Islamabad: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved the creation of a national job portal to create new employment opportunities for the youth. “Youth is a precious asset of the country and it is the priority of PTI government to empower them,” Khan stated.
The announcement was made after prime minister’s meeting with Special Assistant on Youth Affairs Usman Dar in Islamabad. Usman Dar also briefed PM Imran Khan on the Kamyab Jawan Programme (youth support project) and progress made in providing loans to the youth.
Programme to boost youth entrepreneurship
The government has allocated Rs100 billion for the first phase of Kamyab Jawan Programme (KJP) with a mission to generate one million jobs. Under the programme, “the government is committed to provide easy access to capital for citizens aged 21 to 45 years so that they can exploit their entrepreneurial skills and strengthen the national economy,” according to Usman Dar.
The programme aims to support young entrepreneurs to help them set up their own businesses. It offers loans in three tiers: Rs100,000 to Rs1 million in the first tier, from Rs1 million to Rs10 million in the second stage and finally from Rs10 million to Rs25 million. The loans are provided for a period of up to 8 years with a grace period of 1 year. At least 25 per cent of the total loans have been reserved for women entrepreneurs.
The government recently reopened the application process for KJP to provide loans under soft and easy conditions to the youth. PM Imran Khan has directed his economic team to ensure continuous disbursement of loans under the programme.
Last week, Pakistani premier announced a mega development package for South Balochistan to create 120,000 new jobs and offer digital skills training program to more than 35,000 youth.
10 million jobs
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) came to power in 2018 with the promise to create 10 million jobs in its five-year term in key sectors - small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), housing, health, technology, education, tourism and green economy. Although PM Khan has insisted that job creation is his government’s top priority there is a growing feeling that the government has so far failed to address unemployment and exploit the potential of digital economy.
