Engineer Qadir Looni
As a social activist, I informed the media that the number of unemployed engineers in Balochistan has now reached an alarming level. Each year, there are 1,200 young Balochistanis who graduate as engineers from universities throughout Pakistan. Unfortunately, roughly only 10% find employment. The remaining 1,000 young engineering graduates each year often become grossly under-employed, or not employed at all. Rather than significantly contributing to the economy and society, these jobless youths often become a burden to their parents, as well as society as a whole.
Rather than passively waiting for CPEC to bring opportunities to Pakistan, the government should immediately encourage and incentivize the establishment of businesses and industries in Balochistan that will ultimately work in synergy with CPEC. In the meantime, such immediate growth of businesses will have a direct impact on the current dismal general unemployment rate in Balochistan, as well as to specifically reduce the unemployment of our young engineering graduates.
Each year 1,200 engineers of Balochistan Graduate from universities throughout Pakistan and roughly 10% of them can find employment
Moreover, with the Pakistani government taking a proactive step toward business and industrial growth now, once CPEC is fully functional, Balochistan will be better positioned to provide a wide range of goods and services, as well as to have a significant number of young engineers already possessing useful experience and skills.
I recommend that the Pakistani government immediately establish a task force of professionals and businessmen to perform a study on the types of businesses and industries that will be required to support and/or synergize CPEC operations and maintenance. In addition, this task force could then provide recommendations to the government of how best to incentivize businesses to establish operations in Balochistan. Finally, this task force could make and post projections of all types of future jobs that are anticipated, along with a detailed description of each technical position, including an undoubted variety of engineers. In this way, the youth will be better prepared to capitalize on the opportunities that await them.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author and Balochistan Voices not necessarily agrees with them.
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