Self-employment: ‘Private sector should develop programmes’

Non-availability of microfinance for youth top concern.

KARACHI:

The government alone cannot control the menace of unemployment, so the private sector should join hands to develop self-employment programmes for skilled and semi-skilled youth, experts said.

This was discussed during a seminar on ‘Highly demanded real-time trades in Sindh’, organised at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Monday.

Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Programme (BBSYDP) Provincial Coordinator Haji Karim Bakhsh Siddiqui said that the government was training youth under various programmes, but it could not provide employment to all those trained by them.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Siddiqui said, “The top problem that our youth face is non-availability of microfinance, because of which a lot of them fail to start their own business.”

“We want to increase self-employment, but inculcating such ideas into our youth is a long drawn out process because most of the youth are interested in opting for jobs instead,” he replied, when asked about the challenges faced by BBSYDP.

KCCI President Saeed Shafiq, speaking to participants, said that the chamber was ready to join hands with BBSYDP to train youth in becoming self-employed. “We cannot rely only on the government to control unemployment because it is a very big problem for our country,” he said.

KCCI was ready to design self-employment programmes for skilled and semi-skilled youth, Shafiq said, adding that it could also train youth in investing in low-budget businesses.

“We cannot afford wasting time because hundreds and thousands of youth are passing out from colleges and universities, and they are not getting jobs,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2011.