Islamabad : (Parliament Times) The Prime Minster met with the visiting President of the World
Economic Forum, Mr.BorgeBrende, at the Prime Minister’s office. At the meeting, the Prime
Minister announced the establishment of the National Accelerator on Closing the Skills
Gapin Pakistan, in partnership with the World Economic Forum, with Punjab Skills
Development Fund (PSDF) serving as its national secretariat.
The World Economic Forum is the international organization for public-private cooperation.
The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape
global, regional and industry agendas. It is independent, impartial and not tied to any special
interests. The Forum has established the Centre for New Economy and Society (CNES) to
provide leaders with a platform to understand and act on emerging economic and social
challenges.The Forum’s Centre for New Economy and Societyhas partnered with PSDF to
work together on the future of education andwork by setting up a National Accelerator on
Closing the Skills Gap in Pakistan. The Accelerator will aim to increase the employability
ofthe current workforce and increase work-readiness and critical skills inthe future workforce.
The National Accelerator will be led and guided by a team of Co-Chairs from the public and
private sectors. The Government will be represented by Mr. Shafqat Mahmood, Federal
Minister of Education and Professional Training and Mr. Zulfiqar Bukhari, Special Assistant
to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development. The Co-
Chairs from the private sector include Ms. Shazia Syed, MD Unilever Pakistan, Mr.
Mohammed Aurangzeb, President and CEO, Habib Bank Limited, Mr. Ghias Khan, CEO,
Engro Corporation. PSDF CEO, Mr. Jawad Khan, will be the National Coordinator.
Focusing on the most strategic sectors in the economy, the Accelerator will also onboard the
CEOs of 50 to 100 leading companies in Pakistan as well as academics, policy makers and
technical experts from the education and skills development space. The Centre for New
Economy and Society has already established 5 such Accelerators in Argentina, Oman,
South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and India, with 10 more Accelerators expected by
2020.
At the meeting, the Prime Minister shared his Government’s political and financial
commitment to reform the skills development sectors in Pakistan and thanked the World
Economic Forum for choosing Pakistan as a founding member of the Closing the Skills
GapNational Accelerator initiative. Given its global reach, experience and expertise, the
Prime Minister expressed his confidence that the Forum’s engagement will help provide
new opportunities for Pakistan’s youth and help them develop new skills to fully embrace the
impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Mr. BorgeBrende, President, World Economic Forum, said: “The launch of the National
Accelerator on Closing the Skills Gap is an important milestone in our relationship with
Pakistan and it is just the start. Many of Pakistan’s national priorities are the core focus of
the Forum’s work. From climate change, water scarcity and connectivity to regional
cooperation, the Forum is ready to offer its platform to support Pakistan’s economic
transformation.”
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Ms. Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director and Head of the Forum’s Centre for New Economy
and Society, said: “The Fourth Industrial Revolution will lead to significant change in the
employment and skills landscape globally over the coming years – and Pakistan is no
exception. Through our Accelerator initiative we look forward to supporting Pakistan with an
integrated platform for learning and action to proactively manage this change.”
Mr. Jawad Khan CEO, PSDF, said: “we are truly honoured to be chosen as the national
secretariat for the National Accelerator in Pakistan. PSDF is already doing pioneering work
in the skills development space to create income generation opportunities for the poor and
vulnerable youth. The partnership with the Forum’s CNES will help it benefit from the
Forum’s global experience, reach, as well as from the experience of other global
accelerators.”
