ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the PM on Youth Affairs Usman Dar on Saturday informed Prime Minister Imran Khan that employment has been provided to over 100,000 youths over the past two years.

Presenting the two-year progress report on the Kamyab Jawan National Youth Development Programme to the prime minister, Mr Dar said over Rs35 billion was also distributed among the youths from October 2019 to October this year.

He said five more pro-youth initiatives would be launched soon under the programme. The design of the programme’s initiative called Vision 2030 was being prepared. By 2023, the programme will be the biggest source for providing employment and promoting businesses in the country, the special assistant said.

The prime minister stressed the need for taking all-out measures for the inclusion of youths in all sectors to enable them to contribute to the goal of better future. The government was focusing on exploiting the energy of youths for socio-economic development of the country.

The report says Rs30bn was distributed under the youth entrepreneurship scheme alone. The amount was distributed among youths across the country purely on merit and in a transparent manner, it says.

During the two-year period, 22,000 new businesses were started, and 50,000 people gained direct employment.

Mr Dar said 16,617 young beneficiaries have received business loans through the Kamyab Jawan Youth Entrepreneurship Programme.

The report says Rs5bn was sanctioned under the Kamyab Jawan Skill Scholarship, and over 100,000 youths were imparted with latest technical know-how.

It says that 95,710 individuals have been awarded scholarships under the ‘Kamyab Jawan Skill Scholarship Programme’ across Pakistan. These individuals come from various demographics and fields of work.

Over 68 per cent of the country’s population is below the age of 30 and the government was striving for converting this huge population into a great asset to benefit from their capabilities through education and skill training.

The absence of youth-centred initiatives and policies during the previous regimes led to increasing grievances and deprivation among the young generation, Usman Dar said in the report.

Skills for All (Hunarmand Pakistan) Programme of Rs10bn was initiated in January 2020 to strengthen the quality of technical and vocational education and training. The purpose of this programme is to equip young people with market-driven conventional and high-tech skills required for career profession, the report says.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2021