BAJAUR: Speakers at the inaugural ceremony of a Digital Marketplace and E-commerce training programme for youth here on Friday stressed the need for young people to equip themselves with modern modes of commerce to compete in the new era of global business.
The ceremony, organised under the District Youth Affairs Department’s Youth Skills Development Training Programme, was held at the Government College of Management Sciences, Khar.
Deputy commissioner Adnan Farid Afridi, additional deputy commissioner (general) Shahid Rafique Gandapur, Khar assistant commissioner Irshad Khan, district youth officer Fawad Ahmad, professors Mohammad Ayub, Shafiullah, Hidayatullah, Samiullah Khan and a number of experts addressed the ceremony.
They termed such training programmes vital for equipping young people with modern digital skills, saying e-commerce had become an essential part of doing business in the digital era.
Training programmes vital to youngsters’ empowerment, say speakers
“The youth are the most precious asset of any society and needed to be empowered through updated skills which are necessary for getting dignified job opportunities and higher earnings not only in the country but across the world,” Mr Afridi said.
Appreciating the district youth affairs department for taking the initiative, the deputy commissioner pledged to support the organisers in continuing such trainings imperative for empowering youth through digital skills and modern modes of business.
Other speakers including Fawad Ahmad said the initiative was aimed at empowering young people with modern digital skills, promoting self-employment and entrepreneurship and enabling them to explore sustainable income opportunities through e-commerce and digital platforms.
“This training programme has been designed to equip local youth with practical knowledge and skills in digital marketplaces, e-commerce, online business, digital entrepreneurship, product selling and access to wider online markets,” they added.
Mr Ahmad informed the participants that more than 250 youth had applied for the programme and after proper scrutiny and interviews, 50 deserving candidates were selected for the training, which would continue for over a week.
The ceremony was told that there was great potential for learning digital marketplace and e-commerce skills among youth, as scores of young people were already engaged in multiple digital and online businesses both nationally and internationally.
They expressed the hope that acquiring proper knowledge of such businesses would not only improve their skills and employability but also promote such ventures in the district.
The speakers said such training programmes would continue to enable more youth to benefit from such businesses that were growing rapidly.
Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2026
