Mr. Mehdi Hasnain has been part of “The Hunar Foundation” since its inception, and was its CEO for three years between 2017 and 2019. Currently, Mehdi is the Global Outreach President trying to project the brand vision across the world and create collaboration and fundraising opportunities.
What inspired “The Hunar Foundation” (THF)?
It is a very interesting story. The founders of “The Citizens Foundation” (TCF) are the same set of friends and family members who founded “The Hunar Foundation”. Many people do not know this but the first chairman of TCF Mr. Rashid Abdullah was also one of the founding members of THF. When TCF was fifteen years old and had about 90,000 students a year, a discussion with the TCF founders and their friends led to the question of what future the graduating students had. In the words of Mr. Aslam Khaliq, the founder of THF: “Now that we have taught them how not to dirty their hands by giving them this education, what will they earn?” Not even five percent of the children who study till the tenth grade across country end up at a university. Maybe ten percent are able to attend a college but barely any can attend a university – there are not enough universities in the country, and these kids do not have the resources to attend the existing ones. So what do we do with them?
That is where the idea came up that we need to provide them skills, so they can earn for themselves.
What is the vision behind THF?
Our vision is to enable Pakistanis through skill development. Pakistan has a bulging youth population. Almost 35% of youth is under the age of twenty-six. In fact, almost 60% of the country’s population falls in the age bracket of 18-35 years.
So the vision is to enable at least 2-4% or perhaps, in the best-case scenario 15-20% of this population with skills. Therefore, Hunar has set up some small short-term goals, such as trying to train 100,000 men and women per year by 2032. Each batch of 100,000 skilled graduates will provide an input of Rs. 30 billion to Pakistan’s economy.
With the help of our supporters, we hope to produce 500,000 skilled workers by the year 2035.
What courses does THF offer?
Hunar offers fourteen different courses for men, five courses for women, and about seven courses are offered to both men and women.
Most courses for men last from 4 to 6 months, but some take about a year. These include refrigeration and air condition maintenance training. Other courses offered include solar panel installation, electronic and electrical technology such as wiring in homes and buildings, plumbing, piping technicians that can work in factories, and mechanical fabricators that can work on lathe machines and welding machines. Furthermore, we offer a one-year course on handling computerized numerical machines, which are heavily used in automated manufacturing, such as the automotive industry. These are expensive machines and one worker on one machine can make several thousand parts a day.
For women, we have courses on skills of a beautician, on stitching and also hairdressing.
For both men and women, we have got call center customer service, computerized courses, animations, graphics, robotics and 3-D printing courses. We have also initiated courses in collaboration with the Indus Hospital for medical and lab technicians. The goal is to take it to a curriculum of fifty different courses that can be taught across various campuses.
How many institutes does THF currently have?
Hunar currently has eight institutes. Four of them are in Karachi: two for girls and two for boys. The other four are in Multan, Lahore, Tando Allahyar, and Khariyan.
Two more institutes are being set up and will be operational from early next year, Insha’Allah. One of them is in Karachi and the other is in Mansehra.
Thus, Hunar is the largest private sector vocational training foundation in the country.
Who is qualified to enroll in the skill development?
For both boys and girls to qualify, matriculation has to be completed. Then they have to pass a test, so we can assess their acumen and place them according to their interests. We also look for basic math, communication, and speaking skills, and rudimentary English. Through our courses, these skills are enhanced, since they are needed in any job, even at a worker and technician level.
What are the top three skills you are offering to the people?
The first of the top three skills we are offering is air-conditioning and refrigeration maintenance. We all know people who started by working in our homes as technicians, but now have air-conditioners installed in their own homes. Everyone who is driving a taxi cab probably has an air-conditioner in their home as well. So it is a fast growing field, and jobs are easy to come by.
Secondly, for women, it is beauty and hair dressing. They can become self-employed and freelance from home. Additionally, they can get very good jobs at beauty salons and spas.
Thirdly, the Computerized Numerically Controlled Manufacturing (CNC Manufacturing) course is very high in demand.
Who teaches your trainees?
The training experts need a very unique skills set. Often, we hire tradesmen and teach them how to train these girls and boys. For example, you get a very good hairdresser from a salon and teach her how to schedule courses, how to communicate and conduct classes, and give hands-on training.
Our teachers are actually trained through a 15-20 days course, before they start conducting classes.
Alternatively, we hire a teacher from an engineering or vocational college. We give them hands-on training and make a tradesman out of them, so that when they teach, they can give practical examples. The teachers for such courses are hard to come by. You really have to invest in teacher development as well.
Sometimes, our own graduates, who have worked in industries, come back for teaching. They enroll in the “Train the Trainer” courses and become excellent teachers.
Has THF taught you any lessons?
Whenever one engages in any cause, one realizes that whatever we have earned and gained in life through academics and experiences that have developed our personality, we must return to our society. This is where real happiness and positive contribution comes from.
Can you please share some of the many success stories close to your heart?
There have been many success stories. Back in 2017, there was a young girl, whose marriage was not very successful, and she had a little child. A year-and-half after enrolling in Hunar Foundation, she opened her own beauty salon in her home and was supporting herself. After a couple of years, she even returned to Hunar Foundation and taught as a teacher.
Another story very close to my heart occurred in 2018 when I was the CEO. We used to hold job fairs where we invited industries to set up stalls in the Hunar campuses. The current students and alumnus both were invited to find jobs. At the fair, I saw a student who I knew had graduated a year ago, talking to other students. So I called him and assumed he had unfortunately not yet landed a job. He smiled at me and said: “No sir, I am here to hire more graduates.”
That really surprised me and I wanted to know his success story. He replied: “I have founded a small electrical contracting firm and I have started to take electrical contracts in Bahria Township. I am here to hire a few graduates to work with me.” He was an electoral graduate from the Tariq Road Hunar campus, and here he was making probably more than 50-60,000 a month and was willing to pay around 20-30,000 per month to these graduates, too. This was truly an inspirational story of what impact Hunar or any such skills training could make.
If someone wishes to donate or volunteer for the cause, whom should they contact?
If somebody wishes to donate to Hunar or volunteer at Hunar, they can always approach us through our Facebook page, LinkedIn or our website. You can message us, if you want to make a cash donation, donate used machines or sponsor a building or a workshop. Someone will get in touch with you. We also have Hunar Foundation USA and Canada Facebook pages and websites.
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