LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif set a target of imparting skills training to one million young people over the next three years, while approving a series of initiatives to expand technical and vocational training opportunities across the province.
The decisions were taken at a special meeting chaired by the chief minister on Sunday, where she was given a detailed briefing on ongoing and proposed skill development projects.
The meeting approved the establishment of Punjab’s first modern Woodworking Centre of Excellence, alongside centres of excellence for electrical work, vehicle technology and digital marketing. It also approved certification programmes for agriculture and heavy machinery operators.
The chief minister also approved the launch of a CM Language Learning Programme, under which courses in 13 languages will be offered for the first time in Punjab. The province’s first Cleaning and Cleaner Academy will also be established to provide professional training in cleaning support, healthcare, hospitality and domestic services.
The meeting was informed that skills training had been completed for 400,000 young people in Punjab, with more than 45 percent securing employment, while many others had opted to continue their education.
Under the Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Department, nearly 175,000 trained youth had secured employment, including more than 38,000 who had found jobs abroad.
Sector-wise figures showed that 113,333 individuals had completed training in manufacturing, with more than 50,000 securing immediate employment. In the IT sector, 111,607 young people had received training, of whom 49,588 were earning through employment.
Similarly, 23,269 people completed training in agriculture and livestock, with 10,033 securing jobs. In the construction sector, 27,069 received training and 12,026 found employment, while 35,227 were trained in the energy sector, of whom 15,651 secured jobs.
A total of 15,319 trainees completed hospitality and tourism courses, with 6,807 securing immediate employment.
The briefing further revealed that 90,029 trained individuals had secured jobs in local industries, 53,509 had opted for self-employment and 38,557 had obtained employment abroad. Another 39,325 had chosen to continue their education.
Under the Empowering Women through Information Technology programme, 3,000 women in rural areas were earning from home after completing training. The department had also provided industry-related, management, teaching and skills-upgradation training to 15,065 teachers and staff members.
The meeting was informed that 220 computer laboratories, 100 industrial stitching labs, 70 solar labs and 27 healthcare labs had been upgraded, along with virtual reality welding and electric vehicle laboratories.
Under the Mahir programme, 25,000 young people will be trained in industrial clusters in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Multan. The Global Rozgar programme aims to train another 25,000 youth for the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, while the Advance Tech programme will provide international certifications in emerging technologies to 7,500 individuals.
The Rs2.6 billion Haryali programme will train 20,000 young people in agriculture and green environment-related fields.
The Pahchaan and Umeed programmes have so far trained 2,474 transgender persons, while the Umeed initiative aims to provide skills training to 10,000 persons with disabilities.
Under another initiative, 69 Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) institutions will train 45,700 young people annually in accordance with the European Qualifications Framework.
The meeting was also informed that a trainee electrician from a technical college in Punjab had secured fourth position in the World Skills Shanghai competition.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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