Government to launch internship programme for educated youth
ISLAMABAD: Federal Government will soon launch a one-year training programme for the educated youth of the country to bring them in national mainstream, said Prime Minister’s Youth Development Programme, former chairperson, Maryam Nawaz, Friday.
‘Under this scheme about 50,000 internships will be provided to the students, having sixteen years of education,’ she said while speaking as chief guest at the Youth Development Programme certificate awarding ceremony. The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training organized the ceremony, in which top position-holders of Skilled Youth Programme were given certificates by Maryam Nawaz, Education and Training State Minister Baligh-ur-Rehman and Prime Minister’s Youth Development Programme Chairperson, Leila Khan, here at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.
Maryam Nawaz said internees of the programme would get training according to their education in public and private institutions of the country. ‘Students of religious seminaries meeting HEC criteria will also be inducted in the skill development programme,’ she added. She said under the Youth Development Programme so far, 25,000 youth from all over the country, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir had been imparted training in around 100 trades. ‘It is heartening to note that the youth trained under this programme are successfully getting jobs’, she said adding that the training to the youth has started providing results.
She further said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his election campaign had promised the youth that after coming into power he would take steps for their welfare. The prime minister is fulfilling his promise by initiating a number of schemes for the youth, including laptop scheme, fee reimbursement scheme and interest free loan scheme, she added.
Maryam Nawaz said that Pakistan has talented youth, who want to support their families and also contribute in national development. The steps taken by the present government would help make the youth, useful citizens of the country, she added. She pointed out that the youth of the development programme, were being given stipends purely on merit and above party affiliations. She said that those who had been criticizing the laptop scheme were now planning to launch such schemes in their own provinces.
She further said that she was happy that the Youth Development Programme that commenced under her chairpersonship was heading forward quite successfully. In the first phase of this programme each youth was given a monthly stipend of Rs 2,000 but in the second phase they would receive Rs 2500 per month, while those belonging to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas would be paid Rs 3000 per month, Maryam added. She said that the incumbent chairperson of Youth Development Programme Leila Khan had worked with her as advisor and she had full trust in her abilities. She said for her the designations do not matter as she could serve the nation even without that. ‘My father has the honour to serve this country for the third time as prime minister. I feel honoured to assist him in his work for the welfare of masses,’ she added. Education and Training State Minister Baligh-ur-Rehman said when the PML-N came into power the country was facing several challenges, including energy, economic and extremism issues but the political acumen of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and steps taken by his government had started to bring it out of those crises.
Source: DailyTimes