tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post3352609531460916624..comments2024-03-26T19:25:43.970-07:00Comments on South Asia Investor Review: Pakistan Poised to Reap Huge Demographic DividendRiaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-83399483612832925492023-08-10T17:36:36.628-07:002023-08-10T17:36:36.628-07:00Dependency ratio is the ratio of children (under 1...Dependency ratio is the ratio of children (under 15) and retirees (65 and above)) to working age (15-64 years) people in a population. Countries with high dependency ratios tend to perform poorly relative to countries with low dependency ratios in terms of economic growth.<br /><br />A recent NY Times article by Lauren Leatherby titled "How a Vast Demographic Shift Will Reshape the World" uses charts and graphics to show how the world economic landscape will change during the rest of the century.<br /><br />It shows that Pakistan will join the top 10 countries with highest share of working age population and lowest dependency ratios.<br /><br />https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/07/16/world/world-demographics.html<br /><br />Pakistan will join top 10 countries in working age population in 2050<br /><br />Bangladesh is already in the top 10 working age population countries today.<br /><br />https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/07/16/world/world-demographics.html<br /><br /><br />Countries are categorized as having large working-age populations if people between the ages of 15 and 64, an age group commonly used by demographers, make up at least 65 percent of the total population.<br /><br />Countries where at least a quarter of the population is under age 15 and where less than 65 percent of the population is working age are categorized as having a large young population. Countries are categorized as having a large old population if those age 65 and older make up more than a quarter of the population.<br /><br />Unless noted otherwise, graphics include all countries with a population of at least 50,000 people.<br /><br />The world’s demographics have already been transformed. Europe is shrinking. China is shrinking, with India, a much younger country, overtaking it this year as the world’s most populous nation.<br /><br />But what we’ve seen so far is just the beginning.<br /><br />The projections are reliable, and stark: By 2050, people age 65 and older will make up nearly 40 percent of the population in some parts of East Asia and Europe. That’s almost twice the share of older adults in Florida, America’s retirement capital. Extraordinary numbers of retirees will be dependent on a shrinking number of working-age people to support them.<br /><br />In all of recorded history, no country has ever been as old as these nations are expected to get.<br /><br />As a result, experts predict, things many wealthier countries take for granted — like pensions, retirement ages and strict immigration policies — will need overhauls to be sustainable. And today’s wealthier countries will almost inevitably make up a smaller share of global G.D.P., economists say.<br /><br />This is a sea change for Europe, the United States, China and other top economies, which have had some of the most working-age people in the world, adjusted for their populations. Their large work forces have helped to drive their economic growth.<br /><br />Those countries are already aging off the list. Soon, the best-balanced work forces will mostly be in South and Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East, according to U.N. projections. The shift could reshape economic growth and geopolitical power balances, experts say.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-75419348701945378462023-03-17T16:46:12.120-07:002023-03-17T16:46:12.120-07:00Why are women in #China not having more babies des...Why are women in #China not having more babies despite gov't incentives? With rapidly #aging and declining #population and slowing #economic growth, China’s leaders are asking #women to have three children again, but it's too late. #economy #fertility https://www.marketplace.org/2023/03/17/why-are-women-in-china-not-having-more-babies/<br /><br />Fewer people might mean slower growth in China, which will be felt by the U.S. and beyond.<br /><br />“They’ve now become, you know, the center of the global manufacturing superhighway and are typically the largest contributor to growth every year,” said Scott Kennedy with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C.<br /><br />Chinese officials often credit the so-called one-child policy for preventing over 400 million births, but some analysts say China’s population would have declined regardless.<br /><br />“It’s just simply a rule across all countries, that as you urbanize, and as you get a more educated female population that enters the workforce, fertility numbers fall,” Kennedy said.<br /><br />-------<br /><br />The number of Chinese workers is already declining; according to the World Bank, in 2001, China had 10 workers to support one retiree.<br /><br />“In 2020, that was down to five working folks for each retiree and by 2050 it’ll be down to two,” Kennedy said.<br /><br />He believes China still has time to offset the effects of population decline, including by boosting productivity, increasing the retirement age and lifting restrictions on people from rural areas to freely settle in cities with their families.<br /><br />“I don’t think the problem has become so severe that demography is destiny, and China is destined to radically slow down and its chances of becoming an economic superpower breaking out of the middle income trap have been dashed,” Kennedy said.<br /><br />“[But] these are pretty significant challenges.”<br /><br /><br />------<br /><br />28-year-old Joy Yu’s parents each had three siblings. As they were growing up in the 1970s, the Chinese government started to limit the number of babies born.<br /><br />Government statistics show on average a woman in China went from having about three babies in the late 1970s to just one.<br /><br />Four decades on, China’s leaders are asking women to have three children again, which doesn’t sit well for Yu, an only child.<br /><br />“For me to give birth to three children, my future husband must be rich enough to make sure I can live well without a job. This is a big challenge,” Yu said.<br /><br />Last year, China’s population dropped for the first time in six decades by 850,000. That still leaves the country with 1.41 billion people but if the decline continues, there will be multiple impacts on the economy.<br /><br />China began enforcing birth limits in the late 1970s when the country was poor and there were too many mouths to feed.<br /><br />In a Chinese propaganda film called the Disturbance of Gan Quan Village, the birth restrictions were justified on economic grounds.<br /><br />“We should put our energy into getting rich rather than keep having children,” says one woman in the film.<br /><br />She’s sitting among a group of women picking corn kernels off the cob. “Aren’t we getting poorer with each child we have,” she says. The rest of the group nods in agreement.<br /><br />Chinese leaders enforced, sometimes brutally, the so-called one-child policy in 1979, just as the country was coming out of the tumultuous Cultural Revolution.<br /><br />“The post-[Chairman] Mao leadership thought that economic development would be the new basis for the party’s political legitimacy and based on pseudo-scientific and demographic projections, limiting birth to one child per married heterosexual couple,” said Yun Zhou, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Michigan.<br /><br />There were exceptions. Some ethnic minority groups could have up to three children. People from rural areas could try for a second child if their first-born was not a boy. Later, if both parents had no siblings they could have two children. Starting in 2016, China raised the birth limit for everyone to two children, but there was no sustained baby bump.<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-52114036644314327762023-03-16T16:51:08.739-07:002023-03-16T16:51:08.739-07:00Digital census process continues smoothly: PBS
