Punjab govt plans to send 100,000 skilled workers abroad in three years

The Punjab government has prepared a new workforce development strategy aimed at helping 100,000 skilled workers secure overseas jobs over the next three years through internationally recognised qualifications and verified digital profiles.

The roadmap, prepared by the Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Department (SDED), was presented to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz during a briefing on reforms being carried out by the department.

Under the proposed framework, Punjab will shift its focus from training completion to job placement, international certification and employer confidence in the skills of candidates.

According to official documents obtained by Daily Jang, the programme is expected to begin with up to 60,000 candidates in Pakistan. The government plans to facilitate overseas placements in collaboration with international partners operating across 17 countries.

The initiative is aimed mainly at labour markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Europe and other economies facing shortages of skilled technical workers.

The proposed model, called Verified Global Talent Mobility, will take candidates through a structured process starting with technical and vocational training, followed by competency-based assessments aligned with international standards.

Candidates will then receive verified digital profiles containing authenticated details of their skills, qualifications and documents. These profiles will be used for AI-assisted matching with overseas employers, followed by managed visa, mobility and placement support.

Officials said the framework is designed to move Punjab away from isolated overseas recruitment drives towards a system where workers’ skills, qualifications and documents are verified before they enter foreign labour markets.

The presentation noted that global recruitment is increasingly focused not only on formal qualifications but also on skill authenticity, training quality, identity verification and workforce readiness.

As part of the plan, SDED signed a collaboration agreement on June 2, 2026, at Basingstoke College in the United Kingdom with the UK Qualifications Alliance (UKQA) and Certif-ID to establish internationally recognised vocational pathways for learners in Punjab.

Performance data shared in the briefing showed that Punjab’s public vocational training institutions trained 410,848 individuals between February 2024 and June 2026.

Of these, 261,428 were trained by TEVTA, 111,655 by PVTC and 37,765 through PSDF programmes.

During the same period, the three organisations facilitated 139,510 employment outcomes, including domestic jobs, overseas employment and self-employment.

TEVTA accounted for 56,723 placements, PVTC for 64,787 and PSDF for 18,000.