Under the Parwaz Card programme, interest-free financial assistance of up to Rs 300,000 is provided to qualified youth.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. SCREEN CAPTURE
LAHORE:
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif inaugurated a ‘Parwaz Card’ initiative aimed at providing financial support and employment opportunities to skilled youth.
Addressing graduates of technical training institutes, he said 250,000 youth had completed their technical training, while more than 114,000 had secured employment, including 97,000 in Pakistan and 33,000 abroad. It also launched three initiatives (Creative Hands, Rah-e-Rozgar and a Skills Development Portal) to strengthen the province’s skills ecosystem.
Under the Parwaz Card programme, the Prime Minister announced interest-free financial assistance of up to Rs 300,000 for skilled youth, particularly those seeking employment abroad, to help them avoid exploitation by agents.
He met with 90 students who had completed their training and asked them about their skills and employment. She expressed happiness at her success. including a mosque imam who had completed an electrician’s course. He also met transgender students and assured them of dignity, inclusion and state support.
Speaking to graduates of institutions affiliated to the Punjab Department of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, he said the government wanted to invest every rupee of the provincial treasury in the youth, adding that scholarships alone were not enough and the state was now ensuring training, market access and employment.
He said more than 200,000 youth across Punjab had gained access to better opportunities, while government teams had been sent to the Gulf region to explore job markets for Pakistani youth. He noted that skilled workers were now earning up to $500 a month working from home after completing vocational training in fields such as tile fixing, welding, electrical wiring, IT and e-commerce.
