Business Recorder
“Engineer ban jao” was the statement that echoed in many homes, in a time where employment after higher education was a guarantee not a lottery ticket. As for what the state of engineers, doctors, lawyers and other professionals is now, this is not a difficult question to answer. From being a cause of anticipation to being deemed as impossible to attain, it is the loss of this confidence that has inspired a myriad of financial and political upheavals in Pakistan. The explanation for how this happened lies in both a mismatch between education and workplaces, and the more strikingly failed attempt at a creation of new jobs. Where schools and universities fall behind The education system as it stands today is, to a certain degree, ill-equipped to provide students with the skills deemed necessary for a successful career in an ever-changing landscape. According to the World Bank Group there is a certain overarching skillset needed to thrive in the workplace today. This skillset is composed of foundational skills, which involve the use of basic cognitive faculties, social and emotional soft skills, which involve navigating interpersonal scenarios in the workplace, specialised skills which equip individuals with the necessary expertise, and digital skills which horizontally cut across different sectors and employments (skills and workforce development). Bearing this basic categorisation in mind, we conducted a survey across pertinent demographics in Pakistan and the results confirmed what we already suspected. When asked if the current scheme of education adequately prepares them for the job market, nearly 35% of respondents felt that they were severely underprepared for what was to come and that the system does not reduce this unease. When asked which particular aspects of the education system contribute to the overwhelming sense of disillusion they face, 39% of respondents highlighted the system’s overemphasis on examination and test-taking while others felt the rigidity of syllabi and inadequate research opportunities served to enhance the gap between their education and what future employers require of them. A further scrutiny of student sentiment from our research indicates that there is in fact a higher education crisis in Pakistan, the impacts of which can be felt beyond just a few institutes. The university to workplace skills gap not only results in a higher unemployment rate but also contributes to a conundrum where talented applicants have to settle for low-paying, menial jobs (Arooj). A fractured workforce Once the education side becomes clear, the other end of the path is no less demanding. Even when students push through university with the hope of finding stable work, the market rarely meets them halfway. Pakistan’s overall unemployment rate for 2024-2025 stands at 7.1% (“Labour Force Statistics – Pakistan Bureau of Statistics”), but this single figure hides the disparate conditions facing new graduates. 3.7 million in the age range of 15-29 are unemployed, with 1.2 million being female (“Labour Force Statistics – Pakistan Bureau of Statistics”). Survey responses exemplify this tension. A combined 81% of participants expect real difficulty finding a job that matches their skills, with most placing this challenge in the higher ranges of the scale. Only 34% felt their education prepared them well, which means many graduates begin their search already feeling off balance. While global unemployment has eased in recent years, and other South Asian countries have recorded gradual improvement, Pakistan has not shared that momentum. A key reason is that several major industries have not grown fast enough to absorb the expanding workforce. With 33.1% of workers still tied to agriculture (“Labour Force Statistics –Pakistan Bureau of Statistics”), a climate-sensitive and low-productivity sector, the economy continues to rely heavily on fields that offer limited upward mobility. At the same time, the informal sector absorbs millions of young workers, but with little structure, almost no legal protection and few opportunities to build experience that can translate into later employment. All of this narrows the range of stable options available to new graduates. Source: Labour Force Statistics 2024-2025 – Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (Sample of 54,832 households) Employers face their own pressures. A steady outward flow of skilled workers has made it harder for firms to fill specialised roles. In 2022 alone, more than 765,000 Pakistanis went abroad for employment, including over 92,000 highly educated professionals such as doctors, engineers, IT specialists and accountants (The Economic Times). This loss weighs heavily on sectors already operating below potential, with the textile industry, for example, working at roughly 40% of China’s productivity. Digital talent is also limited at a time when firms increasingly depend on data and technology. Unequal internet access and gaps in digital-skills training have slowed workplace adoption of new tools, according to Saad Gilani of the International Labour Organisation (Economist Impact). As a result, employers often struggle to find candidates who meet the technical and digital expectations of today’s work environment. Our recommendations: coupling competence with development Having navigated through the dilemma at both an educational and professional level, the question remains on a means of resolve. This is where, in our findings, two concepts came up: research and vocationalism. In relation to the former, there’s the fact that a mere 0.8% of our GDP is spent on higher education, including both provincial and federal funding (“| Ministry of Finance | Government of Pakistan |”). To understand why this has ramifications, on a societal scale, requires a recall to many of the educational deficiencies that we discussed earlier. A common theme was a lack of cognitive development and it is this development that is best enabled by proactive and independent thinking. Such thinking can only be a consequence of an approach based not on rote-learning and imitation but innovation, and this is where research comes in. Research: the means of cognitive