Punjab Sets Target to Train One Million Youth in Skills Over Three Years

Punjab has set an ambitious target of providing skills training to one million young people over the next three years, with Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif approving a series of initiatives to expand technical and vocational education across the province. The decisions were taken at a meeting on Sunday where officials briefed the chief minister on ongoing and proposed skill development projects.

Among the approved measures is the establishment of Punjab's first modern Woodworking Centre of Excellence. Additional centres of excellence will be set up for electrical work, vehicle technology and digital marketing, while certification programmes for agriculture and heavy machinery operators were also given the green light.

The meeting approved the launch of a programme offering courses in 13 languages, along with the province's first cleaning and cleaner academy, which will provide professional training in healthcare, hospitality and domestic services. Officials briefed the chief minister on the performance of existing programmes, noting that training has already been completed for 400,000 young people, with more than 45 per cent securing employment while many others chose to continue their education.

Detailed figures presented at the meeting showed that 38,000 trained youths found jobs abroad. In manufacturing, about 113,333 young people completed training, with more than 50,000 securing immediate employment. The IT sector trained 111,607 people, of whom 49,588 are now earning through employment, while 23,269 completed agriculture and livestock training, with 10,033 securing jobs.

In construction, 27,069 received training and 12,026 found employment, while 35,227 were trained in the energy sector and 15,651 secured jobs. A total of 15,319 trainees completed hospitality and tourism courses, with 6,807 securing immediate employment. Overall, 90,029 trained youths secured jobs in local industries, 53,509 opted for self-employment, 38,557 obtained employment abroad and 39,325 continued their education.

Under the Empowering Women through Information Technology Programme, 3,000 women in rural areas are earning from home after completing their training. The department also provided industry-related, management, teaching and skills-upgradation training to 15,065 teachers and staff members, according to the briefing.