MTDF envisages creation of 50.12 million jobs by 2009-10

The Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF) 2010 has envisaged the need for the creation of 50.12 million jobs by 2009-10 to meet the set MTDF targets, sources said.
As women constitute 48.8 percent of the population and the rate of female labour has increased from 1.2 percent to 13.3 percent previous years and their unemployment rate has fallen from 12.8 percent to 9.3 percent in the previous fiscal year, which shows substantial decrease of 3.5 points, the government failed to provide education, training and skill development opportunities to women, source said.
The allocation for employment during the previous fiscal year was Rs 1, 136.8 million in PSDP that is higher than the budgetary allocation of the current fiscal, they said. In view of envisaged GDP growth and enhanced PSDP allocations, the target is easily achievable with 4 percent decline in the rate of unemployment. Moreover, reforms and expansions of vocational and technical training will further enhance productivity of the employed labour force, the sources said.
Giving the details of the allocations the sources said that Rs 198.4 million has been allocated in the PSDP 2007-08 for 14 projects including new initiatives and some of the ongoing employment generating projects that would also continue in fiscal 2007-08. Said.
Moreover, Rs 12.3 million for training of Trainers, Rs 9.1 million for Skill Development Labour Market Requirement and Analysis System, Rs 14 million for Policy Planning Cell and Rs 25.3 million for Computerising of the Data of Outgoing Emigrants and Returning Migrants have been allocated in the fiscal 2007-08, they said.
'Labour Market Information and Analysis' project intend to develop an institutional mechanism that will monitor and report labour markets developments at district, provincial and national levels, they said. They also said that one of the initiatives to expand employment specifically among the youth was launched by 'President Rozgar Scheme' in collaboration with National Bank of Pakistan.
This scheme deals with various areas of concerns such as transport, utility stores under Utility Supply Corporation (USC), mobile utility stores, mobile general store, NBP Karobar PCO and NBP tele-centre. During the fiscal Rs 1.3 billion are to be disbursed to around 21,500 beneficiaries, they said.
The government's strategy is to generate employment by imparting technical and vocational training through capacity building of existing and potential skilled and unskilled workers in the field of horticulture and gardening.
Keeping this in view the National Training Bureau has planned to launch three months gardener certificate course under the project titled 'Green Man,' sources said.