Youth social entrepreneurship: Turning challenges into opportunities

The youth social entrepreneurship course is designed to help them build a better future for themselves.

To turn challenges into opportunities, the concept of ‘Social entrepreneurship education and service learning’ would be integrated into the curriculum of training institutes across Punjab. Around 155 vocational training centres of Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC) will implement this change with the help of Youth Engagement Services (YES) Network Pakistan, said a press release issued by the YES Network.

The youth social entrepreneurship course is designed not only to engage students in solving social problems of their communities in an organised manner, but also to help them build a better future for themselves. This includes 10 hours of actual class work to familiarise participants with the concept of youth social entrepreneurship, process of development of a social enterprise plan and 40 hours of field work in social activities.

YES has already made arrangements for smooth integration of this concept in PVTC’s curriculum. The duration of the social entrepreneurship and service learning course is 50 hours.

The training council, PVTC, is an autonomous corporate body established by the Punjab government through the PVTC Act of 1998. It is the first organisation in the country which has launched social entrepreneurship and service learning course for transforming disadvantaged youth from victims to social entrepreneurs.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2011.