ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the “Digital Youth Hub” portal in Islamabad on Thursday, saying it would connect young people to jobs, education and enhance skills development in the country, state-run media reported.
Estimates suggest approximately 64 percent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30, offering a significant opportunity to drive economic growth through a young workforce contributing to entrepreneurship, innovation and diversification.
A joint initiative of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) and UNICEF, the PMYP’s website describes the Digital Youth Hub as a “comprehensive platform” to connect the younger generation with employment opportunities, educational scholarships, entrepreneurship programs and technical skills.
Speaking at the launching ceremony in Islamabad, Sharif stressed harnessing the true potential of the youth by imparting them with training in modern technologies such as information technology, artificial intelligence and vocational training.
“The Prime Minister said modern technology is the prerequisite in the current global world and the Digital Youth Hub is the beginning of a bright future of the youth of Pakistan,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said in a report.
He said the youth’s productive employment through this portal is this government’s top priority.
The Pakistani premier said he was committed to fighting for the rights of the youth, providing them educational opportunities and modern training in collaboration with the country’s provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan regions.
“Shehbaz Sharif said the youth of Pakistan are a great challenge and opportunity, and there is a need to polish this challenge and opportunity through the latest technology,” Radio Pakistan said.
“He said productive employment of youth is the main target of the government through this portal.”
Despite Pakistan’s massive young population, the youth bulge also poses challenges, including high unemployment rates, limited access to quality education and vocational training and the risk of social unrest due to underutilized potential.
More than 800,000 Pakistanis left the country of 220 million to take up jobs in 2022, according to regulatory and monitoring body the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, up from a pre-pandemic total of 625,876 in 2019, and 382,439 the year before that.
