Samsung in collaboration with Kaarvan Crafts Foundation and Punjab Skill Development Fund is encouraging financial inclusion of women through digital literacy and provision of technology at the grass root level

Lahore, October 11, 2019: Samsung introduces the second edition of Aangan to improve the financial outlook and create opportunities for women in partnership with Kaarvan Crafts Foundation and Punjab Skill Development Fund. Through Aangan, Samsung is reviving and celebrating Pakistani female rural artisans and their craftsmanship and becoming the enabler for financial inclusivity.

The official MOU signing ceremony for this year’s edition of Aangan took place at the Samsung head office in Lahore. The MOU was signed by Mr. Roy Chang – Managing Director Samsung Electronics Pakistan, Mr. Danish Jabbar Khan – Chief Executive Officer Kaarvan Crafts Foundation and Mr. Jawad Khan – Chief Executive Officer Punjab Skill Development Fund.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Roy said: “At Samsung, our Global Corporate Citizenship vision is ‘Enabling People’. By providing education for future generations, we empower future innovators to achieve their full potential and become the next generations of leaders to pioneer positive social change.”

Aangan is an initiative that aims to revolutionize every courtyard, in every home; creating female micro-entrepreneurs (MEs) in various villages all across Punjab. Aangan started last year in partnership with Kaarvan Crafts Foundation with 80 micro-entrepreneurs (MEs) garnering massive success and helping these MEs earn an additional 12% on average and hence contributing towards their improved financial standing. This year the programme has been expanded to 140 micro-entrepreneurs with the inclusion of graduates from the Skills for Market Linkages (SFML) initiative of PSDF; providing them with market linkages through the aanganpk.com marketplace and transforming skilled craftswomen into business women.

Mr. Jawad Khan, CEO, PSDF said, “PSDF is keenly engaged in creating market access and linkages for its beneficiaries through the use of technology, especially for rural women, who find it difficult to identify, access and serve local and international markets. Through the Aangan platform, PSDF is confident that it will successfully overcome these challenges and contribute towards higher income generation opportunities for its beneficiaries.”

Mr. Danish Khan, CEO Kaarvan Crafts Foundation said, "The idea of Aangan is to unlock the potential of the Female Artisans living in far flung areas of Pakistan with Digital Market Linkages where they can sell directly to the customers without any intermediary. Now, that is a game changer when these artisans embrace technology as an opportunity and that is what we are doing through Aangan.’

Aangan in an all-inclusive initiative that provides rural women with multi-fold trainings; ranging from skill development and refinement, product enhancement and digital literacy trainings. It also provides them with access to smartphones, internet and an online marketplace (www.aanganpk.com) to register and sell their products directly to end consumers all across Pakistan with the aim to help expand the social and economic capacities of rural women – to contribute to the well-being of self, family and society.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd:
Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com.

About Kaarvan Crafts Foundation:

Crafts Foundation was established in 2004 and is incorporated as a Not-for-Profit company registered under Section 32 and licensed under Section 42 of Companies Ordinance, Pakistan. It’s a hub of innovation, passion and humility. Kaarvan believes that every woman has the right to earn a dignified livelihood. It provides life skills to Pakistani Rural Women in order to build their confidence to participate in local decision-making and carving connections with relevant urban markets. Kaarvan has developed a holistic practice of immersive grassroots operational fieldwork for the rural women to develop socially constructive attitudes and behaviors – Skills to craft a living as right to development, right to peace and right to healthful environment. Till date Kaarvan has mobilized, trained and empowered more than 24,000 rural women in 15 districts across Pakistan – expanding economic opportunities for them to earn their own income.

About PSDF – A Success Story of Public-Private Partnerships:

Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) is the largest skills development fund in Pakistan. PSDF was established in 2010 as a not-for-profit company set up under the Companies Ordinance 1984 by the Government of Punjab (GoPb) in collaboration with UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). PSDF also exclusively manages the skills training funding of the World Bank.

PSDF’s purpose is to shape the future and well-being of our poor and vulnerable youth by giving them access to skills training of the highest standard so they can find sustainable employment and income-generating opportunities in Pakistan and beyond.

PSDF started its operations in the 4 poorest districts of Punjab. Since 2016, The geographical remit has expanded to the entire 36 districts of Punjab. PSDF has trained almost 300,000 underprivileged youth across Punjab, which includes 180,000+ male and 110,000+ female graduates. These graduates have been trained in approximately 250 demand-driven and market relevant trades across 10 sectors.

PSDF has played a leadership role in creating a skills training market with 90% training partners in the private sector. With 400 training partners that deliver training on behalf of PSDF, out of which over 150 are businesses across the 10 sectors. PSDF has adopted an output-based funding mechanism where it funds contract-to-completion outputs as well as completion-to-income generation outcomes.

