Immigration system: PM orders sweeping digitalisation of entire protectorates

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered sweeping digitalisation of the entire Protectorates of Immigration system and called for a rapid expansion of Pakistan’s efforts to secure overseas employment opportunities for its workforce.

Chairing a high-level review meeting on youth employment, the PM directed Pakistani embassies abroad to step up labour market intelligence gathering on foreign job markets and to actively identify and transmit verified employment openings for Pakistani workers.

He further instructed the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis, the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and national youth programmes to urgently scale up skills development initiatives, with a particular focus on language training, international certification, and alignment of domestic qualifications with global standards.

Sharif emphasised that Pakistan’s workforce is “highly capable” and stressed that every possible measure should be taken to ensure young people are equipped to access competitive global job markets.

He also directed that language training be prioritised for countries where demand for Pakistani skilled labour is rising, and called for stronger institutional linkages with partner states to facilitate mutual recognition of certifications.

The PM sought a detailed report on the performance of technical and vocational training institutions operating under NAVTTC, alongside proposals for establishing dedicated country-of-destination facilitation centres to streamline overseas placement mechanisms.

Officials briefed the meeting that 800,000 young people have already registered on the Digital Youth Hub, which is being positioned as a central platform for skills development and overseas employment matching.

The briefing noted that significant employment opportunities exist abroad across a wide range of sectors, including construction, agriculture, healthcare, information technology, engineering, nursing, pharmaceuticals, tourism, transport, manufacturing, shipbuilding, biotechnology, and food production.

Training programmes, officials added, are currently underway to prepare workers for these international labour markets.

Embassies, it was further informed, will feed real-time information on job vacancies and qualification requirements into the Digital Youth Hub portal, enabling improved access for prospective workers.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, federal ministers Musadik Malik, Attaullah Tarar and Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Chairman NAVTTC Raja Qamarul Islam, Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, and other senior officials.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026