For the first time, the PGFRC is offering targeted programmes for vulnerable groups. The programmes include training that prepares budding entrepreneurs for self-employment. The Culinary Arts Training, for example, goes far beyond cooking.

Ayesha holds her certificate in her hands. She is proud because she has successfully passed the Culinary Arts Training. Together with 21 other participants, she spent 30 days practising more than just cooking: she also learned everything she needed to know to start her own business.

The path to self-employment in the catering industry

One of the programmes offered by the PGFRC in collaboration with local colleges and vocational training centres is Culinary Arts Training. The idea is not only to teach participants how to cook, but to provide them with thorough preparation for self-employment.

The local partner is the Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (ITHM) in Faisalabad. The ITHM is the only government-recognised institute in the country that offers high-quality training in the fields of culinary arts, travel, tourism and hotel management. According to Nighat Aziz, Advisor and Gender Equality Contact at the PGFRC, participants are provided with the necessary technology and equipment to get started. "Additional training in business development and marketing is also provided," she explains.

Looking forward to opening their own café

One of the 22 participants in the Culinary Arts Training in Faisalabad is Waqas. After spending five years in Germany and having his asylum application rejected for the second time, the 40-year-old returned to Pakistan.

Waqas finds the content of the course very comprehensive: "At ITHM we learn more than cooking. We learn how to run a business successfully and how best to deal with customers. The trainers also show us how to develop a business strategy and how to prepare for different seasons."

At the end of the training, there is a ceremony and everyone receives a certificate. "I am very grateful for the support. I've always loved cooking and I bring a lot of experience," says Waqas. In Germany, he had already worked as a pizza maker in a restaurant. "I am very happy. Whoever completes the Culinary Arts Training will not only get the start-up package for cooking with various knives and cooking aprons, but also their own food truck. And then it really takes off!"

"I want to work for myself"

Participant Fazeelat also needed a new perspective. The mother of four, who is around 40, comes from a small village near the town of Shahkot, about 50 kilometres from Faisalabad.

"My husband and I moved to Faisalabad a few years ago to provide schooling for our children. Since then, I also have to work so that we can afford to live here. Since we moved here, I have worked for others as a maid and sometimes as a cook," Fazeelat says. She is looking forward to running the food truck and being financially independent. "Because I want to work for myself now, not just for others."

As of: 07/2023