ht...Digital census process continues smoothly: PBS<br /><br />https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/03/16/digital-census-process-continues-smoothly-pbs/<br /><br /><br />ISLAMABAD: The process of the 7th Population and Housing Census, being conducting digitally for the first time in the country’s history, has been going on smoothly all across the country, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported here on Thursday.<br /><br />“The overall progress and speed of the census process is very encouraging and satisfactory,” PBS said in a press statement issued here.<br /><br />The process includes an option for self-enumeration, which was made available from February 20, 2023, till March 10, 2023, and field operations of house listing and enumeration commenced from March 01, 2023, that will continue till April 4, 2023.<br /><br />Conducting a census digitally ensures transparency, data-driven procedures, real-time monitoring of progress through geo-tagging using GIS systems, and wider acceptability of census results, said PBS press statement.<br /><br />It said structures were listed from March 1st to March 10, 2023, during which all the residential and economic units were geotagged along with the classification of economic activities as per international standards.<br /><br />It said, the self-enumeration portal was very well received by people who have enumerated themselves using the portal launched and this method was optional.<br /><br />Currently, the final phase of the census i.e. enumeration is ongoing starting from March 12, 2023, and would continue till April 4, 2023. In this phase, the data about household members and their demographic characteristics, various Socio-Economic Indicators, as well as Housing characteristics, are being collected.<br /><br />PBS technical team is analyzing and assessing the data and trends on a day-to-day basis to ensure the quality of the data and progress in identified 291 blocks all over Pakistan. Physical verification and digital monitoring are being used for quality assurance.<br /><br />PBS has established 495 Census Support Centers (CSC) at the Census District level and 495 Census Support Centers (CSC) at the tehsil level where over 1,095 IT experts of NADRA and PBS team are available 24/7 for technical assistance and facilitation of field staff.<br /><br />The control room has been established at the CSC level which facilitates census field staff during field operation and for this purpose, NADRA technical teams are available to redress all IT-related issues.<br /><br />A call center is operating 24/7 for facilitation, assistance and suggestions through the toll-free number 0800-57574.<br /><br />It said, certain quarters were spreading false and misinformation, adding information shared on the PBS website and official social media should be believed and considered.<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-47535638405151140422023-01-22T19:23:12.601-08:002023-01-22T19:23:12.601-08:00During the year 2022 (December), 832,339 Pakistani...During the year 2022 (December), 832,339 Pakistanis proceeded abroad for the purpose of employment.<br /><br />https://beoe.gov.pk/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=b1b4890b1c9705af3b244646c1cd140ad59f0f8a-1577426531-0-Aa7RUMV3c8t-qhTE_wsuXG88GqpOS3SMabeKgwCnn8PO1ZJYBDvkMO4w6yBOsrXLO6HMNxdolaCf201abOoKQn8NU4gXnLVBmFUbaSSfa4KACGuXEphZ-Wpph8DHxEtVFtH_nr3GpKtP5CCKSEDnMfnNes7Xq-dXpcOlCoO6icVLUUltg12JbgVKSxVgUZ7CtIDNT7WC6AqKIYyGIhk-uLlsnW0VYaWhYjeRDqqTPExfqB_E1oGyko049nDUaiNxQL7JRYlKIkcGUVzYTraqiok<br /><br />Since inception of the Bureau in the year 1971, more than 10 million emigrants have been provided overseas employment duly registered with the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment. During the year 2015, highest number of Pakistanis(946,571) proceeded abroad for the purpose of employment. During the year 2022 (December), 832,339 Pakistanis proceeded abroad for the purpose of employment.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-35384154863353955132022-09-10T14:19:59.948-07:002022-09-10T14:19:59.948-07:00Germany is hoping to combat its shortage of skille...Germany is hoping to combat its shortage of skilled workers with a new ‘opportunity card’.<br /><br />https://www.euronews.com/travel/2022/09/06/skilled-workers-are-in-demand-as-germany-tackles-labour-shortage-with-new-points-based-vis<br /><br />The ‘chancenkarte’ will use a points system to enable workers with required skills to come to Germany more easily.<br /><br />It is part of a strategy proposed by Labour Minister Hubertus Heil to address the country’s labour shortages, which is due to be presented to the government this autumn.<br /><br /><br />Every year, quotas will be set depending on which industries need workers. Three out of four of the following criteria must also be met to apply for the scheme:<br /><br />A degree or vocational training recognised by Germany<br />Three years’ professional experience<br />Language skills or a previous stay in Germany<br />Under 35 years old<br />Currently, most non-EU citizens need to have a job offer before they can relocate to Germany. A visa for job seekers already exists, but the 'chancenkarte' is expected to make it easier and faster for people looking to find work in Germany.<br /><br />Citizens of certain countries with visa agreements can already enter Germany for 90 days visa-free but are only permitted to take up short-term employment.<br /><br />The opportunity card will allow people to come and look for a job or apprenticeship while in the country rather than applying from abroad. Applicants must be able to prove they can afford to pay their living expenses in the mean time.<br /><br />The exact details of the scheme are yet to be formalised.<br /><br />Why does Germany need to attract skilled workers?<br />This year, the shortage of skilled workers in Germany has risen to an all time high. Earlier this year, the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) found 1.74 million vacant positions throughout the country.<br /><br />In July, staff shortages affected almost half of all companies surveyed by Munich-based research institute IFO, forcing them to slow down their operations.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-90937796751731549072021-07-13T07:41:14.635-07:002021-07-13T07:41:14.635-07:00UP's fertility rate nearly halved from 4.82 in...UP's fertility rate nearly halved from 4.82 in 1993 to 2.7 in 2016 - and it's expected to touch 2.1 by 2025, according to a government projection.<br /><br /><br />https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57801764<br /><br /><br />Given the falling rates, "incentivising sterilisation is counterproductive", Ms Muttreja added, because "70% of India's increase in population is going to come from young people. So, what we need is non-permanent, spacing methods".<br /><br />Fertility rates have dipped below replacement levels - 2.1 births per woman - in 19 out of India's 22 states and federally administered territories for which data has been released in the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS). Data from the remaining nine states, including UP, is not ready yet.<br /><br />----------<br /><br />Increased awareness, government programmes, urbanisation, upward mobility and greater use of modern methods of contraception have all contributed to this.<br /><br />Nearly half of the world's countries have seen an extraordinary decline in fertility rates. By 2070, the global fertility rate is expected to drop below replacement levels, according to the UN.<br /><br />China's fertility rate had dropped to 1.3 in 2020, while India's was 2.2 at the last official count in 2016.<br /><br />Will the world's 'first male birth control shot' work?<br />Why do Indian women go to sterilisation camps?<br />So, why implement this rule now?<br />One reason, according to demographers, is the differing rates across India.<br /><br />Six states - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh - that are home to roughly 40% of India's population also have fertility rates higher than the replacement level, 2.1. This is in sharp contrast with Kerala (1.8), Karnataka (1.7), Andhra Pradesh (1.7) or Goa (1.3).<br /><br />"Also, our cities are overcrowded and ill-planned. They convey an image of over-population," Dr KS James, director of International Institute of Population Sciences, said.<br /><br />Political analysts also believe UP's chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, has an eye on state elections slated for next year. And, with such a drastic move, he hopes to signal a development agenda that is removed from his controversial image as a divisive right-wing Hindu nationalist.<br /><br />This is not a new idea either. In 2018, more than 125 MPs wrote to the president asking for the implementation of a two-child norm. The same year the Supreme Court dismissed several petitions seeking population control measures as it could lead to a "civil war-like situation". In the last year, three MPs from Mr Adityanath's governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) introduced bills in parliament to control population.<br /><br />Since the early 1990s, 12 states have introduced some version of the two child-policy.<br /><br />Did it work?<br />It's hard to say because different states implemented different versions of it - some left loopholes and others introduced financial incentives alongside the punitive measures.<br /><br />There has been no independent evaluation either but a study in five of the states showed a rise in unsafe and sex-selective abortions, and men divorcing their wives or giving up their children for adoption so they could contest polls.<br /><br />But the results are mixed - four states revoked the law; Bihar started in 2007 but still has the country's highest fertility rate (3.4); and Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have all seen a remarkable drop in fertility rates with no such norms in place.<br /><br />"India is at a perfect stage as far as population distribution is concerned," Niranjan Saggurti, director of the Population Council's office in India said.<br /><br />Experts say India has entered a demographic dividend - the ability of a young and active workforce to catapult economies out of poverty. How India can harness this, especially in populous states like Uttar Pradesh, remains to be seen.