PITAD conducts a comprehensive nine months Specialized Training Program (STP) for the newly inducted officers of Commerce and Trade Group (CTG) after completing their Common Training Programme (CTP) at civil services Academy, Lahore. STP is a mandatory component of training for a civil servant of Pakistan; PITAD has trained hundreds of CTG officers. Given the significance of foreign remittance in terms of exportable goods and services, fully trained officers of CTG are playing instrumental roles in enhancing the trade horizon for Pakistani goods in international area. The training modules are selected diligently, which enable them to deal with intricate international trade matters in a competitive manner. The training modules are comprised of the following specialized trade subjects:

1. International trade theory and practice

2. Issues in Pakistan’s economy and potential export sectors

3. Evaluation of multilateral trading system and WTO agreements.

4. Trade development practices in Pakistan, Public Policy and Practice.

5. Regulatory framework of business in Pakistan

6. Global Marketing, export management and supply chain management

7. Export procedures, promotion, logistics and compliance issues.

8. Trade diplomacy and market intelligence.

9. Office Procedures, secretarial instructions and Rules of Business

STP is a blend of academics and field work that includes industrial visit, country study tours; interactive sessions with foreign mission; attachment with government departments (Ministry of Commerce TDAP); leading industries of the country Eminent scholars of the field are engaged. For better understanding of the international trade environment, special international language courses are arranged.

Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development conducts Domain Specific Training Component of the Mid-Career Management Course for Commerce and Trade Group officers. As part of strengthening and reorganization of training institutes, the task force on Austerity and Restructuring of Government proposed the bifurcation of MCMC in 2020. The DST component has been devised in a manner to enable the Mid-Career level officers of Commerce and Trade Service to develop technical skills, enhance their professional knowledge base to improve public service delivery employing the tools and policies through which the public policy objectives of the CTG and trade development are realized.  PITAD has successfully conducted five Domain Specific Trainings for CTG officers of 30-35th MCMC. Besides classroom lectures, the training programme includes workshops, special training sessions by ITC, Research Based Analysis Paper, Trade Data analytics workshops and visits to public and private sector organizations.

PITAD conducts a pre-departure training programme for the newly selected Trade and Investment Officers to be posted in Pakistan’s missions abroad. After the one-month in house training at PITAD, the officers proceed for Country Study Tours to various parts of the country. It is pivotal for them to acquire knowledge of the developments in their respective field, so that they can contribute in upgrading the trade and investment profile of the country.

The training aims to: 

1. Familiarize the participants with International Trade and its role in enhancing country’s exports and opportunities & challenges faced by Pakistan’s economy.

2. Identify trade diplomacy as the key factor in developing connections with other nations and earning recognition in world market.

3. Sensitize the officers on WTO, multilateral arrangements, key agreements of WTO and trade defence mechanism.

4 Familiarize them with the issues and challenges faced by Pakistan’s information technology and tourism sectors and to discuss the way forward.

5. Equip them with all the relevant information regarding issues and challenges faced by Trade officers working abroad.

6. Share information about the investment climate in Pakistan and significant role of investment promotion in uplifting the socio-economic indicators. Etc.

PITAD conducts capacity building training programmes for officers of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan including the Post Induction Training of their newly inducted Assistant Managers. The training is held for 2 months and the course module is designed on lines of STP of Commerce and Trade officers. The Assistant Managers of TDAP are imparted training in trade related disciplines, working of Ministry of Commerce and its attached departments and export sectors of Pakistan. The aim is to sharpen their skills and enable them to handle the official business of TDAP. These officers play a vital role in promotion of Pakistan’s trading activities with the world.

The training covers the following areas to build their skills and competencies needed for career progression:-

1. An insight about the country’s economic situation, trade profile, prevailing business environment, and regional trading environment.

2. The investment climate in Pakistan and significant role of investment promotion in uplifting the socio-economic indicators.

3. Trade promotion tools and export management.

4. Data analysis tools to help them in carrying out basic research on particular products/country/sector.

5. The policy framework of Ministry of Commerce and its attached departments.

6. International Trade and the country’s exports, opportunities and challenges faced by Pakistan economy.

7. Issues and challenges faced by various product sectors and the way forward.

8. The mandate and working of various relevant governments departments (rules, regulation) and private state holders.

PITAD conducts training of Afghan officials from Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Afghanistan. A comprehensive training programme is organised in which the Afghan officials are imparted training in modern trade dynamics, trade promotion tools and international trading practices, multilateral trading and opportunities and challenges in Pak-Afghan bilateral trade. During the course of their training, the officers interact with key stakeholders from public and private sectors.

The training focuses on:

1. Enhancing participants understanding of modern international and regional trade dynamics and trends.

2. Provision of basic knowledge of trade development, trade promotion and international trading practices.

3. Acquainting the participants with concepts of regional economic integration and trading blocs.

4. Introduction to multilateral trading system and its obligations.

5. The importance, opportunities and challenges of Pak-Afghan bilateral trade.

6. International conventions, payment methods and accepted norms under WTO

7. Understanding of Intellectual Property Rights.

In addition to the above-mentioned trainings, PITAD conducts capacity building training programmes for Mid-Career officers of MoC. These trainings include tariff rationalization and tariff analysis, FATF guidance regarding counter proliferation and associated UNSC sanctions, trade data analysis, market and product report writing, and FTA analysis, human resource management for officers of Trading Corporation of Pakistan. In collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC), PITAD has conducted seminars on Pakistan’s Free Trade Agreements and Women Entrepreneurship.

In collaboration with Domestic Commerce Wing of Ministry of Commerce, PITAD has conducted training on domestic commerce which is vital for the economic development of the country. Participants have been invited from Punjab, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Sindh, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The training module covered areas on market survey, issues and challenges faced by small businessmen, role of SME’s in economic development and initiatives taken by Ministry of Commerce.