Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says equipping youth with the necessary professional skills required at the international level is government's top priority.

Chairing a meeting on a three-year plan regarding professional training of youth and their employability in Islamabad on Friday, he said Pakistan's talented workforce is the country's real asset.

The Prime Minister instructed to increase nursing training institutes in the country and to align the nursing training with international standards.

Shehbaz Sharif said needs of the industry as well as local and international markets should be kept in view, while imparting professional training in various sectors. He said NAVTTC will be provided with sufficient funding for the professional training of the youth. He advised the NAVTTC to blacklist training institutions not performing up to the mark and encourage those with good performance.

The Prime Minister was presented with a three-year plan for the professional training of Pakistan's workforce in IT, industry, nursing, and other sectors, as well as their employment and placement abroad.

The meeting was informed that NAVTTC will impart professional training to one hundred and forty one thousand youth by June this year in different fields including Information Technology.

Moreover, two hundred and fifty thousand youth will be trained in the next year and three hundred and thirty seven thousand individuals in 2027.

The meeting was apprised that over twenty nine thousand people have got employment in Saudi Arabia after training in NAVTTC. Similarly, youth is being trained in various professions, enabling their placement in Saudi Arabia and other countries.

The meeting was informed that the process of accreditation of Pakistani training institutions by various international organizations through NAVTTC is also progressing rapidly.

It was further told that over twenty five hundred students of madrassas have been trained and three thousand others will be equipped with vocational skills by June this year.

The meeting was further informed that these training programs are being offered in all four provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

It was apprised that steps are being taken to train over ninety two thousand youth across the country in modern IT courses and to meet the target of developing two point one million freelancers.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the establishment of a National ICT Skills Ecosystem, which will benefit not only the youth in the local industry but also in employment opportunities abroad.