PM Sharif emphasises need for world-class talent pool in Pakistan

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif stressed the need for a world-class talent pool in Pakistan due to its importance in making a difference in the success of the nation. 

Chairing a high-level meeting here on Wednesday, he said, “Businesses want to invest in places where the talent is; where the politics and policies are stable, and where the system works.”

The meeting was aimed at ways to create a more capable workforce that was able to deliver the government’s policy program effectively and also was founded on the principles of impartiality and recruitment on merit, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release

Premier Shehbaz Sharif constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the finance minister to seek and firm up propositions in the policy to enhance and clarify the work pass framework currently in vogue in ministries to better support Pakistan’s need for talent with the directions to submit its findings at the earliest.

The prime minister said, “Pakistan must build a world-class talent pool because this is an age where talent makes all the difference to a nation’s success.”

The meeting noted a dearth of technical input at policy making levels and emphasized its need, which is imperative if the civil service is to develop new skills, improve its management of big projects and adapt to the demands of a digital age.

The participants of the meeting highlighted the barriers to appoint people from outside such as long timescales, processes that prevented a proper search for the best candidates and pay inflexibility that made it all difficult to attract the best talent, particularly in areas of skills shortages.

Minister for Finance and Revenue Federal Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Dr. Musadiq Malik, Ahad Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Sardar Awais Leghari, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Muhammad Jehanzeb, Minister of State Shaza Fatima and high-level officials attended the meeting.