<br /><br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-23733181255144076302021-06-26T16:55:28.626-07:002021-06-26T16:55:28.626-07:00In 1962, a landmark legislation laid the foundatio...In 1962, a landmark legislation laid the foundation of vocational training in Pakistan. The Apprenticeship Ordinance, 1962 was promulgated by the government of Gen Ayub Khan to feed the growing industries with skilled technicians and process operators.<br /><br />https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/854127-vocational-training<br /><br /><br />This was followed by the Apprenticeship Rules in 1966, which quite comprehensively provided modalities of the training scheme, obligations of both the employers and apprentices and the latter’s terms and conditions of apprenticeship.<br /><br />The Ordinance of 1962, has been made applicable to undertakings employing fifty or more persons, as are notified by the provincial government in the official gazette. The notified undertaking is obliged to introduce and operate an apprenticeship programme and get it registered with the Competent Authority defined in the Ordinance.<br /><br />Such undertaking is required to train apprentices in the proportion of a minimum of twenty percent of the total number of persons employed in the ‘apprenticeable trade’. For instance, if an undertaking employs five electricians, it should have at least one apprentice in this trade. There are more than three hundred vocational professions to choose from, encompassing different areas.<br /><br />The induction of the Ordinance met with immense success and all the notified undertakings established their apprenticeship centers in accordance with the law. The most notable among them was the remarkable apprenticeship training center established by the American corporate giant Exxon Chemical Pakistan Limited at its fertilizer plant in Daharki (Sindh).<br /><br />In the late 1960s, the Exxon corporation was attracted to install a plant in Pakistan looking at its rapid pace of industrial development. The company not only imparted training to apprentices in mechanical and chemical trades for two to three years duration but also devised a competitive scheme for their career development in the post apprenticeship employment of the company. Exxon’s successor company Engro Fertilizer Limited continues to follow the scheme.<br /><br />The federal government has promulgated the Apprenticeship Act, 2018 by repealing the Ordinance of 1962, which has become outdated. However, due to the 18th Amendment, provisions of the act of 2018 extend only to the Islamabad Capital Territory. The provinces should make and enforce their own apprenticeship acts, to revive the effectiveness of a most beneficial training scheme.<br /><br />In order to supplement the apprenticeship scheme and boost vocational training in the country, the government promulgated the National Training Ordinance, 1980, which was amended through the Amendment Ordinance, 2002. The purpose of the ordinance was to constitute training boards in the respective provinces to regulate and promote vocational training facilities in various fields. By virtue of this ordinance, the scope of vocational training has widened beyond the confines of notified undertakings. While the apprenticeship training extends only to the apprentices enrolled with some undertaking, any person whether or not he/she is employed, can join the vocational training institutes established all over Pakistan, to learn the desired skill.<br /><br />The National Board has 17 different functions relating to promotion of technical, vocational and in-plant training and skill development etc. The provincial boards have nine functions, which include: (a) registration and licensing of establishments, organizations or institutions, which are offering vocational training; and (b) conducting trade tests and certifying the skilled persons and trainers, who may have received vocational training through any source or acquired the skill through experience or informal system of Ustad-Shagird.<br /><br />Most of Pakistan’s blue-collar workers learn their work informally and have little to no formal academic education. However, raw potential is not a substitute for proper industrial skills-based training.<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-34460996686177666102021-05-18T21:28:11.784-07:002021-05-18T21:28:11.784-07:00#America's population is aging. We need learn ...#America's population is aging. We need learn to live with low fertility. #US is going to be living for a long time with slow population growth & low #GDP growth. And we need to start thinking about #economic policy with that reality in mind. #demographics https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/opinion/low-population-growth-economy-inflation.html?smid=tw-share<br /><br />Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported much higher inflation than almost anyone predicted, and inflationistas — people who always predict runaway price rises, and have always been wrong — seized on the news as proof that this time the wolf is real.<br /><br />Financial markets, however, took it in stride. Stocks fell on the report, but they soon made up most of the losses.<br /><br />Bond yields rose only slightly on the news, then ended the week right where they started — namely, extremely low.<br /><br />Why so little reaction to the inflation news? Part of the answer, presumably, was that once investors had time to digest the details they realized that there was little sign of a rise in underlying inflation; this was a blip reflecting what were probably one-time rises in the prices of used cars and hotel rooms.<br /><br />Beyond that, however, is what I think is the realization that while we’re achieving dramatic, almost miraculous success in defeating Covid-19, once the pandemic subsides we’re likely to be in an environment of sustained low interest rates as a result of weak investment demand. And the biggest reason for that low-rate environment is plunging fertility, which implies slow or even negative growth in the number of Americans in their prime working years.<br /><br />This isn’t a new issue. Last month’s census report showing the lowest U.S. population growth since the 1930s only confirmed what everyone studying the subject already knew. And America is relatively late to this party. Japan’s working-age population has been declining since the mid-1990s. The euro area has been on the downslope since 2009. Even China is starting to look like Japan, a legacy of its one-child policy.<br /><br /><br />Is stagnant or declining population a big economic problem? It doesn’t have to be. In fact, in a world of limited resources and major environmental problems there’s something to be said for a reduction in population pressure. But we need to think about policy differently in a flat-population economy than we did in the days when maturing baby boomers were rapidly swelling the potential work force.<br /><br />OK, let me admit that there is one real issue: An aging population means fewer active workers per retiree, which raises some fiscal issues. But this problem is often exaggerated. Remember all the panic about how Social Security couldn’t survive the burden of retiring boomers? Well, many boomers have already retired; by 2025 most of the growth in the number of beneficiaries per worker caused by retiring baby boomers will already have occurred. Yet there’s no crisis.<br /><br />There is, however, a different issue with low population growth. To maintain full employment, a market economy must persuade businesses to invest all the money households want to save. Yet a lot of investment demand is driven by population growth, as new families need newly built houses, new workers require the construction of new office buildings and factories, and so on.<br /><br /><br />So low population growth can cause persistent spending weakness, a phenomenon diagnosed in 1938 by the economist Alvin Hansen, who awkwardly dubbed it “secular stagnation.” The term and concept have been revived recently by Larry Summers, and on this issue I think he’s right.<br /><br />Secular stagnation can be a problem, because if interest rates are very low even in good times there’s not much room for the Fed to cut rates during recessions. But a low-interest-rate world can also offer major policy opportunities — if we’re willing to think clearly.<br /><br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-83155389095649584142021-05-11T10:54:03.159-07:002021-05-11T10:54:03.159-07:00These are the countries most affected by the decli...These are the countries most affected by the decline in working age populations<br /><br /><br />https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/declining-working-age-populations-japan-korea-germany-italy-employment/<br /><br />Within the OECD, countries such as Korea, Japan, Germany and Italy have a declining working age population.<br />The OECD calculated that Japan is the country most heavily affected, as its working population is set to be just 60% of its original size by 2050.<br />Within the OECD, Korea, Japan, Germany and Italy are among the countries most heavily affected by a decline of their working age populations. Taking each country’s population between the ages of 20 and 64 in the year 2000 as a base, the OECD calculated that by 2050, that population would only be around 80 percent of its original size in Korea and Italy. In Japan, the country most heavily affected, that number would be just over 60 percent.