaningful work. The problem is structural: education. training have not been aligned with the sectors where Pakistan has, or could build, comparative advantage.

Economic history is clear. Countries do not innovate their way to prosperity before they learn to produce efficiently. They first build productive capacity, raise skills, increase incomes and then climb the value chain. South Korea, China. Vietnam all invested heavily in workforce capabilities long before they became hubs of research, innovation and advanced technology.

Universities and technical training play different but complementary roles. Higher education fuels innovation. The US demonstrates how world-class universities and research institutions generate new technologies and entirely new industries. Technical and vocational skills convert ideas into commercially viable products and services. China’s rise was built not only on engineers. scientists but also on millions of skilled technicians, machinists and production specialists capable of transforming knowledge into reliable and affordable products at scale.

Pakistan’s goal should not be to maximise degrees or training certificates. It should be to maximise productivity.

Pakistan has not built either pillar at sufficient scale. It lacks the research depth of advanced economies and simultaneously faces acute shortages of practical skills. That is why the immediate priority must be to strengthen the skills base required to raise productivity in sectors where Pakistan can compete today — while steadily improving universities. will drive innovation tomorrow.

The productivity gap illustrates the urgency. World Bank and ILO data show that Vietnam’s workers generate roughly twice the output of Pakistani workers. The difference is not talent. It is stronger technical capabilities, better management, faster technology adoption and deeper integration into global value chains.

Bangladesh offers another stark comparison. Pakistan grows the cotton that Bangladesh imports, yet Bangladesh’s apparel exports far exceed Pakistan’s textile and apparel exports. The reason is not natural endowments but workforce skills, factory productivity, quality assurance, compliance systems and integration with global buyers.

This is especially evident in Pakistan’s own textile sector, which is the country’s largest export industry. Most firms work on customer-provided designs, specifications and compliance requirements. The competitive edge lies not in original design or innovation. in the ability to convert raw materials into the exact product that global buyers demand. This requires skilled machine operators, pattern makers, quality controllers, dyeing and finishing specialists and production managers. Productivity in textiles rises not when more degrees are issued, but when practical skills, technology adoption. shop-floor management improve the value of production.

The same lesson can be seen in pharmaceuticals, a sector where Pakistan has the potential to become far more competitive. Most medicines are manufactured under globally established formulations and quality standards. Competitiveness depends on production quality, regulatory compliance, laboratory capabilities, process engineering and supply chain management. The productivity gains come from skilled technicians, laboratory specialists and production managers as much as from scientists and researchers.

The lesson is clear: comparative advantage creates opportunity; productivity determines whether that opportunity is captured.

For Pakistan, this points to a logical sequence of priorities. The first task is to raise productivity in sectors where the country already has strong foundations: agriculture. food processing, livestock, information technology and IT-enabled services, tourism, mining, pharmaceuticals and selected manufacturing activities. These sectors require practical skills that can be developed faster and at lower cost than expanding traditional university education alone.

Agriculture is a prime example. Future growth will come not from adding workers to the current acreage but from higher yields, better seeds, improved water management, mechanisation, livestock genetics, cold-chain logistics. food processing. These advances require agricultural technicians, farm managers, veterinarians, irrigation specialists and food technologists. Optimal use of water will also enable growth of cultivated acreage and thus create jobs.

The same logic applies to technology-enabled services. Artificial intelligence will automate some routine tasks but will also create demand for higher-value skills in software development, cybersecurity, cloud computing, data analytics. AI implementation.

This is why Pakistan’s goal should not be to maximise degrees or training certificates. It should be to maximise productivity. Educational institutions, vocational programmes and public spending should be judged by their contribution to employment, productivity growth and export competitiveness. Funding should increasingly follow outcomes rather than enrolment, with institutions rewarded for placing graduates into productive employment.

Universities remain essential. They produce the scientists, engineers, researchers. business leaders who will eventually enable Pakistan to move into more sophisticated and innovative activities. But productivity growth cannot wait for that future. It must begin with building the skills that businesses need today.

Pakistan’s greatest constraint is its productive capability. The country’s future competitiveness will depend less on how many degrees it awards. more on how effectively it equips its people to create value. Getting that sequence right may be the most important economic reform of all.

The writer is a former CEO of Unilever Pakistan and of the Pakistan Business Council.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2026