Pakistan consists of approximately 250 million people, where unemployment and poverty have been entrenched for several decades. What is commendable is that the people of this country possess such passion and dedication that they learn some skill according to their educational ability and, in one way or another, continue to enhance their understanding, insight, and educational capacity, and they have remained engaged in this pursuit with great hard work and effort.
But unfortunately, on the part of the government, there appears to be an absence of any comprehensive plan that could spread a network of globally recognized skills across villages and streets.
It is correct that more than 400 vocational training centres exist in Sindh, and across Pakistan, there are thousands of such centres. According to the official website of NAVTTC (National Vocational and Technical Training Commission), from 2006 until now (approximately 19 years), 600,000 individuals have received technical skills and vocational training in various professions—a figure that is only a drop in the ocean for a nation of 250 million. Among them, only 65,000 are high-end beneficiaries. If its practical impact is observed, it is found to be almost non-existent.
For this reason, the Benazir Income Support Programme, which is used to distribute money among people, was not linked to the idea that, instead of turning individuals of different ages into beggars by giving them money—which adds further burden to the country—they could be provided with practical skills training in their local areas. Such training, tailored to age, education, and understanding, could be connected with the BISP to increase participation among both men and women, enabling them to acquire valuable skills. As a result, tangible benefits could begin to appear in the country’s development and progress.
As for the fact that the government has spent trillions of rupees on the Benazir Income Support Programme ever since its inception—the amount allocated for this programme, according to the latest figures, exceeds 700 billion rupees—and this money is distributed among the public in such a way that deserving individuals begin to consider themselves beggars. Whereas, if these same deserving individuals are directed towards skill development, then a robust workforce will emerge in various sectors, including masons, carpenters, electricians, etc. Those already present in such areas may be connected, under a system supervised by the Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner, to existing institutions and given six- or eight-week training of such nature that they may learn some technical skills as part of a technical course. After learning the said skills, such individuals may be given the opportunity to become certified skilled workers under globally recognized standards, enabling those capable to obtain employment abroad and earn substantial foreign exchange for the country. Those who remain may serve the people of their own areas as skilled workers.
From a technical standpoint, such individuals can also be made into web developers, graphics designers, digital marketers, electricians, auto mechanics, nursing assistants, as well as software programmers and AI experts. The painful reality is that in the year 2024, more than 10,000 migrants died in attempts to reach Spain through sea and land routes in search of a better life, which represents a 58 percent increase in fatalities compared to the previous year.
Most of the deceased belonged to African countries, which included 28 countries from around the world, including Pakistan. Among the dead were also 1,538 children and 421 women. If such individuals were directed towards skill development, then in such circumstances those youth of the nation—who sell their household belongings and livestock, lose their savings, and leave for foreign countries with the dream of sending dollars to their families, only for their boats to overturn during the journey, and thousands of people drown hundreds or thousands of kilometres away from their homeland, taking all their dreams with them, never returning to their homes—such youth too would, instead of sacrificing their homes and savings for their dreams, prefer to learn skills in the technical sector and serve their homeland. Earlier it was also mentioned that in the United Kingdom, out of roughly 40,000 asylum‑applications submitted in 2024 by people who had arrived on visas, more than 11,000 were submitted by Pakistanis, which is about five times the number in 2022 — as a result, Pakistan ranked first among 175 countries.
If the government, in a coordinated manner, implements the proposed recommendations—which do not require significant expenses but only dedication and interest—and instead of distributing funds under the Benazir Income Support Programme in a manner that turns the public into beggars for the fulfilment of their basic needs, it produces useful and skilled citizens, then such individuals will be capable not only of serving their homes and neighbourhoods but also of bringing honour to the country across the world. This model has already been practiced in other countries, and it only requires quality coordination so that the various institutions already operating—and on which not only the national budget is being spent but crores of rupees are being lost to corruption—may be directed in such a way that they can produce useful citizens for the state of Pakistan and this society. And why should this not happen, since Article 38 of the Constitution of Pakistan also states that the government will create such means and resources to enable the sons of the nation to fulfil the public’s needs for food, clothing, and shelter. If this occurs, then the country’s youth, instead of being disheartened about their future, will prefer to work for the nation’s development and progress, and these builders of the homeland will, in the future, ensure the nation’s excellent development and progress, and will strive with full dedication to bring honour to the country on a global level, as a result of which the future of the country may become increasingly bright in the coming times.