progress Moving beyond a simple awareness of the idea of research, we propose three things. The first is the launch of comprehensive research and development internships for high-school students in public universities. Modelled on programmes of the calibre of RISE (Research Internships in Science and Engineering) in American institutes and even at LUMS, it would allow for an early induction into what ethical research looks like. The second proposal, being straightforward on paper but excruciatingly difficult in practicality, is funding. Mandating stringent quotas for funds allocated for research output per university would curb both disparities in quality of academia and assist in maintaining transparency. The final recommendation is the most challenging to execute, however. Here, the problem is with the process rather than the output. With many students purchasing authorships for fabricated academic credentials, there is a growing culture of corruption in higher education (Nosherwan). This is why any genuine skill upgrades within the student body require steps by the Higher Education Commission that more readily enforce consequences for such conduct. These consequences could range from year-long suspensions to expulsion from the host institute. A side-effect of each of these suggestions is overcoming long-term job stagnation, as research leading to innovation can progressively embellish existing industries, alongside creating new ones. Take Silicon Valley for an example. You do not get a Facebook or Microsoft without the rigor of universities like Harvard that produce the talent to make those companies. The merits of vocationalism Vocationalism, the latter of the two solutions, takes a more direct approach. Having a focus on career-specific practices mitigates the foremost issue for every entry-level applicant: unfamiliarity. Transitioning straight from memorisation-based learning to fluid industries is not only improbable but futile. This is where vocational internships or apprenticeships come in, possessing an invaluable depository of technical knowledge that is not necessarily found in textbooks. The problem here in Pakistan is the status of vocationalism as an afterthought. Just a quarter of the people in our survey were aware of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), even though more than 83% of respondents stated that they would consider participating in a vocational program after being made aware of it. Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with public and private sector universities are, therefore, crucial for building a bridge between students and these programmes. In other words, with access to the student pool of these institutes, a far more significant subset of the working population can be reached. Secondly, the more wide-reaching complication here is the resources of the commission itself. After the 18th Amendment, the decentralisation of education diluted NAVTTC’s enforcement capacity, leading to inconsistent implementation across provinces. Research published in the Khyber Journal of Public Policy highlights further constraints: no unified database to track training outcomes, heavy reliance on donor funding, bureaucratic delays and limited engagement with the private sector. These gaps mean that training programmes often fail to align with what employers actually need. Here, emphasis must be made by the national government on the recommendations of NAVTTC submitted this year. From adherence of the curriculum to global benchmarks to integration with a “green economy”, an implementation of standards is necessary for universally effective initiatives (“NAVTTC Submits Key Proposals to Enhance Technical Education”). This is, additionally, where universities and the broader public can chime in. When more individuals and organisations present a willingness for learning industry-relevant skills, the endorsement of these programs by HEC can follow. Holistically, it is with an amalgamation of theory and practice, research and vocational training, and policy and awareness that the trend of disarray can be turned. A crisis of two parts needs a scheme with two measures. This simultaneous advocacy for impactful research, on one hand, and industry-related skill training, on the other, is what can produce both a resurgence of key industries and a suitable labor force for it. Afterall, the most permanent prosperity requires the most expansive change. Works cited: Arooj, Bushra. “The Crisis in Pakistan’s Higher Education System.” How Tests, 13 Jul.2025, www.howtests.com/articles/the-crisis-in-pakistans-higher-education-system . “Employment by Economic Sector in Pakistan as of 2023.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/383781/employment-by-economic-sector-in-pakistan . https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2024/06/12/pakistans-unemployment-rate-stands-at-6-3-with-4-51-million-jobless/ . Gilani, Saad. “Bridging the Skills Gap: Fuelling Careers and the Economy in Pakistan.” Economist Impact, https://impact.economist.com/new-globalisation/bridging-skills-gap-fuelling-careers-and-economy-pakistan . “Labour Force Statistics – Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.” Pbs.gov.pk , 2023, www.pbs.gov.pk/labour-force-statistics/. Mahnoor Nosherwan. “The Crisis in Pakistan’s Academic Research.” The Spine Times - the Spine Times, The Spine Times, 28 Oct. 2024, spinetimes.pk/the-crisis-in-pakistans-academic-research/. “| Ministry of Finance | Government of Pakistan |.” Finance.gov.pk , 2025, www.finance.gov.pk/survey_2025.html. “NAVTTC Submits Key Proposals to Enhance Technical Education.” Dawn, 8 Oct. 2025, www.dawn.com/news/1947294. “Pakistan’s Brain Drain Situation Aggravates: 7,65,000 Youths Moved Overseas in 2022, Official Data.” The Economic Times – HR World, 15 Dec. 2022, https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/pakistans-brain-drain-situation-ag gravates-765000-youths-moved-overseas-in-2022-official-data/96231903?utm_source=to p_news&utm_medium=tagListing . “Skills and Workforce Development.” World Bank Group, 25 Apr. 2025, www.worldbank.org/en/topic/skillsdevelopment .
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