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />For the OECD in total, the size of the working age population is actually expected to increase and be at 111 percent of the 2000 figure in 2050. The growth is driven by countries with strong birth rates and large populations, like Australia, Turkey and the United States.<br /><br />While Japan’s working age population has been in decline since the 1990s, Korea’s working age population was expected to start its decline in 2019. The country's statistics bureau just confirmed that the entire population of South Korea in fact declined by 0.04 percent in 2020.<br /><br />For countries experiencing a decline of working age population, problems like underfunded social systems, tight labor markets and an overstretched medical and care sector are common.<br /><br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-17703078697139756022021-05-11T10:04:11.964-07:002021-05-11T10:04:11.964-07:00Falling Populations May Keep Poor Countries From G...Falling Populations May Keep Poor Countries From Getting Rich - Bloomberg<br /><br />https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-07-26/falling-populations-may-keep-poor-countries-from-getting-rich<br /><br />New population estimates suggest the window for many big developing nations may be closing faster than they realized.<br /><br />The United Nations currently predicts that by 2027, India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country. Estimates suggest India and Nigeria will together add 470 million people in the next three decades — almost a quarter of the world’s population increase to 2050. According to a new study from the University of Washington, however, several developing nations may find their so-called demographic dividend much less of a boon than anticipated.<br /><br />Published in the Lancet, the UW study has improved on the UN’s model by modelling fertility differently and making its decline more sensitive to the availability of contraception and the spread of education. In many parts of India, for instance, the total fertility rate — the expected average number of children born to each woman — is already well below the replacement rate of 2.1 and dropping faster than expected. The study, which also tries to account for the feedback loops between education, mortality and migration, concludes that populations around the world are going to start shrinking sooner and faster than projected.<br /><br />South Asia, for example, would have 600 million fewer people in 2100 than previously predicted thanks to lower-than-expected levels of fertility. Instead of growing throughout, India’s population would peak in 2050 and then decline to 70% of that number by the end of the century. By that point, China’s population would be about half its current size. On the other hand, sub-Saharan Africa would continue to grow, with Nigeria entering the 22nd century as the world’s second-largest country, behind India and just ahead of China and Pakistan.<br /><br />For policymakers in India and several other developing nations, this isn’t good news. As the authors of the UW study point out, a shrinking global population has “positive implications for the environment, climate change, and food production.” But it also means time is running out — indeed, may already have run out — on those nations’ development clocks.<br /><br />China has been truly fortunate in its demographics; it peaked at the right time. Working-age Chinese people, both in total numbers and as a share of the population, crested just when world trade was most open. This made the possibilities for manufacturing-led growth easier to seize than they had been for centuries.<br /><br />Those countries that come next — India and Pakistan in particular — will confront a more closed world. And, worse, they now know that it is people currently in the workforce, or children in school, who over their lifetimes will have to lift the country to prosperity. For countries whose populations will begin to decline in the 2040s, this generation of workers and the next is all there is: They must, like their Chinese counterparts in the last two decades, push their countries from farm to factory and beyond.<br /><br />---------------<br /><br />Even the most fortunate countries will need to be careful. By 2050, as expected, China will be the world’s largest economy. But the study authors predict that, as the Chinese population declines, immigration should in theory continue to bolster America’s workforce. The U.S. could again become the world’s largest economy in 2098 — if the country lives up to its ideals and continues to welcome the world’s migrants. There’s no better way to ensure America becomes great again.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-58280501012225266952020-01-18T19:31:14.602-08:002020-01-18T19:31:14.602-08:00#Pakistan National #Vocational and #Technical #Tra...#Pakistan National #Vocational and #Technical #Training Commission (NAVTTC) to launch joint degree programs with #Australia, #Germany & #UK. 15,000 youth to be trained by NAVTCC under Prime Minister's Hunarmand Pakistan program. #education #skills https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/600786-navttc-to-launch-joint-degree-programmes-with-west<br /><br />The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) is going to start joint degree programmes in collaboration with Australia, Germany and United Kingdom, said NAVTTC Executive Director Dr Nasir Khan.<br /><br />"Almost 30 per cent quota has been reserved for women, while other women can join NAVTTC initiatives on merit," Dr Nasir told reporters here.<br /><br />He said a total of one hundred and seventy thousand youth will get training by National Vocational and Technical Training Commission under Prime Minister's Hunarmand Pakistan programme.<br /><br />The NAVTTC ED said a total of one hundred and seventy thousand youth will get training by National Vocational and Technical Training Commission under Prime Minister's Hunarmand Pakistan programme.<br /><br />He said the main purpose of the programme was to enhance the skills and knowledge of internees in public and private sectors. Dr Nasir said leading private firms and development sector firms, federal, provincial and local government institutions including educational institutions would offer training under the scheme.<br /><br />He said under the programme, youth would be trained in the latest technologies according to the demand of the industry.<br /><br />The NAVTTC ED said the courses would comprise three and six month training and candidates of all educational levels can benefit from this initiative.<br /><br />He said the courses will be started at 558 centres across the country and that the skill development training will be provided in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Computing, Information Technology and traditional programmes.<br /><br />Dr Nasir said 600,000 trained youth were on the data bank of NAVTTC and the data was provided to the ministries and departments concerned for employment within the country and abroad.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-72358150304220081142019-11-10T09:45:24.631-08:002019-11-10T09:45:24.631-08:00The 2030 Skills Scorecard
Bridging business, educa...The 2030 Skills Scorecard<br />Bridging business, education, and the future of work<br /><br />https://gbc-education.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/GBC-Education-2030-Skills-Scorecard.pdf<br /><br /><br />South Asia has experienced some of the fastest economic growth rates globally. If strong investments in skills development are made, the region is poised to maintain growth in the coming decades. Today, South Asia is home to the largest number of young people of any global region, with almost half of its population of 1.9 billion below the age of 24. Youth unemployment remains high (at 9.8% in 2018) because of changing labor market demands and over — or under — qualification of job candidates. In most South Asian countries, the projected proportion of children and youth completing secondary education and learning basic secondary skills is expected to more than double by 2030. Still, on current trends, fewer than half of the region’s projected 400 million primary and secondary school-age children in 2030 are estimated to be on track to complete secondary education and attain basic workforce skills.<br /><br />----------------------------------------------<br />More than half of South Asian youth are not on track to have the education and skills necessary for employment in 2030<br />South Asia has the largest youth labour force in the world with nearly 100,000 young people entering the labour market each day<br /><br />With almost half of its population of 1.8 billion below the age of 24, led by India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, South Asia will have the largest youth labour force in the world until 2040.This offers the region the potential to drive vibrant and productive economies. If strong investments in skills development are made, the region is poised to maintain strong economic growth as well as an expansion of opportunities in the education and skills sectors in the coming decades.<br /><br />* These estimates were generated based on a 2019 update of the Education Commission’s original 2016 projections model for the Learning Generation report. Most recent national learning assessment data used for each country as follows: BCSE 2015 for Bhutan, GCE O Levels 2016 for Sri Lanka, LASI 2015 for Bangladesh, NAT 2016 for Pakistan, NCERT 2017 for India, Nepali country assessment 2017 for Nepal, O Level Exam 2016 for Maldives. Afghanistan is not included due to lack of recent learning assessment data at the secondary level.<br /><br />https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/more-half-south-asian-youth-are-not-track-have-education-and-skills-necessary<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-46859418634124659212017-04-25T20:37:07.600-07:002017-04-25T20:37:07.600-07:00Pakistan Education Statistics 2015-16.pdf
