The Centre is commonly known as Pak-Swiss Training Centre or PSTC. It was a joint project of Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), Govt. of Pakistan and the Swiss Foundation for Technical Assistance (SWISSCONTACT), Govt. of Switzerland.
Pakistan had given consideration early in 1962 to approach Switzerland for a joint project in one of the advance fields of engineering techniques. The specialty of Precision Mechanics and Instrumentation was selected and an agreement signed in 1963 between the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Swiss Foundation for Technical Assistance, Zurich to establish in Karachi a Training Centre, which will produce technicians in the field of Precision Mechanics and Instrument Technology. The Institute opened its doors on the 6th September, 1965 and consequently first batch of 24 students was admitted in 3 years Diploma of Associate Engineer in Instrument Technology, duly recognized by the Sindh Board of Technical Education.
The cost of Centre was borne partly by Swiss Foundation for Technical Assistance, in the form of 10 Swiss Experts and machines and equipment worth over 1.4 million Swiss Franks, and partly by Government of Pakistan in the form of Workshop and Office Building, Hostel and other local expenditure costing over 1 million Pak rupees and also day to day recurring expenditure.