Skilled youth backbone of national economy: President

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain Monday terming youth the backbone of national economy said even the progress of developed countries would never have been possible without the contribution of their talented and skilled youth.

Addressing at the prize distribution ceremony of Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Programme organized by National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the President called upon the youth to engage in their respective fields with full enthusiasm to contribute towards the development of country.

President Mamnoon said the societies which comprehended the requirements of changing times excelled amongst the contemporary nations by dint of their hard work, while those which remained oblivious to changing requirements faced downward trajectory in economy.

He expressed satisfaction that the government had devised an excellent programme to hone the skills of youth and a large number of the youth trained by NAVTTC had succeeded in acquiring decent and respectable jobs in Pakistan and abroad.

He said it was his desire that every youth of the country gets an opportunity to utilize his capabilities and become able to contribute in the progress and development of their motherland.

The President mentioned the saying of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) who said “The one who earns by struggle is a friend of Allah”.

He said therefore, it was a matter of pleasure for him to attend this gathering of comprised hardworking and skilled people.

He said while formulating policies for progress and development of a country, sometimes unrealistic initiatives were devised by ignoring the ground realities due to which certain loopholes were left between the developmental and constructive process that created problems later on.

He said in view of such realities, Poet of the East Allama Muhammad Iqbal had said that “Destiny of nations lies in the hands of individuals and each individual is the guiding star of the nation’s destiny’’.

He said the fact could be understood in a way that an expert economist can devise a strategy for the progress of a nation or an organization, but the strategy would remain confined to books or files unless the shopkeepers, vendors, industrialists and labourers working in industries implement it through their hard work.

“It gives me pleasure to say that the committed and skilled youth like you are the backbone of national economy who through their hard work become source of prosperity, progress and stability not only for their families but also for the whole nation,” he said.

The President advised the youth to discharge their responsibilities, no matter how big or small, with complete honesty and hard work.

He said the purpose behind initiating the Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Programme was to provide the Pakistani youth vast opportunities of employment by imparting them training according to their abilities.

The President directed NAVTTC to focus on Balochistan so that maximum number of youth from the province could get opportunities for handling responsibilities in different initiatives of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Executive Director NAVTTC Zulfiqar Ahmad Cheema in his welcome address said engaging the country’s 60 percent youth bulge was a challenge and the NAVTTC was providing youth relevant skills to tap their hidden potential.

He said NAVTTC was preparing 0.1 million skilled youth annually, which he said would increase their chance of finding relevant jobs in the market.

President Mamnoon gave away prizes and certificates among the successful youth of PM’s Skilled Development Programme in different disciplines including electrician, plumbing and pipe-fitting, masonry, fashion designing, LTV driving and professional cooking.