Experts urge youth to utilize their skills for ending unemployment

Speakers at a ceremony urged youth to go to entrepreneurships and utilize their skills for eliminating menace of unemployment for the betterment of society.

They also urged government and the society to provide alternatives and opportunities to youth for entrepreneurship to help boost economy and prevent them from slipping into the hands of extremists forces.

The ceremony was organized by Shaoor Foundation for Education and Awareness (SFEA) at the closing of its project Pakistan’s Entrepreneurs Network for Youth (PENY) at the Pakistan National Council of Arts, Islamabad.

PENY was a year-long project funded by USAID Small Grants and Ambassador’s Fund Program and is being implemented in six universities, three from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and three from Punjab. Under the project, more than 1,000 male and female students were trained on entrepreneurship.

A political and rights activist, Zaheeruddin Dar said society needs to encourage young people to pursue their dreams. A major share of Pakistan’s population is consisting of youth and there is great need to provide then with training and mentoring them.

Abid Anwar, Small Grants Ambassador Program said this is a great opportunity for students to learn from such training programs. He said the USAID is working on promoting entrepreneurship in Pakistan; however, they have received a very small number of applications for funding in this thematic area. He urged young entrepreneurs to come with new ideas.

Executive Director SFEA Mubashir Akram said doing a private or government job is not bad but the youth can work on new ideas. He said entrepreneurs make societies and it is high time to train and mentor youth to pursue their dreams and earn a living. He said there is great need to promote entrepreneurial thinking in our society.

Founding President SFEA Syed Ali Hameed said everyone talks of entrepreneurship but none talk of providing alternatives.

Chief Executive Officer E-4 Technologies, Umer Adnan said every problem offers an opportunity and it is up to the youth to find a solution to a problem and make a living out of it. He said entrepreneurship is the lifeline of economies across the world and Pakistan needs to invest in its youth for economic sustainability.

Ibraheem Ahmed, trainer for PENY shared his experiences of working with the six universities under the project. He said there are hundreds of thousands of young people in Pakistan who can become great entrepreneurs. He urged students and youth to generate business ideas and for this purpose they need to start taking interest in life and people, see what problems people are facing, and help them solve the problems and that is your business idea.