It is a significant step towards the progress of Pakistan’s socioeconomic landscape as the ‘Green Skills Training Program‘ worth $1.5 million was launched. Supported by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), this monumental program strikingly aimed towards facilitating economically handicapped youth, particularly girls, to acquire digital skills by virtue of sustainable development, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Muslim World League (MWL). The program is built on the vision that it will help drive education and employment avenues for a better and fairer society.

A cornerstone in UNICEF’s collaboration with the Muslim World League, has been indispensable in the realization of many successful global interventions to improve the lives of children. This partnership has offered educational and skill building opportunities in more than 14 years in a number of countries. This is the legacy upon which the Green Skills Training Program is built, providing focused attention to Pakistan’s marginalized youth to help overcome deep seated socio economic disparities. With the SIFC as a core facilitator, the program’s outreach is maximized and implementation will be efficiently facilitated.

The main focus of this initiative on girls is reflective of the effort towards addressing the gender inequality that has been a problem in Pakistan. The program trains young girls with green and digital skills, which at the end of the day enhances their employability and makes them confront norms that have previously impeded the greater progress of girls. This overarching approach to skill building is consistent with developing global sustainable development trends, training participants well with current day job markets and making them competent enough to be involved in future orientated industries.

The Green Skills Training Program is not only a skill building initiative but also a strategic intervention towards accomplishment of critical objectives towards the growth and global standing of Pakistan. The program reinforces Pakistan’s commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) namely quality education, gender equality and decent work. This will focus on the areas where the program will help Pakistan to become one of the proactive players of the world arena and will make Pakistan a home towards the sustainable development.

The initiative mainly focuses on girls’ education and skill development to directly address the socio economic disparity among the community and create an inclusive and equitable society. Therefore, the aim at gender empowerment (which creates a ripple effect from generation to generation) enhances the potential of women to engage in the economy. This goes to show that workforce development for the future is forward looking in its approach. These competencies are also in line with global trends of which Pakistan’s youth would be able to avail themselves to enter into sustainable sectors of the economy and become part of economic resilience. This initiative enables Pakistan to further cement ties with the international organizations making it a reliable development partner. The partnership between the SIFC, UNICEF and MWL signifies a public-private partnership that demonstrates the favorable approach that resolves socio economic challenges.

The SIFC serves as a critical enabler of the Green Skills Training Program. The council makes use of its resources and strategic expertise to make sure that the project goes well and broadens its impact. It replaces the role of coordinating efforts towards sustainable development among the stakeholders. But the SIFC’s contribution to the program is not limited to logistical support. With focus on vocational training, green skills development and generating economic opportunities for the youth in Pakistan, these efforts symbolized a true responsibility to ready the youth of Pakistan for a sustainable future. This is in line with Pakistan’s overall agenda to close inequalities, enhance gender empowerment and develop economic resilience.

It particularly puts efforts into serving girls. Because past gender biases prevented Pakistan’s female population from enjoying equal opportunities, they are the focus of the program. The education and trades training the program gives girls makes them feel powerful and empowers them in society. In case women are properly trained, they can earn income from jobs, care for their families and spur their nation towards economic development. Green Skills Training is the program that assists girls in developing tools for today and creating opportunities for a future that is more sustainable via practical skills.

To ensure the Green Skills Training Program achieves its objectives, the following recommendations are proposed:

• Get local community feedback to decide what the program needs to have meaning for everyone involved.
• Put systems in place to measure program results and find ways to do better.
• Use methods that reach youth throughout remote rural parts of the country to expand the program reach.
• Use online tools to make training better and more effective for students and learners.
• Team up with both local and international businesses to match training content with business needs.
• Show the program’s results to help others learn about it and make more money available for activities.
• Make environmental education part of the regular classroom content to teach students good permanent lifestyle choices.
• Promote changes that help people learn environmental skills plus help women reach leadership positions.

The Green Skills Training Program shows great promise to enhance both Pakistan’s youth and its overall social-economic progress. The training program helps disadvantaged adolescents especially girls develop green and digital skills to handle current barriers and discover new paths to profitable development. This project marks an important step for Pakistan in reaching the SDGs. The program proves its worth by making targeted changes that show what focused programs can achieve when they partner, include everyone and work to strengthen people. Through combined efforts the Green Skills Training Program stands as a global example ready to help young people become empowered and build sustainable communities.