Pakistan makes soft skills certification mandatory for overseas employment

Pakistan government has made soft skills certification compulsory for individuals seeking employment in European and Gulf countries, effective from January 2026.

The announcement was made by the Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Employment.

The Gulf countries covered under this requirement include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait.

According to the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, the directive applies both to jobseekers proceeding abroad through licensed employment promoters and to Pakistanis seeking overseas employment independently.

Such individuals will be required to obtain the prescribed certificate prior to registration with the Protectorate of Immigration.

For obtaining the soft skills certification, applicants from Pakistan  have been instructed to use only the OIC App PakSoftSkills or the official online portal at http://softskills.oec.gov.pk.

Pakistan’s unemployment rate jumps to 7.1% as 8 million people remain jobless

The unemployment rate surged by 0.8 percentage points to reach 7.1 percent, according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2024-2025 released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

According to the latest LFS, the number of unemployed people has crossed a staggering figure of eight million. Pakistan’s population stands at a staggering 240 million, while the labour force volume has risen to 77.2 million.

The working-age population stands at 43 per cent, while the unemployed or inactive population stands at 53.8 per cent. The country’s overall population of 3.3 percent is jobless, while the services sector remained on top for employment provision in the Labour Force Survey.

As per the survey, as many as 31.8 million people are employed in the services sector.