Project to improve skills of youth launched

Published: 19 November 2008

ISLAMABAD, Nov 18: The British Council in collaboration with a civil society organisation here on Tuesday launched a project with an aim to improve skills and employability of young people.

The project ‘Youth social entrepreneurship award’ in collaboration with the Youth Engagement Services (YES) Network aims at inspiring the youth aged between 16 and 21 to embrace creativity and innovation and involve them in entrepreneurship programmes.

The award is an initiative of the British Council’s Skills for Employability four-year programme to build skills among young people and adults, enabling them to work and compete in today’s globalised world. It encourages closer links between education and industry with focus on strengthening the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector.

For the enterprise award, students from 27 TVET institutions across the country came together to identify common social challenges of their communities and devise creative skills to resolve them.

British High Commissioner Robert Brinkley on the occasion told the participants how young people brought new ideas and fresh ways of thinking to help themselves, their families and their communities.

Philippines Ambassador Jaime Jyam Vao on the occasion said: “Youth is the hope of future.

Young people can play an active role in solving various problems.”

Director of the British Council, Nasir Kazmi, said in today’s globalised world the focus on enterprise or entrepreneurship worked as it creates jobs and wealth.