Muhammad Usman Dar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs, has chastised the previous government for wasting large sums of money on laptop distribution, while also revealing that the government is spending up to Rs 150,000 on each individual participating in the Skill for All (Hunarmand Pakistan) programme, as part of a Rs 10 billion investment to upskill the youth.
During a check-and-certificate-distribution ceremony for the Kamyab Jawan Program (KJP) here at the National University of Technology, he said that, unlike previous governments, the current one was “making long-term investments in the youth rather than spending huge sums of money on laptops,” according to the Daily Times.
He further stated that the Hunarmand Pakistan initiative, which is a major component of the Kamyab Jawan Program, is providing training to 170,000 youth in traditional and high-tech trades. According to the SAPM, around 37,000 young people finished their six-month courses in traditional and high-tech trades during the first phase, with another batch of 55,000 young people on the way.
Another activity of the KJP, he said, was empowering 20,000 students through an apprenticeship initiative of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC).
According to the SAPM, the KJP is an apolitical and transparent programme that provides a level playing field for adolescents.
He also noted that 10,000 new firms had been started under the KJP, and that Rs 8 billion had been distributed among 10,000 young people under the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme, resulting in an increase in economic activity across the country (YES).
