https://arab.news/pbytk
- New ‘pay-for-success’ model will fund market-relevant skills training for youth
- PM Sharif calls for roadmap to boost domestic and overseas job opportunities
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday approved Pakistan’s first Skills Impact Bond, a new financing model aimed at mobilizing private investment to equip young people with market-relevant skills and improve their access to employment, both at home and abroad.
The approval came during a high-level meeting in Islamabad focused on youth employment. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the initiative is part of a broader government effort to align vocational training with labor market demands and make Pakistani youth self-reliant through entrepreneurship and income-generating opportunities.
The model, also known as “pay-for-success,” links funding to independently verified outcomes such as job placement or minimum income levels.
“Pakistan’s talented youth are the country’s greatest asset,” the prime minister said at the meeting. “By equipping them with education and skills tailored to market needs, we will transform the future of this nation.”
Sharif instructed federal ministries and agencies to accelerate skills training, expand employment outreach through digital platforms and present a comprehensive roadmap based on estimates of domestic and overseas job opportunities for Pakistani youth.
The prime minister approved a public awareness campaign to promote the use of the Digital Youth Hub, which has already registered over 500,000 users.
The platform currently lists over 47,000 job openings in Pakistan and more than 100,000 overseas, along with 2,000 scholarship opportunities.
He also emphasized preparing skilled workers specifically for international job markets and directed relevant departments to offer foreign language training for countries with high demand for labor.