Youth Social Entrepreneurship Course Included in Curriculum in Pakistan

The Youth Entrepreneurship Service (YES) Network, a leading supporter of the involvement of youth in social enterprises in Pakistan, is helping integrate social entrepreneurship training with vocational training courses in the country. It has introduced the concept of social entrepreneurship into the curriculum of 155 institutes of the Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC).

An MOU to this effect has been signed between Faisal Ijaz Khan, Chairman of PVTC and Ali Raza Khan, CEO of YES Network. It will help promote the concept of social entrepreneurship among young, aspiring entrepreneurs in Pakistan.

This youth social entrepreneurship course aims at engaging students in finding innovative solutions to social problems in their local communities. It will train them to operate in an organized manner to achieve social goals. At the same time, the course will guide them to build a promising future for themselves and the society.

The social entrepreneurship and service course will be of 50-hour duration. This includes actual class time of 10 hours to help the participants familiarize with the concept of youth social entrepreneurship and learn how to develop a social enterprise plan. The remaining 40 hours of the course will include field work to acquire hands-on training.

The PVTC, which is going to provide this course, is an autonomous corporate body established by the government of Punjab in Pakistan. PVTC is the first organization in the country to launch such social entrepreneurial training program to groom disadvantages youth and turn them into social entrepreneurs. The YES Network will provide all necessary ground support to PVTC to ensure the success of this program.

Pakistan ranks extremely low on the UN index of global development, with a wide range of socio-economic challenges facing the country. Social entrepreneurship can provide credible solutions to some of the toughest problems, and help improve the socio-economic status of the underprivileged sections of the population of Pakistan.

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