PSDF – Media Enquiries

Communications Team:
Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF),
Contact: +92-42-35752408-10
E-mail: communications@psdf.org.pk

Follow PSDF on Social Media

Website: www.psdf.org.pk
LinkedIn: Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF)
Facebook:/punjabskillsdevelopmentfund
Twitter: @PSDF_official
YouTube: /punjabskillsdevelopmentfund

Lahore, Pakistan: On 16th December, Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) organized a contract distribution ceremony for training service providers that qualified under its scheme “Employability Skills for Non-Muslim Youth”.

Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs, Mr Ijaz Alam Augustine addressing the audience

Speaking at the ceremony as chief guest was Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs, Mr. Ijaz Alam Augustine, who outlined the problems that Non-Muslim youth face in Pakistan: poverty, lack of access to education or skills resulting in low paid jobs. He emphasized the need for various stakeholders from the public and private sector to come together and find viable solutions. He commended PSDF, and the training service providers in taking this initiative to improve employability for Non-Muslim Youth in Punjab.

COO PSDF, Mr. Ali Akbar Bosan speaking at the contract signing ceremony

Mr. Ali Akbar Bosan, Chief Operating Officer at PSDF said that the scheme for “Employability Skills for Non-Muslim Youth” represented PSDF’s commitment to provide skills training to vulnerable and marginalized segments of the population. He reiterated that this scheme stemmed from the belief at PSDF that all communities be given equal education, training and economic opportunities.

This scheme is part of the UMEED (Upskilling Marginalized youth for Employability, Empowerment and Dignity) programme at PSDF, which is designed to help ease the transition of marginalized communities into mainstream skilled employment opportunities that have a high earning potential. The skills imparted to the youth are in market relevant and demand driven trades, ranging from AutoCAD, Mobile Development and Graphic Design, to Industrial Operators and Beautician. PSDF has actively involved multiple employers, industrial units and formal training institutions to ensure demand driven training and placement. The aim of this scheme is to ultimately train 5,000 Non-Muslim youth, across 17 different districts in Punjab.

About PSDF – A Success Story of Public-Private Partnerships:

Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) is the largest skills development fund in Pakistan. PSDF was established in 2010 as a not-for-profit company set up under the Companies Ordinance 1984 by the Government of Punjab (GoPb) in collaboration with UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). PSDF also exclusively manages the skills training funding of the World Bank.

PSDF’s purpose is to shape the future and well-being of our poor and vulnerable youth by giving them access to skills training of the highest standard so they can find sustainable employment and income-generating opportunities in Pakistan and beyond.

PSDF started its operations in the 4 poorest districts of Punjab. Since 2016, The geographical remit has expanded to the entire 36 districts of Punjab. PSDF has trained almost 400,000+ underprivileged youth across Punjab, which includes 200,000+ male and 160,000+ female graduates. These graduates have been trained in approximately 250 demand-driven and market relevant trades across 10 sectors.

PSDF has played a leadership role in creating a skills training market with 90% training partners in the private sector. With 400 training partners that deliver training on behalf of PSDF, out of which over 150 are businesses across the 10 sectors. PSDF has adopted an output-based funding mechanism where it funds contract-to-completion outputs as well as completion-to-income generation outcomes.

PSDF – Media Enquiries

Communications Team:
Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF),
Contact: +92-42-35752408-10
E-mail: communications@psdf.org.pk

Follow PSDF on Social Media

Website: www.psdf.org.pk
LinkedIn: Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF)
Facebook:/punjabskillsdevelopmentfund
Twitter: @PSDF_official
YouTube: /punjabskillsdevelopmentfund

11th September-2020: CEO Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF), Jawad Khan, spoke at the GSG Global Impact Summit 2020 in the session on ‘Upskilling the Unemployed’ to discuss the importance of impact investment in training and an outcome-based approach to re-skilling and up-skilling programmes targeting the vulnerable and unemployed.

The GSG Summit attracts changemakers from across the world, to work on a just and impact-led recovery that benefits all people and the planet. This year’s virtual summit focused on how to place impact at the heart of COVID-19 response and recovery and bring forward solutions that can help rally and re-build. The 3 day summit, spanning 9th to 11th September, brought forward influential speakers from 32 countries across the world, from the public and private sector, such as Achim Steiner, The Administrator of the UNDP, Emmanuel Faber, CEO at Danone, Jessica Alba, founder at The Honest Company and Ibukun Awosika, Chair at the First Bank of Nigeria.

The 2nd day of the Summit included the session on ‘Upskilling the Unemployed’ which looked at the adverse economic impact of Covid-19, and ideated on impact investment and outcome-based vehicles that could be promising to achieve scale and maximum social outcomes.

At the session, CEO PSDF, Jawad Khan joined as one of the prime speakers on global labour market trends and the challenges and opportunities brought forward by the Covid-19 pandemic, and focused on how ‘pay for success’ financing and schemes can help ensure a rapid and fair recovery. He further expanded on PSDF’s involvement in leading a number of cross-sector partnerships in the skilling space, such as the National Accelerator on closing the skills gap (Parwaaz), that identifies high-growth sectors and declining and emerging job roles, to skill, re-skill and upskill the current and future workforce.

