President Mamnoon Hussain on
Monday terming youth the backbone of national economy said even the
progress of developed countries would never have been possible without the
contribution of their talented and skilled youth.
Addressing
at the prize distribution ceremony of Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development
Programme organized by National Vocational and Technical Training Commission
(NAVTTC) here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the President called upon the youth to
engage in their respective fields with full enthusiasm to contribute towards
the development of country.
President Mamnoon said the societies which
comprehended the requirements of changing times excelled amongst the
contemporary nations by dint of their hard work, while those which remained
oblivious to changing requirements faced downward trajectory in economy.
He expressed satisfaction that the government had
devised an excellent programme to hone the skills of youth and a large number
of the youth trained by NAVTTC had succeeded in acquiring decent and
respectable jobs in Pakistan and abroad.
He said it was his desire that every youth of
the country gets an opportunity to utilize his capabilities and become able to
contribute in the progress and development of their motherland.
The President mentioned the saying of Prophet
Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) who said “The one who earns by struggle is
a friend of Allah”.
He said therefore, it was a matter of pleasure for him to
attend this gathering that comprised hardworking and skilled people.
He said while formulating policies for progress
and development of a country, sometimes unrealistic initiatives were devised by
ignoring the ground realities due to which certain loopholes were left between
the developmental and constructive process that created problems later
on.
He said in view of such realities, Poet of the
East Allama Muhammad Iqbal had said that “Destiny of nations lies in the hands
of individuals and each individual is the guiding star of the nation’s
destiny’’.
He said the fact could be understood in a way
that an expert economist can devise a strategy for the progress of a nation or
an organization, but the strategy would remain confined to books or files
unless the shopkeepers, vendors, industrialists and labourers working in
industries implement it through their hard work.
“It gives me pleasure to say that the committed
and skilled youth like you are the backbone of national economy who through
their hard work become source of prosperity, progress and stability not only
for their families but also for the whole nation,” he said.
The President advised the youth to discharge
their responsibilities, no matter how big or small, with complete honesty and
hard work.
He said the purpose behind initiating the Prime
Minister’s Youth Skill Development Programme was to provide the Pakistani youth
vast opportunities of employment by imparting them training according to their
abilities.
The President directed NAVTTC to focus on Balochistan so that maximum number of youth from the province could get opportunities for handling responsibilities in different initiatives of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Executive Director NAVTTC Zulfiqar Ahmad Cheema
in his welcome address said engaging the country’s 60 percent youth bulge was a
challenge and the NAVTTC was providing youth relevant skills to tap their
hidden potential.
He said NAVTTC was preparing 0.1 million skilled youth
annually, which he said would increase their chance of finding relevant jobs in
the market.
President Mamnoon gave away prizes and
certificates among the successful youth of PM’s Skilled Development Programme
in different disciplines including electrician, plumbing and pipe-fitting,
masonry, fashion designing, LTV driving and professional cooking.