http://...Pakistan Education Statistics 2015-16.pdf<br /><br />http://library.aepam.edu.pk/Books/Pakistan%20Education%20Statistics%202015-16.pdf<br /><br />In Pakistan, there are 3,746 technical and vocational institutions of which 1,123 (30%) are in public sector, whereas 2,623 (70%) are in private sector. The total enrolment in the technical and vocational institutions is 0.315 million, of which 0.137 million (44%) is in public sector, whereas, 0.177 million (56%) is in private sector. It has been seen that 30% of public technical & vocational institutions are serving 44% of total technical & vocational enrolment. While 70% of private institutes are serving for 56% of the private sector enrolment. The total male enrolment in the technical and vocational institutions is 0.203 million (64%), whereas, the female enrolment is 0.111 million (36%). The total teachers in the technical and vocational institutions are 18,157 out of those 9,139 (50%) are in public and 9,018 (50%) are in private sector. There are 13,773 (76%) male teachers and 4,384 (22%) female teachers. <br /><br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-20821359291741196002017-04-25T20:36:18.048-07:002017-04-25T20:36:18.048-07:00Pakistan Education Statistics 2015-16.pdf
http:/...Pakistan Education Statistics 2015-16.pdf<br /><br /><br />http://library.aepam.edu.pk/Books/Pakistan%20Education%20Statistics%202015-16.pdf<br /><br />In Pakistan, 1,418 degree colleges are<br />providing their services in education<br />system. Out of these 1,259 (89%) are in<br />public sector, whereas 159 (11%) are in<br />private sector.<br />The total enrolment at degree college<br />stage i.e. in grades 13 and 14, is 0.937<br />million. Out of these students at this<br />stage of education, 0.808 million (86%)<br />are completing their degrees from public<br />sector, whereas, rest of the 0.128 million<br />(14%) students are in private sector.<br />There are only 11% degree colleges are<br />running under private sector of<br />education, the reason is that these<br />colleges tend to be more expensive then<br />public colleges. <br /><br />----------<br /><br />There are total 163 universities<br />providing their services in both public<br />and private sector of education. Out of<br />these universities 91 (56%) are working<br />under umbrella of public sector,<br />whereas 72 (44%) are working under the<br />supervision of private sector as<br />reflected.<br />The total enrolment in the universities,<br />i.e., at post graduate stage, is 1.355<br />million. Out of this enrolment 1.141<br />million (84%) students are enrolled in<br />public universities, whereas, 0.214<br />million (16%) students are studying in<br />private universities. Despite the fact<br />that there are more universities in public<br />sector there are less students in these<br />universities as compare of private<br />sector.<br />The total male enrolment in the<br />universities is 0.753 million (56%),<br />whereas, the female enrolment is 0.602<br />million (44%).<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-40336346042457864432016-12-08T09:29:36.566-08:002016-12-08T09:29:36.566-08:00Excerpts of ADB Asia Economic Integration Report (...Excerpts of ADB Asia Economic Integration Report (AEIR) 2016 report: <br /><br /><br />In Asia and the Pacific, many economies could expand<br />their role as the source or host economy for migrant<br />workers. Labor supply is still growing in developing<br />economies—such as Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao<br />People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Myanmar, India,<br />Pakistan, and the Philippines—and they could export<br />labor across the region. In contrast, developed but aging<br />economies such as Hong Kong, China; the Republic of<br />Korea; Japan; and Singapore are unable to meet labor<br />demand with their dwindling workforce. Hence, these<br />economies would benefit from immigrant labor. Kang<br />and Magoncia (2016) further discuss the potential for<br />migration to reallocate labor from surplus to deficit<br />economies and offer a glimpse of how the demographic<br />shift will frame Asia’s future population structure,<br />particularly the future working age population. Among the<br />issues explored is the magnitude of labor force surpluses<br />and deficits within different economies in Asia <br /><br />------<br /><br /><br />World populations are aging—with the speed and extent of the<br />demographic shift varying across developed and developing<br />economies. Asia and the Pacific is at the heart of this demographic<br />shift with the world’s largest share of people aged 60 or over—<br />estimated to reach 62% by 2050. With the high and growing<br />share of economically inactive retirees and declining fertility<br />rates, labor supply will suffer, ultimately undermining the region’s<br />economic output.<br />How will the demographic shift frame Asia’s future population<br />structure, particularly working-age population? Using population<br />accounting methodology, Kang and Magoncia (2016) show how<br />effective certain policies could address the challenges associated<br />with the demographic change of population aging. One of the<br />policies explored is the increase in regional migration to augment<br />labor force deficits in aging economies in the region.<br /><br /><br />https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/214136/aeir-2016.pdf Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-39766890750318867322016-10-28T08:54:43.297-07:002016-10-28T08:54:43.297-07:00ISLAMABAD: Cambridge International Examinations (C...ISLAMABAD: Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) announced O’ and A’ Level results on Thursday.<br /><br />Schools in Pakistan made over 270,000 entries for Cambridge qualifications this year, an increase of seven per cent over last year. The names of high achievers across the world will be announced in January after detailed analysis of the results.<br /><br />Students heave a sigh of relief as CIE announces results<br /><br />“More students than ever before collected their CIE results today, as entries for Cambridge qualifications continue to grow in Pakistan and around the world,” said CIE Country Director Uzma Yousuf Zaka.<br /><br />Entries for O’ Level increased by five per cent from 154,137 in 2014-15 to 162,208 in 2015-16 and entries for A’ Level increased by eight percent from 84,365 to 91,094, the CIE Pakistan office told The Express Tribune.<br /><br />The popularity of Cambridge IGCSE is also growing in Pakistan, with entries increasing by 16 per cent this year, going up from 10,364 in 2014-15 to 12,019 this year.<br /><br />Globally there has been 10 percent growth in entries across all Cambridge qualifications this year, including 11 per cent growth in entries for Cambridge International A Levels and 8 per cent for Cambridge IGCSE.<br /><br />Schools in Islamabad offering O’ and A’ levels programmes said they were satisfied with the result.<br /><br />KGS tops list of outstanding Cambridge learners<br /><br />We had the best results this year, said Fahim Khan, Principal of Headstart, Senior Branch, F-8/4. About 330 students had appeared in the exam, and of them, over 100 were high achievers with more than three As. The students mostly secured As and A* in science subjects, economics and math, he said.<br /><br />We have regular, foreign qualified and committed teaching staff, he said, and we try to create a positive relationship between students and teachers besides striking a balance between cocurricular and academic activities.<br /><br />Natalia Ahsan, the best academic student who secured five straight As in A Level in the school said the best part was that the teachers were always available to them and she did not have to do extra efforts in the exams or go to tuition centers.<br /><br />Roots IVY International Schools CEO Khadija Mushtaq said her students earned over 1,200 As in IGCSE, O’ Levels, and A’ Levels.<br /><br />KGS, Lyceum win big at Harvard Model United Nations 2016<br /><br />The most notable among the O Level/IGCSE high achiever was Rida Shahid of DHA campus with 5 A* and 5 As, which is a phenomenal achievement, she said.<br /><br />Saifur Rehman and Babar Mushtaq from Roots IVY Chaklala Scheme III excelled by attaining 9 A*s in IGCSE. other notable IGCSE high achievers with 9 As include Babar Mustafa, Haiqa Kamran, Tallina Talle, Saifur Rehman, Umer Sadiq, Humna Rehman, Muhammad Hassan Malik, and Ali Mustafa Khatai.<br /><br />Tallina Talle attributed her success to her teachers and parents who made her work hard and opined that “if you work hard, you don’t need any tuition academies”.