Other speakers at the session included Annie Plancher, Vice President of Staff and Strategy at Social Finance US, Maha Keramane, Head of Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship from BNP Paribas, and Dr. Swapan Bala, Professor at University of Dhaka.

About PSDF – A Success Story of Public-Private Partnerships:
PSDF is the largest skills development fund in Pakistan set up by the Government of Punjab (GoPb) in collaboration with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

It plays a leadership role in skills training by collaborating with over 500+ training partners, including 200+ businesses across 10 sectors. PSDF delivers trainings in 2,400+ locations and 40% of its beneficiaries are women. PSDF also leads the National Accelerator on Closing the Skills Gap in Pakistan in partnership with the World Economic Forum.

PSDF – Media Enquiries

Communications Team:
Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF),
Contact: +92-42-35752408-10
E-mail: communications@psdf.org.pk

Follow PSDF on Social Media

Website: www.psdf.org.pk
LinkedIn: Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF)
Facebook:/punjabskillsdevelopmentfund
Twitter: @PSDF_official
YouTube: /punjabskillsdevelopmentfund

Karachi, 19^th Nov, 2020: Top leaders from across the public and private sector gathered at a press conference on Thursday, to discuss the future of jobs in Pakistan, in light of the World Economic Forum Report.

Present at the event were, Parwaaz co-chairs, Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari (SAPM Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development), Muhammad Aurangzeb, President & CEO HBL, Ghias Khan, President & CEO Engro Corporation, Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan and Chairman Telenor Microfinance Bank as well as top business leaders including, Monis Rahman, CEO & Founder Naseeb Networks, Asif Peer, CEO Systems Limited, Ehsan Saya, Managing Director Daraz.pk and Jawad Khan, CEO PSDF.

In a monumental step, Pakistan has been featured in the ‘Future of Jobs’ Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for the first time. The Pakistan Chapter showcases jobs and skills of the future, highlighting Pakistani employers’ perspective on new job roles and skills that require attention and investment in Pakistan in the age of technology and automation. In its 2020 edition, the Report features in-depth information on 15 global industries and 26 advanced and emerging countries.

Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) serves as the secretariat for WEF’s (National Accelerator on Closing the Skills Gap in Pakistan – ‘Parwaaz’). Parwaaz brought Pakistan into the global conversation on skills and the future of work by facilitating an extensive employers’ based survey conducted with over 50 top Pakistani companies and business leaders across 6 priority sectors. The profile on Pakistan provides a detailed snapshot of the future readiness of the workforce in the country.

The Report also features CEO PSDF, Jawad Khan as a Global Expert on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on New Agenda on Education & Work.

The Report insights reveal that in Pakistan, of the over 82 Million working age population, 50% on average have requisite digital skills, 51% have business relevant skills, and almost 55% have acquired education with business relevance. While this looks promising for an emerging country, large challenges remain with 31% youth not featured in employment, education, or training, and 55% of working age population in vulnerable employment.

The results of the Pakistan survey do however have room for ‘measured optimism’; technology adoption specially in the areas of E-commerce, Big Data Analytics and Cloud Computing is high (91% of the companies surveyed).

Pakistani companies are focusing on cultivating employability skills in the domain of Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Creativity and Leadership, in tandem with emerging skills in the global market.

The ‘Future of Jobs’ Report highlights the unique economic challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, while technology driven job creation still surpassing job redundancy over the next five years, the rate of growth in the jobs of tomorrow is reducing.

This results in a ‘renewed urgency’ to take proactive decisions towards reskilling and upskilling youth workforce.  In the absence of proactive efforts, job market inequality is likely to worsen due to the combined effect of technology and the pandemic recession.

The need of the hour is then public-private collaboration at the global and national level, at an unprecedented scale and speed to create socio-economic systems that are more fair, equitable and sustainable.

About PSDF – A Success Story of Public-Private Partnerships:

PSDF is the largest skills development fund in Pakistan for the youth. It plays a leadership role in skills training by collaborating with over 500+training partners, including 200+ businesses across 10 sectors. PSDF delivers training in 2,400+ locations and 40% of its beneficiaries are women. PSDF also leads the National Accelerator on Closing the Skills Gap in Pakistan in partnership with the World Economic Forum.

PSDF – Media Enquiries

Communications Team:
Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF),
Contact: +92-42-35752408-10
E-mail: communications@psdf.org.pk

Follow PSDF on Social Media

Website: www.psdf.org.pk
LinkedIn: Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF)
Facebook:/punjabskillsdevelopmentfund
Twitter: @PSDF_official
YouTube: /punjabskillsdevelopmentfund

About Parwaaz – National Accelerator on Closing the Skills Gap in Pakistan:

Parwaaz is the National Accelerator on closing the skills gap in Pakistan setup in collaboration with World Economic Forum. With the guidance of the most influential public and private sector leaders, it is developing reskilling, upskilling and newskilling plans for the current and future workforce of Pakistan.

Follow Parwaaz on Social Media

Website: www.parwaaz.com
LinkedIn: Parwaaz-FutureReady
Twitter: @Parwaaz_
YouTube: /Parwaaz-FutureReady