Pakistan is a country which is known for housing over 60 percent young population. Apparently, it seems a big potential on the part of the country but this potential becomes a trouble when the state remains unable to produce employment opportunities for this youth bulge. As per reports, two million young girls and boys enter into the job market of Pakistan every year and there is no mechanism to put them on right career paths.

It is quite welcoming that Government of Pakistan is working on devising a National Youth Employment Policy (NYEP) to create employment opportunities for the youth of Pakistan. The purpose of NYEP will be to guide relevant ministries, departments, universities, institutes, and other stakeholders to introduce employment generation programs for youth. To prepare the policy, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has constituted a taskforce as well that, under the chair of Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja will submit the NYEP to the prime minister after deliberations and consultations with the relevant stakeholders.

I suggest the government to make it mandatory for the educational institutions to develop their schemes of studies as per market demands. All the educational institutes at all levels must add practical training in their curriculums. Private sectors must be taken on board while finalizing the academic courses and their requirements must be honored. If a student is trained as per industry needs, he/she can definitely be a useful resource for an organization.

I wish the Government of Pakistan and SAPM on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima Khawaja all the best for this initiative and extend our full support in making it a success.