Higher Education Commission announces skill-based training program for unemployed youth

In order to increase the likelihood of unemployed youth to be accepted to employment opportunities, Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has announced a skill-based training program. The program complies with the Government of Pakistan’s Vision 2025 and aims at empowering 5000 unemployed youth with in-demand skills. Previously, HEC has also announced an initiative to reimburse fees of students hailing from under-developed years.

The training program for unemployed youth is open to candidates having a Masters degree in general subjects such as arts, languages, humanities, religion and social studies. The program has been tailored for imparting job-oriented skills and will run for four months in a semester setting. HEC has mentioned, the selected participants will receive training at the top tier universities of Pakistan, however, the names are yet to be revealed. The program will also offer stipends to selected candidates which is PKR 5000 for local residents and PKR 10000 for candidates coming from a different city. After the completion of the program, the participants will receive certificates of accomplishment.

The program is open to youth who have been employed for a year. The eligibility criteria require candidates to have 16 years of education equivalent to a Masters degree in a general, arts, or humanities subject. The candidate should be no more than 30 years of age at the closing date of the program. Moreover, it is mandatory for the applicant to clear the aptitude and screening test for each training.

As mentioned in the official announcement, the courses offered will focus on the following in-demand skills:

• Marketing & Sales
• Small Business Startups (Entrepreneurship)
• Computing Skills for Office (Microsoft Office)
• Accounting
• Communication Skills (English Language)
• Journalism (Language)
• Airline Ticketing
• Apparel Merchandising
• TV Program & News Production (Media)
• IT & Leadership Skills
• Hotel Management
• Construction Project Management (AutoCAD)
• Digital Marketing Skills
• Interior Design
• MS Project

Interested candidates can apply for the program by signing up here, no later than April 16th.