<br /><br />The A’ level results included Muhammad Afaaq, Muhammad Haisam Azhar and Arham Hameed from different campuses achieves 6 straight As.<br /><br />Islamabad College of Arts and Sciences (ICAS) Principal Nusrat Tahir also said praised her students, noting that they achieved 46 A*s, 100 As, and 121 Bs in O’ Levels, and 5 A*s, 60 As, and 55 Bs in A-Levels.<br /><br />http://tribune.com.pk/story/1160600/cambridge-results-record-setting-year-pakistanis/Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-51641729857303983012016-09-28T10:30:16.003-07:002016-09-28T10:30:16.003-07:00Rana Faroohar's review Ruchir Sharma's Ris...Rana Faroohar's review Ruchir Sharma's Rise & Fall of Nations:<br /><br /><br />The first rule is that “people matter,” meaning more precisely that demographics matter. Economic growth is basically demographics plus productivity, and given that both have been falling for a while now, as the gains of the last tech boom have been tapped out and the new one isn’t showing up in the data yet, we’re more dependent on demographics to drive growth than ever before. Unfortunately, in most parts of the world, the birth rate is falling. Countries that can come up with ways to welcome immigrants without causing too much political backlash will have a leg up, as will those that figure out ways to employ more older workers and women. That will be easier in nations that elect political reformers (as Argentina recently did) rather than populists (by this logic, Latin America may be at a turning point since its already passed through the dark life cycle stage of populism that many parts of Europe and even the US are in now).<br /><br />Of course, the populists have risen because inequality has grown. Sharma counts billionaires as a mark of that, but he says there are “good billionaires” (the Steve Jobs and Larry Pages of the world) that can actually point to higher productivity and prosperity in a country, versus bad billionaires (from extractive- or land-based industries like minerals, real estate, oil etc). Too many of those point to corruption and slower growth (on the Bad Billionaire metric, Russia is, not surprisingly, flashing red).<br /><br />Other things to watch: Countries’ own investments (public and private) into their economies (when investment rises growth is much more likely to accelerate). Inflation following debt binges can be a growth killer too, as is a run up in debt itself. Sharma has been one of the prescient seers of the Chinese debt crisis. He pointed out early on that it now takes $4 of debt to create a dollar of growth in China following the 2008 financial crisis, whereas it was a one to one ratio before. He was right, China’s debt crisis has since led to market volatility and much slower growth.<br /><br />By Sharma’s own admission, “there are precious few nations that would qualify as rising stars by the standards of the before crisis era. In 2007…the number of economies growing faster than 7% reached a postwar peak at more than sixty.” Today, there are only nine economies growing that fast. Slower growth has hit every region of the world, and this new math will require a mindset shift for investors.<br /><br />But there are some (relatively) bright spots. Sharma is more bullish on the U.S., particularly relative to the rest of the world, than many American voters are, noting that the shale oil revolution and dominance of Silicon Valley are positive signs for the future. South Asia, home to recent economic laggards, may also be set to rise, mostly because of Sharma’s life cycle theory of boom and bust and boom. Germany is a bright spot in Europe, as are a number of Eastern European nations. And yes, as the author wisely reminds us, a lot can change in 100 years.<br /><br />http://time.com/4362772/ruchir-sharma-rise-of-nations/Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-80237726827376374142016-08-28T19:58:57.741-07:002016-08-28T19:58:57.741-07:00#Pakistan dominate World Youth #Scrabble Champions...#Pakistan dominate World Youth #Scrabble Championship in #France https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/146048-Pakistan-dominate-World-Youth-Scrabble-Championship …<br /><br />Pakistani players were off to a rollicking start at the 11th World Youth Scrabble Championship which began at Lille, France, on Saturday.<br /><br />According to information made available here, 10-year-old debutant Imaad Ali was surprisingly the early leader winning his first two matches by huge margins to climb to the No 1 spot.<br /><br />Imaad lost his No 1 spot to the former world youth champion Jack Durand but another pre-teen Pakistani Hasham Hadi snatched the No 1 spot two matches later.<br /><br />At the end of day one, 11-year-old Hasham was at second spot with seven wins out of eight with a spread of 644, his only defeat coming at the hands of compatriot Daniyal Sanaullah.<br /><br />Daniyal was at third spot with seven wins and a spread of 602.<br /><br />Sorawit Chucharoen of Thailand is the only unbeaten player so far.<br /><br />Abbas Ali of Pakistan was at ninth position.<br /><br />Pakistan was the only team with six players in the top 16 at the end of day one.<br /><br />Nine-year-old Saim Usmani won four of his eight matches to top the under-10 age category.<br /><br />Pakistan is currently No 1, followed by Sri Lanka and Thailand. Pakistan’s Abdullah Abbasi won six of his eight matches and was 13th. The championship ends on Monday (today).Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-1018841258177870472016-04-23T07:56:49.420-07:002016-04-23T07:56:49.420-07:00#Pakistan’s Enormous Long-Term #Growth Potential. ...#Pakistan’s Enormous Long-Term #Growth Potential. Young #demographics, expanding #economy, #CPEC http://www.barrons.com/articles/pakistans-enormous-long-term-growth-potential-1461386993 … via @barronsonline<br /><br />To Western eyes, building a business in Pakistan seems nearly impossible with the country’s history of political turmoil and bouts of deadly terrorism committed by Islamic extremists.<br /><br />But there is a long-term growth story in the frontier market, where the economy is expanding at a roughly 4.5% annual pace. As part of a $6.6 billion loan package, the International Monetary Fund got the country to raise taxes and cut subsidies—notably for electric power. But the IMF program expires this year, a key risk. Still, the IMF noted in a recent review that Pakistan has shored up foreign reserves thanks to low oil prices, and it praised the creation of an independent monetary-policy committee. It also acknowledged that restructuring or privatizing ailing public enterprises has been disappointingly slow.<br /><br />The key to long-term growth is Pakistan’s population. At roughly 190 million, it is the sixth largest in the world. Importantly, more than half of Pakistan’s citizens are under age 25, eager for education and interested in success, says Najeeb Ghauri, CEO and founder of NetSol Technologies (ticker: NTWK), a California software company with a Pakistani campus.<br /><br />“Contrary to the negative headlines,” says T. Rowe Price frontier markets portfolio manager Oliver Bell, “Pakistan has been slowly progressing on a much more stable path; we saw successful elections and the peaceful handover of power in 2013, and the new government has shown a commitment to adhere to the IMF program.” Bell adds that Pakistan’s aggressive privatization of companies “is creating liquidity and buying opportunities” in its stock market.<br /><br />ONE OF THE BEST WAYS for retail investors to access this growth—a decidedly long-term bet—is the Global X MSCI Pakistan exchange-traded fund (PAK). The year-old ETF’s total return is negative 11% since inception. But that’s better than the iShares MSCI Frontier Market ETF (FM) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM), which each fell 18%.<br /><br />Financials account for a third of the Pakistan ETF, and Bell likes banks. A favorite is Pakistan’s largest lender, Habib Bank (HBL.Pakistan), which the government took public last year. A high percentage of Pakistan’s population don’t use banks, and Bell expects expanded loan growth. China’s investment in Pakistan’s infrastructure, especially power plants, should boost long-term growth. Earnings on Friday beat analysts’ expectations. Bell thinks the bank’s return on equity can expand to 25% in 2018 from 17% in 2013. But he doesn’t think the stock is expensive, at 1.4 times book value, given its growth and 8% yield.<br /><br />Of note: Habib Bank’s New York branch got an enforcement order from U.S. authorities in December, after they found repeated “significant breakdowns” in anti-money-laundering efforts.<br /><br />Multinationals are taking notice of Pakistan’s strides. Coca-Cola (KO) is expanding its Pakistan operations, which boasted double-digit growth in the latest quarter, says Curt Ferguson, president of Coke’s Middle East and North Africa business. He told Barron’s last week, “Pakistan is growing again. We just made a huge investment near the India-Pakistan border, in Mutan, which has a gorgeous new airport. Pakistan would really surprise people.”<br /><br />Perhaps, but not everyone wants the risk. Paul Christopher, global strategist at Wells Fargo, told us that Pakistan is among the frontier markets whose volatility makes it “not investible.”<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-13360308071564722282016-04-21T16:30:20.784-07:002016-04-21T16:30:20.784-07:00#Microsoft launches http://Rozgar.Work , #Employab...