Ashtar Trade Test & Technical Training Centre

Ashtar Trade Test & Technical Training Centre is a skills training institute on Usman Ghani Road in Multan, near Brite Hall School. Most people who walk in have one goal: pass a trade test and land a job in the Gulf. The whole centre is set up around that.

Training is hands-on. The centre says around 90% of course time is practical, and that's what you want for welding or pipe fitting, where the trade test is about what you can actually do with the torch or the pipe in front of an examiner. Trainees practise the same tasks they'll face on test day.

Courses:

• 6G Welding (SMAW, TIG, MIG)
• Electrician
• Plumber
• Pipe Fitter and Pipe Fabricator
• Mechanical Fitter
• Safety Officer (HSE)
• Steel Fixer
• Civil Surveyor
• Shuttering Carpenter and Mason

Shahid Abbas founded the centre and still runs it as CEO. It's government registered and ISO 9001 certified, and the welding and fitting courses follow AWS and ASME standards. Students from outside Multan can stay in the hostel. The centre also helps with job placement once training is done, and past trainees have gone on to sit trade tests for large Gulf employers.

Fees and course lengths vary by trade and by batch, so it's best to ask directly. One former welding student described a three-month 6G course, which gives a rough idea. The website also has free tools for workers, such as welding parameter and Ohm's law calculators.

If you're thinking of joining, visit the workshop before you pay. Look at the welding booths, ask how many students share one machine, and ask which trade test centres they send people to. A good centre will happily show you around and answer those questions.

Call or WhatsApp 0300-7365255 (or 0300-7322762), or email ashtartradetestcenter@gmail.com. Counsellors reply on WhatsApp at any hour.