UNDP initiates skill development project for Pakistani youth

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has initiated a project in collaboration with Japanese government for employment of youth to have maximum economic participation in the country.

An official of the UNDP told that the project also aimed to enhance social interaction of youths in areas that currently had a limited scope for social and economic engagement by developing youth-friendly community spaces.

Around 31% of Pakistan’s 207.7 million population comprises people aged between 15 and 29 years.

With a youth unemployment rate of 10.8%, it was crucial to provide youngsters with skills and knowledge they needed to operate in an increasingly competitive employment market so that they could contribute to the sustainable development of the country, he added.

He further added that the project helped the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by engaging youth and providing them employment opportunities.

The UNDP and Japanese government had also collaborated on earlier in projects in Pakistan including relief and rehabilitation work in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and electoral reforms at the national level, he added.

In its report couple of days ago, the UNDP said the growth in employment creation was necessary to match the unprecedented number of young people entering the working age. “The additional jobs to be created per year were for the next five years.”

As per the UNDP report, combining the current unemployment figures of 3.5 million and additional requirements of 1.3 million brings the figure to the same target as fixed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in its manifesto.

The incumbent government had announced ambitious initiative to create 10 million jobs i.e. 2 million jobs every year while the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its recent report had estimated requirements of some 1.3 million jobs every year.

Experts believe that the job target set by the Prime Minister appears to be a step forward and convincing determination that needs unflinching efforts and huge economic impetus to disembark the desired destination.