Entrepreneurship programme for youth to launch next month.

LAHORE -- The Punjab youth entrepreneurship programme will be launched next month, under which the youth will be provided grants - not loans - to execute their innovative ideas and earn respectable livelihood, said Minister for Youth and Sports Muhammad Taimoor Khan while speaking at a policy dialogue on youth employability at a local hotel on Tuesday.

Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) and Indus Consortium jointly organized the event under ukaid-funded project 'Empowering Youth for Employment and Entrepreneurship'.

The minister said that 64 per cent of Pakistan's population was youth which was a positive omen for future prosperity of the country. 'It is, however, also a challenge for the government. Fulfilment of our youth's aspirations is responsibility of the government. It's a huge challenge. We can't provide government jobs to all. Therefore, our focus is on imparting skill development and promoting entrepreneurship. Youth directorate is also being established to launch the program,' Taimoor elaborated.

Eminent parliamentarians, academia, corporate executives, university students, youth representatives from various districts across the province and members of civil society participated in discussions probing roles of policy makers, private sector and academia pertaining to issues, challenges and pathways of youth employability.

Representative of the youth handed over their demands with regards to the Punjab youth policy to the provincial minister. The recommendations call for Punjab youth policy to be thoroughly reviewed and redrafted so as to addressing the issues and challenges being faced by uneducated and rural youth as the current version of the policy focuses more on educated and urban youth. The issues of transgender, differently abled and religious minority youth must also be more effectively addressed in Punjab Youth policy.

Purpose of the dialogue was to bring the major stakeholders together to initiate the discussion on the real time challenges faced by youth with regards to employments and entrepreneurship and how the provincial youth policy is addressing those challenges. The dialogue provided a platform to primary actor (youth) and stakeholder including donors, government officials, UN agencies, TVET providers, private sector representatives and members of NGO/CSOs to discuss and recommend innovative ideas and solution for livelihoods enhancement of youth.

Ayesha Khan, country director of Hashoo Foundation, said that the...