#Microsoft launches http://Rozgar.Work , #Employability & #Entrepreneurship Platform for #Pakistan. #skillsgap<br /><br />http://www.winbeta.org/news/microsoft-launches-rozgar-work-employability-entrepreneurship-platform-pakistan<br /><br />Microsoft has launched the first of its kind Employability and Entrepreneurship Platform, Rozgar.Work, in Pakistan, in collaboration with World Vision-Pakistan (via ProPakistani). The platform offers job-seekers with end-to-end career guidance, up skilling, job-matching and mentorship to address the ever growing issue of unemployment and underemployment. The new platform is powered by Microsoft Windows Azure Cloud, SQL, and SharePoint 2013.<br /><br />The event was attended by Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal as the chief guest, as well as Microsoft and World Vision executives.<br /><br />Microsoft Pakistan’s General Manager Nadeem Malik said,<br /><br />At Microsoft we believe in sharing our success with the communities, wherever we operate. Rozgar.Work is a robust platform which can enable revolutionary enrichments in the society, by empowering the youth, to find effective solutions for the various challenges faced by the society.<br /><br />Entrepreneurship and skill-development are the solution to many of Pakistan’s economic issues. Microsoft is committed to create fresh opportunities for the youth, to play a key role in nation-building. We appreciate the valuable support from WVI-Pakistan to make this program successful.<br /><br />Program Development Manager at WVI -Pakistan Rizwan ul Haq said,<br /><br />We are really excited to be a part of this pioneering initiative with Microsoft. World Vision is an international humanitarian organization that works for poverty alleviation,<br /><br />Social Development, Disaster-Relief, Education, Healthcare and Justice for the deprived segments. We would like to thank the leading enterprises like TIE, PASHA, that have joined today’s event to show their support for this initiative.<br /><br />Career counselling is a big task, and if you don’t do your proper research, you may end up in a field which is not fit for you in the long run. With Rozgar.Work, job seekers can get in touch with people who are well informed about the careers and can help new graduates make the right choice. Additionally, the platform also boasts an Online & Mobile Job-Matching & Search-functionality allowing job seekers to search for the best possible job opportunities available.<br /><br />The platform also has online courses to learn from, as well as online and offline training options for different skills, and to earn a diploma.<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-46221439267635800672016-04-08T23:13:45.162-07:002016-04-08T23:13:45.162-07:00#India's population explosion will make or bre...#India's population explosion will make or break its economy. Not enough jobs and huge skills gap #BJP http://cnnmon.ie/1V1p0FL via @CNNMoney<br /><br />unless India makes big improvements in how it educates and trains students, this demographic boom could instead saddle the country with another generation of unskilled workers destined to languish in low-paying jobs.<br />The need to train workers up -- and quickly -- is paramount. Currently only 2% of India's workers have received formal skills training, according to Ernst & Young. That compares with 68% in the U.K., 75% in Germany and 96% in South Korea.<br />It's a problem spread across industries. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors estimates that in 2010, India needed nearly 4 million civil engineers, but only 509,000 professionals had the right skills for the jobs. By 2020, India will have only 778,000 civil engineers for 4.6 million slots.<br />There is a similar gap among architects. India will have only 17% of the 427,000 professionals it needs in 2020.<br /><br />The problem? The RICS found that India's education and professional development system has not kept pace with economic growth and is in "dire need for reform."<br />In industry after industry, the same story is repeated. A recent survey by Aspiring Minds, which tracks workforce preparedness, found that more than 80% of India's engineering graduates in 2015 were "unemployable."<br />"The quality of training offered in most colleges is not at par with the high demands generated by tech industries," said Preet Rustagi, a labor economist at the Institute for Human Development. "There is no regulatory body that keep checks on the quality of education."<br /><br />Critics say India's universities are too focused on rote memorization, leaving students without the critical thinking skills required to solve problems. Teachers are paid low salaries, leading to poor quality of instruction. When students are denied entry to prestigious state schools, they often turn to less rigorous private colleges.<br />"When IT industries boomed in India a few years ago, many below-the-mark private colleges emerged to cater to their needs," said Alakh N. Sharma, director at the Institute for Human Development.<br /><br />Prime Minister Narendra Modi is racing to provide workers with training. His government is recruiting skills instructors, and turning old schools into learning centers. Programs strewn across various government agencies are being consolidated. Companies in the private sector are pitching in to help provide training.<br />The most pressing need, however, might be in primary education. Pupils in India are expected to perform two-digit subtraction by the age of seven, but only 50% are able to correctly count up to 100. Only 30% of the same students are able to read a text designed for five-year-olds, according to education foundation Pathram.<br />If the country's unique demographics are to pay dividends, improvement is a lesson to be learned quickly. <br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-17856338502897159692016-01-15T09:56:22.874-08:002016-01-15T09:56:22.874-08:00In #Pakistan, cultivating young #entrepreneurs by ...In #Pakistan, cultivating young #entrepreneurs by specialized vocational training | Pakistan | UNICEF https://shar.es/16POwy via @sharethis<br /><br />A vocational training programme supported by Barclays and UNICEF gives a young motorcycle mechanic in Pakistan just the start he needed.<br /><br />OKARA, Punjab Province, Pakistan, January 2015 – “I have my own motorcycle repair shop and am earning enough for my family to have a decent life,” says Mohammad Tanvir, 19. “Circumstances forced me to give up education after middle school. I started working in a motorcycle repair shop just to learn some skills. I did not get paid for my work since I was a novice and the owner of the shop was teaching me.”<br /><br />Poverty, along with limited access to both quality education and employment opportunities, is often a major factor hindering young men and women from fulfilling their potential. Through learning demand-driven skills and getting guidance on employment or entrepreneurship opportunities, young people can have the opportunity to brighten their futures. This is precisely the objective of Building Young Futures, a project implemented by UNICEF Pakistan, with funds from Barclays UK.<br /><br />While working in the shop, Mohammad heard about a course on motorbike mechanics for young people, offered at the Vocational Training Institute (VTI) in Okara. “I thought, Why not do it the proper way and be a certified motorbike mechanic from a reputable organization? I joined the course and am enjoying the benefits now.”<br /><br />After completing a 14-month training course at the VTI Okara in 2013, Mohammad had enough confidence as a mechanic to start his own business, rather than work for someone else. On the basis of his certificate from the Institute and pledging the land of his modest family home, he secured a bank loan of PKR 80,000 (about US$760).<br /><br />Hard work and confidence<br /><br />With capital in hand, Mohammad rented a shop in one of the bazars in Okara and bought all the tools he needed. His hard work and confidence paid dividends, and in a little over 18 months, he managed to establish his shop as a reliable and professional repair point for all types of motorbikes.<br /><br />“I earn between 20,000 and 25,000 rupees [$190 to $240] per month from my shop,” Mohammad says. “Sometimes I buy a motorcycle that needs major repairs and sell it at a good price after overhauling it. This helps me make additional money, which I invest in purchasing another bike or covering an unexpected family expense.” <br /><br />In 2012 in selected districts of Punjab province, UNICEF initiated the second phase of the Building Young Futures project. Its goal is to improve income-generating opportunities for socially excluded and vulnerable adolescents by enabling them to access training in life skills, financial literacy and enterprise management. To support the implementation of the project, UNICEF partnered with the Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC) and the Department of Youth Affairs, Sports, Archaeology and Tourism.<br /><br />At the VTI Okara, Mohammad was trained by Zahid Iqbal. For many years, Zahid worked at the Atlas Honda Motorcycle factory in Lahore, but with a passion for teaching, he switched jobs and joined VTI Okara.