ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday approved Pakistan’s first Skills Impact Bond — a modern model that will attract private investment to make youth employable.
He approved the project while chairing a review meeting here on the roadmap for providing employment to the youth.
Under the new model, youth will be taught skills that are in line with contemporary requirements, which will empower and enable them to play an important role in the country’s economic development.
The model is called “Pay-for-Success”, under which public or donor funds are released only when independently verified results, such as job creation or a certain threshold of income, are achieved.
Speaking at the meeting, the prime minister directed that further steps should be taken to enhance the capacity of the youth, train them in skills that are in line with contemporary requirements, and ensure employment after training.
He expressed satisfaction at the performance of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis Affairs, National Vocational and Technical Training Commission and all related institutions, in providing employment to the youth.
He said opportunities should be provided to youth for learning the local languages of other countries to assist them in finding employment abroad.
A comprehensive roadmap based on the estimated number of job opportunities and hiring of youth in Pakistan and abroad should be presented, he said adding he will review the progress of implementation of the roadmap after every two months.
The prime minister said training of skilled people for employment abroad should be given priority.
A campaign should be launched to make the youth aware of the employment opportunities available on the Digital Youth Hub, he asserted.
He said Pakistan’s talented youth were its most valuable asset.
Providing employable education and skills to the youth will change the destiny of the country, he said adding Pakistan’s talented youth were making their country’s name shine all over the world.
The meeting was informed that the federal government, on the instructions of the Prime Minister, was taking comprehensive steps to ensure employment of youth in Pakistan and abroad along with providing skills and education to make them employable.
The participants were told about the annual estimate of employment provision to the youth in Pakistan and abroad under the new programme. The programme will empower the youth and assist them in self-sufficiency, entrepreneurship and direct job placement.
The meeting was informed that more than 500,000 people have registered under the Digital Youth Hub so far, while more than 1.7 million people have downloaded its application.
In addition to that more than 500 companies got registered. There were more than 47,000 employment opportunities in Pakistan and more than 100,000 jobs were available abroad besides availability of more than 2,000 scholarships.
More than 500 institutions, including Pakistani embassies abroad, government agencies, private companies and other NGOs, including the United Nations, are connected to the portal.
Federal Ministers Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Chairman Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Member National Assembly Amina Batool and relevant senior officials attended the meeting.
