Around 2,233 internees of National Internship Programme (NIP) have been offered employment on basis of their potential and performance in different public and private organisations.
NIP Director General Hidayatullah Khan on Sunday said that results of recent countrywide survey with participation of around 10,000 internees who completed their trainings, did show that those performing well were being offered permanent placement in respective organisations where they were placed to harness their potentials and improve working.
He said, “We have increased NIP stipend from Rs 12,000 to 15,000 with an objective to encourage fresh graduates’ participation in the programme. Around 84,000 students are already benefiting from the facility, of which 29,000 have completed their training.”
The DG said NIP has been getting popularity amongst the youth and received 146,000 applications against total 15,000 available seats for 2017.
Hidayat Khan said applicants’ academic record has already been forwarded to Higher Education Commission (HEC) for verifications, adding the process is expected to be completed soon.
Replying to a question, he said the seats under NIP were being allocated to provinces as per National Finance Award Formula. Moreover, he said age limit for applicants from less privileged areas including Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has been increased from 25 to 30 to accommodate maximum number of students.
The students of Wafaq-ul-Madaris registered with federal government and possessing a degree equal to graduation would also be considered for internship programme. Hadayatullah said under NIP female applicants were being encouraged to apply for the programme.
It may be mentioned that Pakistan Vision 2025 aimed to channelise and streamline energies of Pakistan’s large youth population and realize their immense economic potential.
A section of youth was dissatisfied and in a state of disarray due to low education levels and unemployment which has led to specific social problems. The government was committed to addressing this situation through major investment in youth. Under Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, the government was providing young people with skills, training and access to finance. Training programmes and job counseling will help in youth transition to work life.
National Internship Programme is designed to provide basis for youth training and development as well as experimental learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting.
Youth training give student opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths and give employers, both in the public as well as private sector, the opportunity
to guide and evaluate talent.