<br /><br />“I always wanted to teach and transfer my knowledge about motorbikes to the younger generation,” Zahid says. “It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to help young people progress in life. Some of them become entrepreneurs; some move abroad. But whenever they return, they come to see me and pay a lot of respect. It is a wonderful feeling to see my students do well in life.”<br /><br />Prosperity and encouragement<br /><br />Around 850 students are enrolled in the VTI Okara at one time, receiving vocational training in two shifts. Nearly 40 per cent are girls and young women, who often take up embroidery, cutting and stitching, dress-making or beautician courses.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-49513304699674261622014-05-23T22:27:22.641-07:002014-05-23T22:27:22.641-07:00Here's a World Bank report on digital youth su...Here's a <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/05/23/putting-peshawar-at-the-helm-of-digital-change" rel="nofollow">World Bank</a> report on digital youth summit in Peshawar, Pakistan:<br /><br /><i>"In Peshawar?" was a common reaction by confused members of the Pakistani and international technology community when told about the location of the country's first Digital Youth Summit (DYS). The city's reputation is often unfairly dominated by insecurity, yet over 300 young men and women from across Pakistan showed up to the two-day conference this week, making it the largest youth tech conference in the country and marking Peshawar's emergence as a hub of innovation and technology.<br /><br />More than 60% of Pakistanis are under the age of 30 and while unemployment is rising, it is not possible for the government to provide jobs in the public sector to this huge mass of youth. On the other hand, a youth-led national and organic movement is growing, changing perceptions about "secure" public sector jobs and creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurship, freelance jobs, and technology. Peshawar is at the helm of this change.<br /><br />Starting with a civic hackathon in January 2014, 150 young techies from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP) demonstrated their energy and creativity for solving prevalent civic issues through technology. Twelve winners of the hackathon became fellows at the government of KP’s Information Technology Board (KPITB) and began developing their own civic startups. Their prototypes from the hackathon are now turning into full-fledged apps. "Traditionally we wait for governments to solve citizens' problems. This helps citizens solve government’s problems, which hurt all of society," said Muhammad Ibraheem, one of the fellows. His team’s app, No Kunda, allows citizens to take pictures of electricity theft they see in their community and report them to authorities. Another, DocSeek, aims to be a “Yelp for government health facilities in KP”, enabling residents to easily find nearby government health facilities, complete with user reviews.<br /><br />The fellows presented their apps and experiences at the Digital Youth Summit as one of the summit’s 28 sessions over two days. Over 66 speakers from across Pakistan and the world converged to engage with local youth on topics of fostering innovation, startups and freelancing jobs through the digital economy. The participants included innovators, entrepreneurs, and an exciting group from emerging startup communities. Youth interested in building digital livelihoods heard from investors on how to attract funding, practical tips on writing proposals, and the opportunities available to become part of a global digital economy, such as through micro-work. Along with the sessions, there was an expo of digital innovators showcasing their products. The attendees cherished the opportunity to meet successful entrepreneurs, with sessions consistently running out of time for questions, and speakers swamped after the sessions by aspiring young innovators.<br /><br />Many of the attendees (as well as some speakers) were university students, and common questions touched on the practical tools and networks required to set up their own ventures, particularly in an environment where many people do not consider freelancing and digital work to be ‘real jobs’. One session, on enterprise planning proved so popular that it was repeated for those who could not attend the first time. In addition to youth meeting inspirational role models, they also met each other to share ideas. Madiha Hassan founder of Pakistan’s first ridesharing app, Savaree, and described as a local digital ‘rock star’, said, “I attend tech conferences around Pakistan where I see amazing people, but it’s always the same, established people.” The DYS she said, allowed her “to see entrepreneurs my age and connect with them.”</i><br /><br />http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/05/23/putting-peshawar-at-the-helm-of-digital-changeRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-74890750916732736902013-11-04T16:56:42.563-08:002013-11-04T16:56:42.563-08:00Here's an Express Tribune story on US aid for ...Here's an <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/627205/honing-skills-usaid-to-spend-34m-on-training-for-pakistan-project/" rel="nofollow">Express Tribune</a> story on US aid for skills development in Pakistan:<br /><br /><i>ISLAMABAD: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has dedicated $33.9 million to continue the Training for Pakistan Project, which is being implemented by World Learning.<br />The project is designed to offer education opportunities to more than 6,000 Pakistani professionals over the next four years, says a statement issued by USAID here today.<br />The Project will support Pakistan’s development priorities in the key sectors of energy, economic growth, agriculture, health, and education by making these capacity building opportunities available locally, regionally, or internationally for Pakistani professionals and decision-makers.<br /><br />This project stems out of US’s policy to focus on people-to-people engagement with Pakistan specially highlighted in the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act.<br />The USAID Training for Pakistan Project will provide a full range of training services including needs assessments, training program design and implementation, participant recruitment and selection, technical assistance, and monitoring and evaluation.<br />“This partnership with USAID will allow World Learning to empower Pakistani individuals and organisations to become more engaged stakeholders in their country’s development,” World Learning President and CEO, Donald Steinberg said.<br />“The programme will help equip Pakistan’s future leaders with the skills they need to advance peace, democracy and development,” he added.<br />The project will also facilitate the formation of an USAID alumni association of training participants for a discourse on country’s development issues and experience sharing.<br />After completing training programmes, the alumni will also have an opportunity to apply for small grants to fund development projects inspired by their training courses. The project will extend follow-on post-training support.</i><br /><br />http://tribune.com.pk/story/627205/honing-skills-usaid-to-spend-34m-on-training-for-pakistan-project/Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-83977727339478378982013-04-21T12:22:54.535-07:002013-04-21T12:22:54.535-07:00Here's a News story on Pak students participat...Here's a <a href="http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-97782-Pakistan-robotics-team-to-compete-in-international-event" rel="nofollow">News story</a> on Pak students participating in international robotics competition:<br /><br /><i>RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Robotics team will leave for United States of America on April 23 to take part in First Lego League (FLL) international robotics competition to be held on April 24 in United States of America (USA).<br /><br />According to details, the National Robotics Champions Team would be the first-ever Pakistani team to take part in World Festival. Pakistani team, out of 20 teams, won the regional championship title earlier in qualifying round held for the International competition.<br /><br /> <br /><br />It was also the winner team in the national robotics championship as it defeated 13 other teams.<br /><br /> <br /><br />It may be noted that out of 20,000 teams which took part in the competition worldwide, only 85 teams were declared successful as they cleared the national qualifying rounds. Now they would take part in the FLL World Festival to be held from April 24 to April 27 in Saint Louis, Missouri.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Three-member team comprising Vice Captain Muhammad Rafay Arshad, Abdullah Gulraiz and Umar Khalique along with coach Saeed Akhtar will leave on Tuesday.<br /><br /> <br /><br />The team members have expressed the hope that they will win the international title for Pakistan.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Earlier, the team comprised 7 members but now only three team members will participate in world festival along with their coach, said a statement. (PPI)</i><br /><br />http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-97782-Pakistan-robotics-team-to-compete-in-international-eventRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.com