PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi on Thursday said youth constitute a strategic asset for the province and the country.

“Aligning the youth skills with market demand and facilitating pathways to employment and entrepreneurship remains a central pillar of our government’s development agenda,” Mr Afridi said during a meeting called to review the performance of the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) at the Chief Minister’s House here.

The participants assessed progress on the ongoing skills development and employment generation initiatives in the province, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

The chief minister directed the relevant departments to ensure time bound and results oriented implementation of the skills development and employment promotion program, emphasizing measurable outcomes and accountability.

Afridi reviews progress on skills development, employment generation initiatives

“The provincial government’s substantial investments in youth development must translate into tangible economic opportunities and improved livelihoods,” he said.

While highlighting the strategic importance of Tevtainterventions, the chief minister called for a coherent, data-driven and implementation focused roadmap to scale up ongoing initiatives.

Mr Afridi said that a dedicated review meeting on the Rural Economic Transformation Project (RETP) should be convened immediately after Eid, supported by a comprehensive progress briefing.

He reaffirmed his government’s commitment to building a skilled workforce, strengthening public-private partnerships, and enabling inclusive economic growth across all regions of the province.

Officials said that under RETP, 42,000 youth were being supported through startup grants, with an average disbursement of Rs73,000 per beneficiary and that Rs397 million had so far been disbursed among 5,445 eligible beneficiaries.

They also said that in parallel, facilitation of employment opportunities for 750 trained individuals was under way, while the project envisaged internships and job placements for up to 25,000 youth.

The officials said that under the Rs3 billion Ehsaas Hunar Programme, interest-free loans of up to Rs500,000 were being extended to promote youth entrepreneurship, adding that so far, Rs585 million had been disbursed to 1,211 beneficiaries.

They said that a targeted skills enhancement initiative for Tevta graduates was also being implemented, providing on-the-job training with a monthly stipend of Rs15,000.

The officials said that to date, 88 graduates had been placed in industrial units for hands-on training, while 560 trainees had been placed across 85 industrial establishments.

With regard to the merged districts, the meeting was briefed on a fast-track skills development program valued at Rs685 million, aimed at providing financial and technical support to 3,000 youth. Under the initiative, training of 800 individuals has been completed.

Also, placement of 520 graduates in the National Logistics Cell and enrollment of 1,400 students in the University of Engineering and Technology have been facilitated, according to the statement.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2026