PESHAWAR: The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has decided to launch a “Youth Entrepre-neurship Programme” under which, soft loans would be provided to skilled youth to enable them to initiate their own business.

The decision was taken during a meeting of Sports & Youth Affairs Department held here with Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in the chair.

Initially, the programme would be launched at a cost of Rs. 1 billion. However, the soft loans under this programme would not be provided to any individual but to the clusters of skilled youth interested in initiating their own business. Each cluster of professionals will be able to avail loan ranging from Rs. 2 million to Rs. 10 million.

The Chief Minister has directed the relevant quarters to finalise the strategy for implementing this flagship program of the provincial government, adding that ultimate purpose of this program is to assist the talented and skilled youth interested in initiating their own business in accordance with their professional skills and capabilities.

He said that promoting employment opportunities in the province is one of the priority areas of his government; skilled youth across the province would be provided with full support in this regard. He gave a go ahead to launch a Youth Skill Development and Employment Programme, as well, and directed the authorities concerned that youth from all the districts across the province, should be provided with this opportunity, adding that quota of each district be allocated according to its population for this purpose.

Under the programme, initially 20,000 youth would be imparted with specialized technical and vocational trainings. It will also be integral part of the program to ensure that the youth being trained under this program, are provided with employment within country and abroad.

The chief minister also accorded approval to the proposed initiatives under Youth Education Program, through which, merit based scholarships would be provided in IT, modern technical and digital sectors, in addition to establishing Incubation Centre, Learning facility, Career Counselling and providing access to educational institutions worldwide. Certification in advance courses in Digital Skills and provision of Merit Based Internships in market driven disciplines are also the parts of this programme.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024