Punjab sets three-year skills goal
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has set a target to equip one million young people with professional and technical skills over the next three years. Chairing a special meeting in Lahore on Sunday, she reviewed ongoing skill development work and was briefed on training results, employment outcomes and planned programmes.
She directed departments to expand courses so they match current market needs. The meeting approved new specialised training facilities and several fresh programmes aimed at raising both the scale and quality of vocational learning across the province.
New centres and courses approved
Officials decided to set up Punjab’s first modern Woodworking Center of Excellence. Centres of Excellence were also approved for electrical work, vehicle technology and digital marketing. Agriculture-related training and a Heavy Machinery Operator Certification Programme were cleared as well.
For the first time in Punjab, the CM Language Learning Programme will offer courses in 13 languages. The province’s first Cleaning and Cleaner Academy was also approved. Under the Punjab Cleaning and Care Academy (PCCA), training will cover cleaning support, healthcare, hospitality, domestic assistance and related fields.
The chief minister further directed work on a modern digital examination system with online registration, digital papers and QR codes, intended to improve transparency and efficiency. The system is expected to handle between 200,000 and 600,000 candidates.
What training has delivered so far
According to the briefing, 400,000 young people have completed skill training in Punjab, and more than 45 per cent of them secured employment, while a large number continued their studies. The Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department said nearly 175,000 trained youth found decent work, and more than 38,000 obtained jobs abroad.
Sector figures shared at the meeting included 113,333 trainees in manufacturing, with more than 50,000 finding work soon after; 111,607 in information technology (IT), with 49,588 earning through employment; 23,269 in agriculture and livestock, with 10,033 jobs; 27,069 in construction, with 12,026 employed; 35,227 in energy, with 15,651 jobs; and 15,319 in hospitality and tourism, with 6,807 entering work.
Broader placement figures listed 90,029 jobs in local industry, 53,502 people in self-employment, 38,557 employed abroad and 39,325 who chose further education. Under the Empowering Women through Information Technology programme, 3,000 women in rural areas have started earning from home. Officials also said 15,065 teachers and staff received training in industry, management, teaching and skills enhancement.
Infrastructure upgrades cited at the meeting included 220 computer laboratories, 100 industrial stitching laboratories, 70 solar laboratories and 27 healthcare laboratories, along with virtual-reality welding and electric-vehicle labs.
Programmes still rolling out
Under the Mahir programme, 25,000 young people are to be trained in industrial clusters in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Multan. The Global Rozgar programme aims to train another 25,000 for business process outsourcing (BPO)—office and customer-service work often done for foreign firms. The Advance Tech programme is to give international certifications in modern technologies to 7,500 youth, while the Rs2.6 billion Hariyali programme would train 20,000 in agriculture and green-environment fields.
Pehchaan and Umeed were also discussed: 2,474 transgender persons have completed training under Pehchaan, and 10,000 persons with disabilities are to be trained under Umeed. Sixty-nine institutions of TEVTA—the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority—are to train 45,700 young people a year to standards linked with the European Qualifications Framework. The meeting was also told that a graduate of a Punjab technical college took fourth place at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Punjab ki CM Maryam Nawaz ne kaha hai ke agle teen saal mein 10 lakh (1 million) jawanon ko skills di jayengi. Naye training centres, zubaan ke courses aur digital exams ka plan hai. Pehle se lagbhag 4 lakh logon ne training li hai, aur un mein se zyada tar ko kaam milne ka mauqa mila. Is se naujawanon ke liye mulk mein aur bahir naukri ke zyada raste khul sakte hain.
