Chairperson Prime Minister’s Youth Program, Ms. Leila Khan chaired 1st Meeting of the National Youth Employment Steering Committee in order to devise a National Youth Employment Framework. The meeting was attended by all the relevant stakeholders including MNAs across the political divide; representatives of Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform; Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & HRD; International Labor Organization;, all four provinces and regions including AJK, GB and FATA; Employers’ Federation of Pakistan, Karachi; Pakistan Workers’ Federation, Rawalpindi; and youth-led organizations.
Speaking on the occasion, Ms Leila Khan highlighted the need to develop an inclusive and coherent Youth Employment Framework, catering to the local needs of all provinces and regions. She urged upon all provinces/regions to constitute Provincial/Regional Steering Committees for formulating their indigenous Youth Employment Frameworks with a focus on following seven priority areas: Education and Training (Specially focusing young and rural girls); Employment Opportunities for Youth at Provincial Level; Youth Employment Opportunities in National Mega Development Projects; Entrepreneurship Promotion; Employment prospects in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC); Overseas Employment Opportunities for Youth; and Social Protection for unemployed youth.
All the provinces agreed to develop Provincial Youth Employment Strategies under this framework. The Governments of Sindh and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa have even notified the Provincial Steering Committees on Youth Employment. It was also recommended in the meeting that innovative employment avenues, in line with the digital knowledge-based economy, may be explored in the proposed framework in order to make it more relevant to the rapidly-changing job market dynamics.
Ms. Leila Khan thanked all participants of the meeting for their valuable input and commitment to developing a practical youth employment frameworks, both at provincial/regional and national levels. She also appreciated the efforts of International Labor Organization (ILO) for its role in spearheading this great initiative.
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